USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 5 > Part 33
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George Simonson Parsons was united in marriage, July 30, 1903, at Brooklyn, New York, with Cora Belle Lyman, a daughter of Fordis and Viola (Badger) Lyman.
PARKER, George Amos,
Representative Citizen.
George Amos Parker, of Hartford, traces his descent from many old and dis-
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tinguished New England families, many of whom have been residents of the State of Connecticut, including such well-known names as Governor Bradford, James Fitch, Alexander Carpenter, Thomas Richards, Rodman Gale, Simeon Huntington, John G. W. Clark, Thomas Leffingwell, Mercy Bushnell, Solomon Tracey, the Wood- ward, Metcalf, Roberts, Hinsdale and Plimpton families.
Thomas Parker, the immigrant ances- tor of the family, sailed in the good ship "Susan & Ellen," from his native land, England, for the New England Colonies, March 31, 1635. He settled at Lynn, Massachusetts, where he was made a freeman, May 17, 1637. In the following year he received an allotment of forty acres of land, but shortly afterward re- moved to Reading, where he was active in the establishment of the church, built about 1644, of which he was made deacon, and he was also a selectman of Reading in 1661. Mr. Parker married, about Christmas time in the year 1635, Amy -, whose death occurred January 15. 1690, she having survived her husband a number of years, his death occurring Au- gust 12, 1683.
Lieutenant Hananiah Parker, son of Thomas and Amy Parker, was probably born in Lynn, Massachusetts, of which place he was made a freeman, October 15, 1679. He married, September 30, 1663, Elizabeth Browne, a daughter of Lieutenant Nicholas and Elizabeth Browne, the former named having been a prominent man in the community, serv- ing as selectman and town clerk in Read- ing and as its representative to the Gen- eral Court in Boston for about seven years. Lieutenant Parker died March 10, 1724. and his wife passed away February 27, 1697.
John Parker, son of Lieutenant Ilan- aniah and Elizabeth (Browne) Parker,
was born at Reading, August 3, 1664. He was prominent in the affairs of that town, holding several public offices. He married, October 2, 1689, Deliverance Dodge, a daughter of John and Sarah Dodge, of Beverly. The death of Mr. Parker occurred January 22, 1741, and that of his wife March 10, 1718.
Andrew Parker, son of John and De- liverance (Dodge) Parker, was born at Reading, February 14, 1693, and resided there until he attained the age of nine- teen years, when he removed to Lexing- ton. He married, August 27, 1720, Sarah Whitney, a daughter of Isaiah and Sarah Whitney, of Lexington. The death of Mrs. Parker occurred December 18, 1774.
Amos Parker, son of Andrew and Sarah (Whitney) Parker, was born at Lexing- ton, July 24, 1723, and died December 23, 1790. He married, in 1744, Anna Cur- wen Stone, who died November 18, 1799.
Nahum Parker, son of Amos and Anna Curwen (Stone) Parker, was born at Shrewsbury, March 4, 1760, and died No- vember 12, 1839. At the age of sixteen he went to war, was in the Continental army and was present at the surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga in 1777. He was prominent in public affairs, hav- ing been chosen selectman in 1790, rep- resented the town in the Legislature for twenty-two years, was judge of the Court of Common Pleas for twenty years, and in 1806 was chosen United States Sena- tor. Shortly after the close of the Revo- lutionary War, he married Mary Deith, a daughter of John and Jerusha Deith, of Hopkinton. She died June 4, 1837.
Amos A. Parker, son of Nahum and Mary (Deith) Parker, was born at Fitz- william, New Hampshire, October 8, 1791, and died in 1893. He received his education under the tuition of the Rev. John Sabin, of Fitzwilliam, at the Amherst (New Hampshire) Academy, at the New
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Ipswich Academy, and at the University of Vermont, from which institution he was graduated in 1813. He taught school for three years in Virginia, after which he commenced the study of law with James Wilson, Sr., at Keene, and com- pleted his course at Fitzwilliam. He was admitted to the bar of the Superior Court in 1821, began the practice of his pro- fession at Epping, New Hampshire, then went to Concord, same State, and became editor of the New Hampshire "States- man." At this time he was appointed aide to Governor D. L. Morrill and had the title of colonel. While thus engaged, he had the honor of inviting General La- fayette to visit New Hampshire. From Concord he removed to New Market, from whence he removed to Exeter and Kingston, and in 1836 returned to Fitz- william, from whence he removed to Glastonbury, Connecticut, in 1879, and after a few years' residence there removed to Hartford, same State, where he resided until 1888, in that year returning to his native town. Mr. Parker held more offices and remained in office a longer period than any other man in the State of New Hampshire. He was a member of the bar for seventy-nine years was intimately acquainted with fourteen gov- ernors, and attended thirteen sessions of the State Legislature. He married Mi- randa W. Sanders, born April 16, 1796, died March 13, 1828, daughter of Daniel and Anna (Fitch) Sanders, the former named president of the Vermont Univer- sity.
George Washington Parker, son of Amos A. and Miranda W. (Sanders) Parker, was born at Concord, New Hamp- shire, August 14, 1824, and died in Hart- ford, Connecticut, February 20, 1907. He resided at various times at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, and Halifax, Massachu- setts. He will be best remembered as an inventor. Perhaps his most useful inven-
tion was the rotary printing press, he being the first man to invent a cylinder press using a cast type form. This was in the year 1865, and in the following year he built a cylinder press that in some ways resembled the present type, taking the paper from the roll, printing it and cutting it off. The great difficulty was to devise a method of ink distribution, and the method now used of a fountain with a set of rollers, in connection with which is a traveling roller to equalize the distribution of ink, was his invention. Mr. Parker married, October 26, 1848, Julia A. Deeth, born at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, in 1826, daughter of Lyman and Julia (Chapin) Deeth, of Fitzwilliam. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Ellen Miranda, who became the wife if Herbert Keith, of East Bridge- water, Massachusetts; Daniel, deceased ; George Amos, of whom forward; Caro- line, who became the wife of Frank Thrasher, of Gardner, Massachusetts ; Julia, the widow of Edwin Sabin, of Ran- dolph, Vermont.
George Amos Parker, son of George Washington and Julia A. (Deeth) Parker, was born at Fitzwilliam, New Hamp- shire, April 28, 1853. He attended the local schools for the preliminary portion of his education, and then entered the Massachusetts Agricultural College, from which he graduated with class of 1876. After graduation he became head gar- dener at Vassar College, New York. afterwards head gardener for the Old Colony Railroad; was appointed in 1896 as superintendent of Keney Park, and in 1906 as superintendent of the Public Parks of Hartford, which position he now holds. Mr. Parker was appointed by Governor Holcombe a member of the State Park Commission, and also of the Committee of the General Israel Putnam Memorial Camp Ground.
Mr. Parker married, December 6, 1876,
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Jannie W. Richmond, born in Halifax, Massachusetts, October 12, 1851, a daugh- ter of Andrew and Harriet N. (Water- man) Richmond, of that town. To Mr. and Mrs. Parker four children have been born, as follows: Arthur, at Poughkeep- sie, New York, September 6, 1877; An- drew Richmond, at Poughkeepsie, New York, June 12, 1881; Robert Lyman, at Halifax, Massachusetts, July 16, 1886, and Priscilla, at Halifax, Massachusetts, May 21, 1891, who became the wife of Diman Lockwood, of Topsfield, Massachusetts.
GREENE, Charles Farnum, Journalist, Postal Official.
Charles Farnum Greene, postmaster of Bridgeport, Connecticut, is a native of that city, born June 17, 1879, son of Wil- liam Henry and Sarah Jane (Tucker) Greene. Heredity, undoubtedly, has been a factor of some importance in the quali- ties Charles Farnum Greene has mani- fested, for he had among his ances- tors some of substantial prominence and weighty achievement in their day. His antecedents connect him with the Johnson and Tucker families, both of which hold distinguished place in Colonial history, the progenitor of the Johnson family having been one of the founders of New Haven, Connecticut, and the Tucker fam- ily trace back to the seventeenth century.
Henry Pierce Greene, paternal grand- father of Charles Farnum Greene, was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and there spent his entire life as an educator, having been a man of superior intellect and honorable bearing, and he acquired the esteem of his fellow-citizens. He
married, February 23, 1815, in Smith- field, Rhode Island, Nancy Chillson, born December 19, 1790, in that town, daugh- ter of John and Sarah (Newland) Chill- son, the former named having been born
April 24, 1755, in Smithfield, son of Jo- seph and Sarah Chillson.
William Henry Greene, son of Henry Pierce and Nancy (Chillson) Greene, was born on a sailing vessel anchored off Whitestone, Long Island, New York, 1833, and his death occurred in San Fran- cisco, California, 1898. He was a sculp- tor by occupation, operating at Woon- socket, Rhode Island. He responded to President Lincoln's first call for seventy- five thousand men, enlisting in and be- coming corporal of Company A, Twelfth Regiment, Rhode Island Infantry, and participated in the battle of Bull Run, in which engagement he was wounded. Upon recovery, he was attached to the staff of General Burnside, as mounted orderly, and subsequently saw consider- able service during the Peninsula cam- paign. From the termination of the war until his decease he was in the honored ranks of the Civil War Veterans. He married (first) in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, a Miss Cook, who bore him three children : Eva, who became the wife of William Furrey, of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia; Minerva, unmarried, who resides in Los Angeles, California; Herbert, a resident of San Francisco, California. He married (second) Sarah Jane Tucker, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, daughter of John and Marietta (Peet) Tucker, of Huntington, Connecticut, and a repre- sentative of an old Connecticut family. John Tucker was born at Seymour, Con- necticut, and died at Bridgeport, Connec- ticut, aged about fifty years. He was a member of the Second Company, First Corps, Fourth Connecticut Artillery, in 1830. He was a mason and builder by occupation. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker were the parents of two children, Sarah Jane, aforementioned, and Frederick, both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Greene were the
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parents of two children, Henry F., and Charles Farnum, of whom further.
Charles Farnum Greene attended the public schools of Bridgeport, completing his studies at the early age of thirteen years. He entered upon his business career in the humble capacity of a news- boy. For the following two or three years he served as baker's assistant, book store clerk and jewelry store clerk, in the meantime pursuing the course of the Bridgeport Press College, thus acquiring a familiarity with the requisites of a newspaper correspondent. The gifts of sharp intellect, ready language and keen observation were his by heredity, and a forceful pen, which seemed also to come quite naturally, instilled confidence within him, and at the early age of sixteen he felt competent to perform the duties of a newspaper reporter. He was given his opportunity, and although working under a heavy handicap, expending his energy by day in his routine work of the jewelry store, and by night as cub reporter for the "Morning Union," a Bridgeport news- paper, he satisfied the editors as to his ability, and in a comparatively short space of time had established himself as an alert news writer of originality and force. Later he had association with many of the leading newspapers of the East; from the "Morning Union," he went to the "Telegram," thence to the Bridgeport "Standard," then the Bridgeport "Her- ald," then the Waterbury, Connecticut, "Globe," then the Hartford, Connecticut, "Telegram," and was at the same time the Hartford correspondent for the Bridge- port "Herald." Subsequently he entered upon a brief experience of entirely dif- ferent work, having joined the field force of the International Correspondence Schools. Returning to his newspaper work, however, he became political writer for the New London, Connecticut, "Daily
Telegraph," and during his residence in that city was prevailed upon to become a candidate for the office of city clerk. All this occurred prior to his attaining the age of twenty-four years. Upon his return to Bridgeport, in 1904, Mr. Greene joined the editorial staff of the Bridgeport "Farmer," and again indicated the pub- lic trend of his activities, as well as the public appreciation of his work, by be- coming a candidate for the office of alder- man of Bridgeport. For seven years he was retained exclusively by the Bridge- port "Farmer," but in 1911 he decided to become an independent writer. In that year he was offered and accepted an ap- pointment with Bradstreet's Company, which, however, did not interfere with special work he performed for the Bridge- port "Farmer," the Bridgeport "Post," and the New York "Tribune." His abil- ity brought him into much public promi- nence, and while still a member of the staff of the "Farmer," he had joined the Bridgeport Fire Department, which as- sociation voted him to executive office as secretary of the Firemen's Mutual Bene- fit Fund. He also served as secretary of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Ex- hibition, and in 1913 Congressman Jere- miah Donald sought the services of Mr. Greene as his permanent chief secretary, in which capacity he served until the be- ginning of 1915, when Mr. Greene relin- quished his position at Washington, and returned to Bridgeport in order to assume the directorship of the Bridgeport post office, which office he has since retained, performing his duties in a highly credit- able manner. Mr. Greene is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Foresters of America, the Woodmen of the World, and the Seaside Club. He was baptized in St. John's Epis- copal Church, Bridgeport, of which he is now a member. His strong personality
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and genial disposition have brought him many friends, who esteem him as highly for his fellow feeling as for his ability.
Mr. Greene married, October 16, 1905, in St. John's Episcopal Church, Bridge- port, Louise Klein, a native of New York City, but a resident of Bridgeport since her second year; she is the daughter of John and Catherine (Riehl) Klein, both deceased. John Klein was born in New York City, wherein he was for many years an undertaker.
HOUSE, Albert Hammond, Man of Affairs, Legislator.
Albert Hammond House, one of the principal figures in the business world of Hartford, Connecticut, and a very suc- cessful real estate and insurance man there, comes of good old New England stock, both his father and grandfather having been natives of the State of Ver- mont. He is a son of Frederick C. and Mary S. (Viets) House, his father having been born at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in the year 1843, where his grandfather, Al- bert Hammond House, was a well-known and much respected Baptist minister. He was born in St. Johnsbury. in 1802, and lived there all his life. Frederick C. House, on the contrary, left his native place when a young man and came to Connecticut, where he married Mary S. Viets, a daughter of Samuel C. Viets, and a native of Suffield, Connecticut, where she was born on March 17, 1846. Her father, Samuel C. Viets, was a native of Granby, Connecticut, where he was born in the year 1800, and a member of an old and distinguished family. Frederick C. House and his wife were the parents of two sons and a daughter.
Born June 12, 1870, at Windsor, Con- necticut, on his father's farm, Albert Hammond House has made this region
his home ever since. As a child he attended the local public schools and afterwards spent two years in the Wind- sor High School. The two years follow- ing he attended the Williston Seminary at Easthampton, Massachusetts, and here completed his formal education. Imme- diately thereafter he returned to Wind- sor, where he engaged in the tobacco business, continuing in this line until the year 1906. During that time he met with considerable success, but he perceived in the rapid growth of the community where he dwelt and the consequent rise of land values there that the real estate field of- fered opportunity which very few others possessed. Accordingly, he established himself in a real estate and insurance business, which he has continued up to the present time. During the eleven years in which he has been thus engaged, Mr. House has met with a remarkable success and now is at the head of one of the largest businesses of its kind in the community. His operations have gradu- ally extended from Windsor as a center, not only all over Hartford county, but throughout the whole of Northern Con- necticut. He is considered in all that region an expert on real estate values and few men are more conversant with the situation than he is. He has his office at Hartford as well as at Windsor, and since the opening of his establishment, eleven years ago, has sold in all over three hun- dred and fifty properties in Windsor alone. His wide knowledge of property values has been recognized to such an extent that he is now retained as an appraiser for five different banking insti- tutions, and also does much appraisal work for the Superior Court in Hartford county. Since he has been dealing in this line, Mr. House has found many oppor- tunities for the investment of his own money in valuable property in this sec-
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tion, and is now the owner of a large estate hereabouts, in addition to his reg- ular business. Mr. House is one of those men whose mind naturally grasps the bus- iness opportunities which present them- selves and he is equally quick to take ad- vantage of such as he sees. Some years ago he formed one of the group of men who organized the Windsor Trust & Safe Deposit Company, an extremely successful financial institution, and since that time has held a place on its director- ate.
However well-known Mr. House is in the business world, it is probably true that his reputation is even wider as a man of affairs in and about Windsor. He has always been closely and prominently identified with the Republican party here, and for many years has been regarded as one of the leaders of its local organiza- tion. He has always taken a keen inter- est in local affairs and has played a very prominent part in their conduct. He rep- resented the town of Windsor in the Con- necticut State Legislature during the ses- sion of that body in 1915, and served on the committees on appropriations and the school fund. While serving on this com- mittee he was instrumental in having a bill passed requiring all school funds to be invested in the State of Connecticut, and investments were to be withdrawn from all other States within five years. He has ever held the general welfare of the community close at heart and has worked indefatigably in his various official posi- tions to advance its interests. While a member of the Legislature, he introduced and succeeded in having passed a bill authorizing a State expenditure of fifty thousand dollars to be used in the build- ing of the underpass road at Windsor, where the railroad crosses the State high- way. He is at the present time as active as ever in his association with the Re-
publican organization, and is a member of the Windsor Republican town committee. He is also a past president of the Wind- sor Business Men's Association, having served in that capacity for three years. He was elected for a fourth term, but de- clined the honor. Mr. House has been a pioneer in almost all the movements un- dertaken for the development of his home community of recent years, and no man has played a more important part in se- curing the many improvements which the community has recently enjoyed. He has been chairman of the committee of Windsor fire district since its organiza- tion in 1910, and was the prime mover in securing this organization. He it was also that induced the Windsor fire dis- trict to purchase the Windsor Water Company, a step of great value to the town. Mr. House was a member of a great number of organizations of various kinds in the community, social, fraternal and otherwise, and is especially promi- nent in the Masonic order, in which he has taken his thirty-second degree. He is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 70, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Windsor, and is a past master thereof ; of Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, Royal Arch Masons, of Hartford; of Walcott Council, No. I, Royal and Select Masters, of Hartford; of Washington Command- ery, No. I, Knights Templar, of Hartford ; of Sphinx Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Hartford ; and the Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret, of the same city. He is also a member of Eureka Chapter, Eastern Star, of Windsor, and of Palisado Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows here. He is held in high esteem by his fellow-townsmen generally for the part that he has played and is still play- ing in the development and growth of the community. In his religious belief Mr.
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House is a Congregationalist and attends the church of this denomination at Wind- sor.
Albert Hammond House was united in marriage, June 1, 1892, with Mrs. Jennie A. Hutchinson, a daughter of Simeon and Katherine Simons, of Long Meadow, Massachusetts. While the office of Mr. House is in Hartford and while he main- tains his business headquarters there, he has ever since coming to this district made his home in Windsor.
BOSTICK, Arthur Randall, Attorney.
The Bostick family is of English ori- gin, descended from Randall Bostick, a native of England, who came to the United States and located in the town of Enfield, Connecticut, where he first began business as a dealer in vegetables. He was possessed of excellent business ca- pacity and was industrious, and by vir- tue of these qualities soon made himself popular. By his faithful attention to bus- iness, he acquired means, and in 1875 purchased land in the town of Enfield, which he continued to reside on until his death, April 12, 1894. In 1858, at the age of eighteen years, he married Anna Joy, daughter of John and Ella (How- ring) Joy, of Irish antecedents. They were the parents of six children: John, Thomas, Nellie (Mrs. Thomas Priskett), Randall, Anna (Mrs. Colt), George E.
John Bostick, eldest son of Randall and Anna (Joy) Bostick, was born September 10, 1859, in Enfield, where he has since continued to make his home. He mar- ried, in 1886, Alice Button, daughter of Warren and Ellen Maria (Allen) Button. Warren Button was born in Enfield, Jan- uary, 1831, son of Jonathan Button, born in Enfield, June 22, 1799, and who was a harnessmaker there. Jonathan Button
married, April 8, 1823, Betsey Terry, who was born in Enfield, February 28, 1802, and she died December 4, 1864. The grandfather of Warren Button was Jona- than Button, Sr., and he married Alice Parsons, August 29, 1793. She died De- cember 15, 1850. Warren Button lived in Enfield throughout his entire life, and was a school teacher, clergyman and farmer. In religion he was a member of the Catholic Apostolic church. He mar- ried, in 1856, Ellen Maria Allen, a de- scendant of Samuel Allen, who was be- lived to have settled in Dorchester in 1630. He was a farmer, a man of promi- nence in civil life, and was a juryman in 1644. He was buried in Windsor, April 28, 1648. His wife Ann died November 13, 1687. Their son, John Allen, was an early settler in Deerfield, and was killed by the Indians in the battle of Bloody Brook, September 18, 1675. He married, December 16, 1669, Mary Hannum, born March 5, 1650, the daughter of William and Hannah Hannum, of Northhampton. Their son, John Allen, was born Septem- ber 30, 1670, in Northhampton, Massa- chusetts. It is said that he came from Deer- field to Enfield and located on a farm, which has remained in the Allen family to the present time (1917). He died Novem- ber 3, 1739. On May 3, 1694, he married Bridget Booth, born 1670, daughter of Simeon and Rebecca Booth, who came from Wales and settled in Enfield in 1680. She died September 5, 1714. Their son, Ebenezer Allen, was born February 10, 1711-12, and died June 25, 1795. He mar- ried, February 7, 1750-54, Rebecca, daugh- ter of Samuel and Rebecca (Kibbe) Bart- lett, of Stafford, Connecticut, who was born November 26, 1729, and died Sep- tember 15, 1817. Their son, Captain Sol- omon Allen, was born in Enfield, Septem- ber 16, 1767, and died May 27, 1813. He married (second) January 26, 1797, Lucy
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