USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 5 > Part 39
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4, 1801 ; Orilla, December 8, 1803; Rufus M., December 14, 1812.
Otis Dimock, son of Shubael (3) and Elizabeth (Wright) Dimock, was born August 5, 1791. He married Wealthy Kinne, born August 5, 1790, daughter of Nathan Kinne, and a direct descendant of Henry Kinne, who came from Hol- land to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1651 or earlier. Children : Martial, who mar- ried Jennie Campbell, and had several children; Edwin, who married Jennie Murphy ; Olivia, who became the wife of Lucius Preston, and they were the par- ents of a son, Frank Preston; Lucius, born August 2, 1825; Ira, of whom fur- ther ; Jane, who became the wife of Good- rich Holland, and they were the parents of a daughter, May.
Ira Dimock, son of Otis and Wealthy (Kinne) Dimock, was born in Tolland, Connecticut, January 15, 1827, and died in Hartford, Connecticut, May 10, 1917. The first eight years of his life were spent in Tolland, where he attended the district school, but the remainder of his educa- tion was obtained in the schools of South Willington, whither his parents removed, his father having taken official position in the spool cotton industry of that town. Ira Dimock enjoyed vigorous health in his youth, and when fifteen years of age resolved to close his school days, and "go out to seek his fortune," as he put it, in reviewing the main incidents of his life, at the request of the "Hartford Courant," in January, 1917, which publication de- sired to honor Mr. Dimock on the attain- ment of his ninetieth birthday. "I walked over to Rockville, which was in those days a small village, strung along both sides of the Hockanum, with woods reaching up to the tops of the hills. I went into the old Frank Mill, for which George Lee was agent. That was in 1842, and there I worked at tending carding
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machines, and got $6 a month, and board, which was one dollar more than any other boy got." When eighteen years of age, he was industriously employed at mak- ing knives, in the town of Bristol, and at that time almost succumbed to an attack of typhus fever, which he contracted, pos- sibly, during his faithful nursing of his employer through a severe attack of the disease. Shortly after his recovery, Mr. Dimock went to Northampton, Massa- chusetts, where in partnership with his brother, Lucius Dimock, he ventured into independent business and operated a ma- chine shop there for a number of years. One of their apprentices was George A. Fairfield, who was destined later to rise to prominent place in Hartford engineer- ing circles, as the head of the Hartford Machine Screw Company, and to hold distinguished political and civic offices.
An important chapter in the life of Ira Dimock had its beginning in 1853, fol- lowing a trip to New York City to attend the World's Fair, the first American attempt of its kind, and fashioned after a World's Fair held in the Crystal Pal- ace, London, England, in 1851. Return- ing by boat to Norwich, Mr. Dimock met on the steamer Dwight Campbell, "and the two sat up most of the night discussing a suggestion that they buy out George and Albert Conant, who were running a silk mill in the old Windham county town of Mansfield, Connecticut." The follow- ing day they began negotiations with the Conant Brothers, and in a short period of time became owners of the mill. At the end of the first year of business by the new owners it was discovered that the mill had in that time been operated at a loss to themselves of $5,000, a serious sit- uation, so much so that Mr. Campbell resolved to dispose of his interest without delay, which he did, Mr. Saunders, the bookkeeper at the mill, purchasing his
interest. Mr. Dimock had confidence in the future of the silk business and applied himself determinedly to make his mill yield a satisfactory profit instead of a loss. Under the reconstructed company, many improvements were introduced, and at the end of the second year the bal- ance sheet showed the firm to have made a profit of $8,000. Mr. Dimock proved himself to be a man of great strength of character, and two years later, during the financial panic of 1857, when so many of the leading manufacturing plants of the country became hopelessly involved, the Dimock-Saunders plant continued in operation and, when the financial string- ency passed, went forward to increasing prosperity. In course of time, Mr. Di- mock became interested in the Nonatuck Silk Company, and spent considerable of his time at the plants of that corporation in Northampton and Florence, Massachu- setts, and for many years prior to his death was president of the company, serving in that responsible capacity for more than forty years, and the success of the company was mainly due to his able di- rection of its affairs. At most if the prin- cipal meetings of the silk associations of America, Mr. Dimock was an honored guest at the speakers' table, and his recommendations relating to the silk manufacturing industry were given their rightful place as emanating from the ex- perience of a man of such long and nota- bly successful connection with the indus- try.
Mr. Dimock took great pride in the fact that he was not only a natural me- chanic, but also a skilled one, thoroughly understanding the working of machinery. Apparently this gift was inherited from his forebears, as not only Ira Dimock but his three brothers, Martial, Edwin and Lucius, were also of a natural me- chanical turn, and were well and widely
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known inventors, possessing great skill and ingenuity. Mr. Dimock was also quick to see and appreciate mechanical genius in others, giving every man his due share of merit and praise. Mr. Di- mock was the first man in this country to make spools by automatic machinery, inventing a machine for that purpose, in which a spool was made from the rough timber, sawed out, printed in two colors, and ready for use. Among his many inventions were machines which he used in his own plant, and which added greatly to the betterment of its output and to its economical management. Some years ago, in 1889, when he erected his house at 744 Farmington avenue, Hartford, Con- necticut, to which city he removed in 1877, he established a compressed plant in his barn, stating that he was going to provide his house with a suction clean- ing device, this occurring years before the vacuum cleaner was heard of, which is in universal use at the present time. Mr. Dimock wrote a number of articles on questions of national importance, and of late years particularly on the Mexican problem, his articles being clear and con- cise. He dispensed his charity intelli- gently, among the institutions benefiting by the provisions of his will being the Hartford Hospital, the Hartford Division of the Salvation Army, the Connecticut Temperance Association, and the Hart- ford Charities Organization.
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Mr. Dimock married, November 9, 1872, Lenna Louise Demont. They were the parents of six children: I. Irving, who enlisted in the Federal forces during the Spanish-American War, and died while in active service. 2. Edith L., who became the wife of William J. Glackens, a well-known artist of New York. 3.
Stanley K., at the present time (1917) secretary-treasurer of the Allen Manu- facturing Company of Hartford, and chief
administrator of his father's estate. 4. Arthur, died February 1, 1887. 5. Har- old Edwin, married Ruth Bunner, daugh- ter of the late H. C. Bunner, the writer. 6. Florence Irene, became the wife of Charles Fitz Gerald, of Dublin and New York, a son of the late Dr. Charles Fitz Gerald, at one time president of the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons of Dub- lin, also court physician, and a leading, well-known member of the medical fra- ternity in Europe. Mr. Dimock died April 30, 1917.
Immediately following the death of Mr. Dimock, the directors of the Nonotuck Silk Company adopted the following reso- lution :
Mr. Ira Dimock, one of the founders, and for more than forty years president of this company, died on the Ioth of May last. In his memory, the following resolution is offered to be entered in the records of this company, and a copy of the same to be engrossed and sent to his family:
Whereas, in the Providence of God, Mr. Ira Dimock, our president for the past forty-one years, was removed by death, on the tenth day of May, 1917, whereby this company sustained a great loss.
Resolved, that we, the officers of the Nono- tuck Silk Company, bear testimony to his long and faithful service. He was a man of great business experience, of untiring energy, a wise and safe counselor, a sympathetic and loyal friend. He enjoyed the confidence of all who knew him. His advice was freely sought and always prized by his associates. His sterling integrity ever stood for him as a "tower of strength" in the wide business world that knew him. His active life has been an inspira- tion to us, and to all fortunate enough to enjoy his acquaintance. Those who knew him best honored and loved him most.
LYDALL, Willis James, Manufacturer.
From progenitors who have long been identified with the manufacturing indus- tries of England and America, Mr. Lydall
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imbibed habits of industry which have brought him suitable rewards.
His father, Henry Lydall, was born October 1, 1831, in Leicestershire, Eng- land, son of James and Mary (West) Ly- dall. He was very early acquainted with the labors of the world, and had no educa- tional opportunities at all until nine years of age, when he began learning to read in the Sunday school. His aptitude and studiousness led his employer to see that he received three months schooling in each of two years during his apprentice- ship. At nine years of age he was employed in the Darley Cotton Mills in Derby, and two years later went to the Derby Silk Mills, where he continued to work until fourteen years of age. He then began an apprenticeship to the trade of needle-maker at Sheepshead, Eng- land, for a period of seven years. At first he received no compensation and his par- ents were obliged to pay seven pounds for his placement as an apprentice. After working some time for his board, at last he began to receive small wages. After the completion of his apprenticeship, he worked one year as a journeyman for a distant relative, John Lydall, in making needles. All of the work was then done by hand. At twenty-two years of age, Henry Lydall began making needles on a sinall scale, and after one year went to Nottingham, England, where he received a salary of twenty-two shillings per week making needles for the employees of a knitting mill. Having saved his earn- ings, he decided to embark for America and sailed with his wife and two children on September 5, 1855. After a voyage of five weeks and three days they landed at Castle Garden, New York, whence they proceeded by boat to New Haven and by railroad to New Britain, Connecti- cut, where a brother, Isaac Lydall, was then living. Here he began the manufac-
ture of needles, using the attic of his brother's house as a workship. His busi- ness prospered and he soon removed to a small building in his brother's garden. At the outbreak of the Civil War he had built up a business in New Britain which required the employment of eight men besides himself. The war then in pro- gress in this country engaged his sym- pathies on the side of the Union, and he turned over the management of his busi- ness to a nephew, William Foulds, and enlisted as a soldier of the Union Army, August 6, 1862. He was assigned to Company F, of the Fourteenth Connecti- cut Volunteer Infantry, and was mus- tered in the United States service at Hart- ford. He served until the close of the war, participating in twent; - eight impor- tant battles, among which may be men- tioned the battles of Antietam, Freder- icksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettys- burg. At the battle of Ream's Station, August 25, 1864, he was taken prisoner, but escaped in the following night and again joined his comrades in the Union Army. With the exception of three months, when he was confined in a hos- pital at Alexandria with fever, he con- tinued until the end of the war, and was promoted on November 1, 1863, to the rank of sergeant. Immediately follow- ing the close of hostilities, he returned to New Britain, and in the year 1865 removed to Manchester, Connecticut, where he again engaged on a larger scale than previously in the manufacture of needles. He purchased a small plant which had been fitted with machinery for making needles, thus revolutionizing the business, so that within a few years he was able to produce as many as 50,000 needles per day. He continued this industry until his death, though most of the details of management were turned over to his sons in later years. In 1883
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was established Lydall & Foulds Paper Company, of which he was one of the founders, an establishment which oper- ated two mills in Manchester and still continues in active business. In his later years, Mr. Lydall found occupation and recreation in the care of his farm and peach orchard. He died in Manchester, November 27, 1907.
Mr. Lydall was a man of good natural abilities, which he cultivated by attend- ance at night school, and in other ways as a youth. The ambition which led him to do this naturally caused him to be indus- trious in business, and he gained the reward which comes to honest and faith- ful effort. He was long active in the Methodist Episcopal church, and was ten years chairman of the board of trustees of the local church at Manchester. The only other society with which he was con- nected was Stanley Post, No. II, Grand Army of the Republic, of New Britain. A student of the world's progress, he held broad and advanced views, and after becoming a citizen of the United States acted with the Republican party. Mr. Lydall was married September 4, 1852, at Sheepshead, England, to Lucy Rogers, who was born there July 4, 1831, and died at Manchester, May 28, 1898. They were the parents of the following children : Annie, born August 2, 1853, became the wife of Hiram Oldershaw, of New Bri- tain ; Charles A., May 27, 1855, lived in New Britain ; William H., July 31, 1857, died in boyhood; Walter E., April 15, 1860; Edwin A., June 15, 1862; the lat- ter two are paper manufacturers in Man- chester; and Willis James, of whom fur- ther.
Willis James Lydall was born January 3, 1867, at Lydallville, and grew up in the town of Manchester, attending the public schools, afterward becoming a stu- dent at Hannum Stedman Business Col-
lege of Hartford. Like his honored father, he was prepared for his later busi- ness career by employment in various industries. Immediately after leaving business college, he spent one year in learning the paper manufacturing busi- ness, and for five years he was employed by the Kingsbury Box Company at Ly- dallville, in caring for machines and in the shipping department. He then took charge of the needle shops of Lydall & Foulds in Manchester, and has contin- ued with that establishment to the pres- ent time, becoming ultimately a partner in the business. He is a man of domes- tic taste and has lived a very quite life, surrounded by the best home influences. He is an attendant of the Methodist church, has given very little attention to public affairs, and shuns the strife of politics.
Mr. Lydall married, in East Hartford, November 26, 1891, Amarette Gibbs, daughter of George S. Gibbs, and they are the parents of three daughters : Bea- trice Lucy, born May 31, 1893, employed as private secretary by the manager of Sage-Allen & Company, extensive mer- chants of Hartford, where she is rated among the most faithful and valuable employees; Bernice Charlotte, born Au- gust 10, 1894, is a skilled organist, teacher of the piano and fond of outdoor sports, being a skilled automobile driver; Irene Amarette, born April 15, 1900, soprano soloist at the North Methodist Church, Manchester.
BEERS, William E.,
Business Man.
The Beers family appears to have orig- inated in the parish of Westcliffe, County Kent. England, at a place called Bere's or Byer's Court. William de Bere, of Bere's Court, was bailiff of Dover about
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1275, and Nicholas de Bere held the manor of Bere's Court in the twentieth year of Henry III. Of this same family was Roger Bere, who died in the reign of Queen Mary, and whose son John, in 1542, purchased the Horsman place in Dartford, said to have been a mansion of some note. In his will, 1572, this John Bere founded four almshouses in Dart- ford and devised his mansion to his son Henry. His grandson Edward died un- married in 1627, bequeathing Horsman place to John Twistleton, of Drax.
Martin de Bere, the first of the family to whom an unbroken line is traced from the American pioneer, lived at Rochester, County Kent, in 1486; married a daugh- ter of Thomas Nyssell, of Wrotham, and had a son John.
John Beers, son of Martin de Bere, married Faith, daughter of John Royden, Esq., and had James, mentioned below, and Mary.
James Beers, son of John Beers, mar- ried Dorothy, daughter of John Kings- wood, of Rochester. Sons: John and James.
John Beers, son of James Beers, of Gravesend, married Mary, daughter of Robert Selby, of Yorkshire. Children : John; Samuel; Richard, born 1607, came to America in 1635 and settled in Water- town, Massachusetts, captain of a com- pany in the Pequot War, killed by In- dians in 1675; James, mentioned below ; Mary.
James Beers, son of John Beers, of Gravesend, was a mariner, married Hes- ter, who died in 1635. He died before 1635. Children : I. Anthony, born at Gravesend, came to America in 1635 with his Uncle Richard, lived at Watertown, Roxbury, and in 1658 removed to Fair- field, Connecticut ; lost at sea in 1676. 2. James, also came to Fairfield, 1657; was in Greenfield in 1661 ; died 1694; ancestor of many of the Beers of Connecticut.
Eliphalet Beers, a descendant in a later generation of James Beers, mentioned above, belonged to the Chatham, Con- necticut, branch. He was a farmer dur- ing his active life in Chatham. His last years were spent in the family of his daughter. He married Arminda Brown. Children: Janette, J. Leander, William Edward.
William Edward Beers, son of Elipha- let Beers, was born in Chatham, in 1840, and died in New Britain in 1886. He attended the schools of his native town; was a brass founder; a member of sev- eral fraternal bodies. He married (first) Hannah Jane Hart, daughter of William Hart, of New Britain (see Hart). She died in June, 1874. He married (sec- ond) Jane Gladwin, of Guilford, who died in 1914, the mother of one child, H. Edna.
William Edward Beers, son of William Edward and Hannah Jane (Hart) Beers, 'was born in New Britain, April 5, 1872. He attended the schools of his native town, was secretary of the City Coal & Wood Company twelve of the seventeen years of his association with that cor- poration. After six years with the Amer- ican Hardware Corporation, he organized the Morgan & Beers Piano Company, Inc., of Hartford, of which he is secretary and treasurer. He is a thirty-second de- gree Mason, a member of the A. U. A. M., a past exalted ruler and chairman of the board of trustees of New Britain lodge of Elks, is a major of the Putnam Phalanx, and a member of many clubs.
Mr. Beers married Nellie L. Corbin, daughter of Hon. Philip Corbin, of New Britain (see Corbin). They have one daughter, Francina Corbin, born March 12, 1897, married Raymond Adams Burr, of Hartford.
(The Hart Line).
Deacon Stephen Hart, the immigrant ancestor, was born about 1605 at Brain-
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tree, County Essex, England, and came to this country about 1632. He was a pro- prietor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1633, and was admitted a freeman, May 14, 1634. In 1635 he sold his Cambridge property and removed to Hartford with Rev. Mr. Hooker's company and was one of the founders of that town. His house lot was on the west side of what is now Front street, near Morgan street. He is said to have been one of a hunting party that discovered the site of Farm- ington, of which he became one of the original proprietors in 1672. He was deputy to the General Court in 1647, and for fifteen sessions. In 1653 he was a commissioner for the town of Farming- ton to aid in impressing men for the army. He was first deacon of the Farm- ington church and one of the seven pil- lars, as the founders were called. His house lot, one of the largest in the town, was on the west side of Main street, oppo- site the meeting house. This large lot, containing fifteen acres, was given him as an inducement to erect a mill. His will was dated March 16, 1682. He died in March, 1682-83. His second wife was Margaret, widow of Arthur Smith. She died in 1693. Children by first wife: Sarah, John, Stephen, mentioned below; Mehitable, Thomas.
Stephen Hart, son of Stephen Hart, was born in Braintree, England, and settled with his father in Farmington. His house was east of the meeting house opposite John Hooker's. He was made a freeman in May, 1654; died in 1689. Children : Stephen, mentioned below; Thomas, born 1666; John, 1669; Samuel, 1672; Sarah, 1675; Anna, 1678; Mary, 1682.
Stephen Hart, son of Stephen Hart, was born in Farmington, in 1662; mar- ried, December 28, 1689, Sarah Cowles, daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Stan- ley) Cowles. She was born December 25,
1668, at Tunxis, and was admitted to the Farmington church, February 2, 1691-92. His will was dated September 3, 1728, be- queathing to his wife and children. He died August 18, 1733. Children: Sarah, born October 16, 1692; Anna, August 18, 1695; Stephen, March 7, 1698; Abigail, February 25, 1702; Timothy, August 31, 1705; Daniel, mentioned below.
Daniel Hart, son of Stephen Hart, was born March 20, 1707-08; married (first) July 18, 1734, Abigail Thompson, born September 3, 1710, died December 7, 1760, daughter of Thomas and Abigail (Wood- ruff) Thompson. His home was at the north end of Stanley street, at the foot of Clark Hill, New Britain. He married (second) May 21, 1761, Comfort (Kelsey) Stephens, widow of Benjamin Stephens, and daughter of - - Kelsey. Children by first wife: Eldad, born June 6, 1735, died young; Eldad, March 22, 1737; Stephen, March 5, 1739-40, died young ; Stephen, mentioned below.
Stephen Hart, son of Daniel Hart, was born in New Britain, December 8, 1744, died November 20, 1816. He lived in Stanley Quarter at the foot of Clark Hill, inheriting the homestead, one of three farms owned by his father. He married, October 8, 1767, Rhoda Stedman, daugh- ter of Charles and Jemima (Gaines) Sted- man, of Wethersfield. She died March 26, 1832. Children: Ebenezer, born Febru- ary 8, 1769; Mary, June 25, 1770; Chris- tina, October 22, 1773; Stephen, men- tioned below; Nancy, January 2, 1789.
Stephen Hart, son of Stephen Hart, was born in New Britain, October 21, 1775 ; married, June 25, 1796, Sall White, daughter of Ezra and Lucy (Stanliff) White, of Chatham. Stephen Hart had the homestead and followed farming. He died December 9, 1816. His widow died at the home of her son Philip, September 6, 1859, aged eighty-four years. Children :
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Stephen, born February 19, 1798; Ed- mund, April 23, 1799; George, March 16, 1801, owner of various stage, express and freight lines; Emily, March 15, 1804; Philip, June 25, 1805; William, men- tioned below; Henry, 1811; Ebenezer, July 31, 1814.
William Hart, son of Stephen Hart, was born in New Britain, October 12, 1808. He married (first) July 28, 1830, Rhoda Judd, daughter of Daniel and Hannah (Bartholomew) Judd. She was born November 4, 1809, and died Septem- ber 2, 1856. He married (second) May 26, 1857, Laura Jane Gladden, born Janu- ary 7, 1809, daughter of Reuben and Sarah (Hotchkiss) Gladden. He was a brass founder. He was deacon of the Baptist church and a prominent citizen. Children by first wife: Henry William, born February 10, 1832, married, October 14, 1862, Elizabeth Black; Francis, May 25, 1834, married, May 4, 1867, Hattie Andrews; Jane, April 22, 1836, married, May 19, 1859, Leonard Orters; Hannah Jane, February I, 1840, married, March 4, 1868, William E. Beers (see Beers), died in June, 1874; William Delos, September 30, 1844, killed in the Civil War; Helen Grace, March 3, 1846, married, Novem- ber 20, 1866, William S. Judd.
FENN, Edward Hart, Journalist, Legislator.
Mr. Fenn is descended from several of the oldest American families, and exem- plifies in marked degree the worthy qual- ities of the New England pioneers. The name is ancient in England, derived from a locality, and is often spelled Fen in the early records.
The first in this country was Benja- min Fenn, born 1612, who came from the parish of Whittington, Musworth, Eng- land, about 1630, to Dorchester, Massa- chusetts, where he was one of the pro-
prietors in 1637. He removed to Milford, Connecticut, then to New Haven, where he was a magistrate, representative to the General Assembly in 1653, assistant from 1665 to 1672, and died in the latter year. He left a large estate in this country and in County Bucks, England, the latter inherited by his son Samuel. He mar- ried, March 12, 1664, Susannah Ward, who made her will, September 9, 1674, when about to embark for England, where she probably died, as the inven- tory of her estate was filed in November, 1676. Among the beneficiaries of her will was her mother, Susannah Ward, of Buckley, County Worcester, England, a parish on the border of Herefordshire.
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