USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 5 > Part 49
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founders of the Middlesex Hospital at Middletown. He was secretary of the Corporation from 1895 to 1907, and is still a director of the institution. Under Gov- ernor Coffin he served as examiner in lunacy, and under Governor Roberts he served as a member of the commission to establish the State Epileptic Colony at Mansfield. He is a member (and presi- dent, 1910-1911) of the Connecticut State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the American Neurological Association, the Alumni Association of the New York Hospital, the New York Neurological Society, the New York Academy of Medicine, the Harvey So- ciety of New York, the Boston Society of Psychistry and Neurology, and the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science. He has twice served as delegate of the Connecticut State Medi- cal Society to the International Medical Congresses held in Buda-Pesth in 1909 and in London in 1913. In 1917 he was elected a trustee of Wesleyan University. For many years Dr. Hallock has been a director of the Cromwell Dime Savings Bank. He was elected president of that bank in 1903, but resigned in 1907 to respond more fully to the pressure of pro- fessional duties. He is president of the Cromwell Cemetery Association, and president of the Belden Library of Crom- well. For seventeen years he served on the Cromwell School Board, first as sec- retary and then as chairman. He is a member of the Middletown Club, the Mid- dletown University Club, the Conversa- tional Club, the Middletown Yacht Club, the Highland Country Club, and Middle- sex County Historical Society, all of Mid- dletown, and of the Psi Upsilon Club of New York and the Graduates' Club of New Haven. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a thirty-second degree Ma- son, K. T. and A. A. O. O. S., and Con-
necticut Grange. In politics he is a Re- publican.
Dr. Hallock married, May 7, 1890, Kate Camp Avery, of Boston, Massachusetts. The children of this union were all born in Cromwell: Winthrop Avery, January 13, 1891; Abraham Avery, March 18, 1892; Mary, February 10, 1898; Leonard Avery, January 2, 1900; Elizabeth, July 18, 1901.
Mrs. Frank K. Hallock comes of an old Connecticut family, the Averys, of Gro- ton. She was born in Boston, September 22, 1861, and is the daughter of the late Abraham Avery 4th, of Boston, and Mar- garet Cook (Camp) Avery. Abraham Avery 4th was a direct descendant of Christopher, Captain James, Thomas, Abraham Ist, Abraham 2d, and Abraham 3d. Christopher Avery came from Ipple- pen, Devonshire, England, about 1640, and settled in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Later he removed to New London and Groton, Connecticut. Abraham Avery 4th was a partner in the well-known pub- lishing house of Rand & Avery, of Bos- ton, Massachusetts.
On her mother's side Mrs. Hallock is descended from two other Connecticut families, the Camps and Cooks, of Dur- ham and Wallingford. Her maternal grandfather was William Smithson Camp, for many years a prominent business man and banker of Middletown, Connecticut.
Susan Clarke Hallock, the associate of her brother in conducting Cromwell Hall, was born in Middletown, Connecticut, April 21, 1869. She married, September 6, 1893, William Powell Couch, of Du- buque, Iowa, who is the business man- ager of Cromwell Hall. He is son of Wil- liam S. and Eliza Ann (Powell) Couch, of Cornwall and Bristol, England. There were three children born to them: Ed- ward Seguin, January 24, 1895; William
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Powell, died in infancy ; and Frank Hal- lock, April 16, 1904.
Cromwell Hall, the creation of Drs. Winthrop B. and Frank K. Hallock, merits a passing notice not only on this account, but also because of its reputation and unique character among the institu- tions of Connecticut. It was founded in 1877, and is located on Prospect Hill in Cromwell, Middlesex county, Connecti- cut. The property occupied by the insti- tution is of local historical interest as being the home, after 1807, of Captain James Riley, author of the once famous book "Riley's Narrative." The site is noted for commanding extensive views of the Connecticut river valley, and pro- nounced by the elder President Adams in a journey through this region in 1771 as one of the most beautiful in his travels. The village of Cromwell is situated twelve miles below Hartford, and up to 1851 was a part of the town of Middletown.
The buildings provide accommodations for thirty-five patients, and consist of the original Octogon, or Hall, the East and West Cottages, the Dormitory, three Bungalows and seven cabins on the Hill. The Dormitory and Bungalows are the most perfectly appointed buildings of their kind and they represent the sub- stantial aid and interest of graduate pati- ents.
The institution is provided with all practical arrangements and detail of equipment common to the larger sana- torium, and offers in addition the advan- tage of individualized medical attention under more natural and favorable sur- roundings. A very distinct effort is made to maintain a wholesome, home-like at- mosphere. In order to attain this end and preserve harmony, patients with notice- able depression or any disturbing char- acteristics cannot be received.
Also, it is not a sanatorium in the sense
that is usually meant by this term. The same medical and hygienic methods are employed, but its scope is wider than this. Two features tend to differentiate Crom- well Hall from a simple sanatorium : One is the specially developed out-of-door sys- tem of living, comparable to certain of the nature-cures and health-resorts of Continental Europe; the other is the edu- cational method of treatment. This lat- ter feature makes the name of "Health School" not at all inappropriate.
For the last seventeen years Cromwell Hall has conducted a training school for nurses, with a two years' course in the care and treatment of nervous and gen- eral invalidism. Since the death of Dr. Hallock, Sr., in 1898, the institution has been under the management of Dr. Frank K. Hallock and his sister and brother- in-law, Mr. and Mrs. William P. Couch. It was incorporated in 1908 with a capi- tal of $100,000, one-half preferred and one-half common stock. The preferred stock was purchased by grateful patients who had been successfully treated at this institution, a high tribute to its worth. The Prospect Hill Property consists of fifteen acres, and the estate now includes real estate and other valuable property adjoining the original grounds amount- ing in all to sixty acres. In the medical work of the Health School, over twenty persons are employed as nurses and de- partment heads, and a similar number of employees are required to maintain and conduct the business of the institution.
BURNELL, Calvin Jones, Manufacturer.
One of the most prominent of the suc- cessful business men of Hartford, Calvin Jones Burnell, was born January 15, 1835, in Chesterfield, Massachusetts, son of Francis and Sarah (Russell) Burnell.
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The Burnell family seems to be an an- cient one in England, including Barons of the twelfth century, and introduced in England by William the Conqueror in 1066. The name was originally de Bur- nel, and like all names of Norman origin has been modified by the omission of the prefix. Sir Roger de Burnel owned lands in Suffolk, Shropshire, and one of his worthy descendants built a castle on the banks of the Severn, still known as Acton- Burnel Castle. In England the name is usually spelled with one "1," and accented on the first syllable, but after its arrival in this country the unlettered clerks of early New England gave it multitudes of terminations, among them Burnal, Bur- nul, Burnull, Burnet, and Burnap. Wil- liam Burnell, of Yorkshire, was a mem- ber of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629, and attended one of its meetings in London in that year. He was soon after in Boston, whither he came tbout 1630, and in 1645 a ship load of goods was con- signed by the Massachusetts Bay Com- pany to "Goodman William Burnell." He was the owner of a lot in the old north end of Boston, opposite Copps Hill Bury- ing Ground, in which cemetery he is bur- ied and where many of his descendants were interred. He died in 1660. He owned a farm at Pulling's Point, and his home was on Lot No. 52, North Square. His first wife, Mary, died November 16, 1645.
Their son, John Burnell, born October 2, 1643, was baptized March 2, 1644, in the old North Church, of which his par- ents were members, and lived in Boston, uniting with the Congregational church of which his wife, Esther, was also a member.
Their son, Robert Burnell, born about 1665, appears in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1690. The records of that town show the death of his wife, Kathern, September 9,
1693. He married (second) February 2, 1694. Sarah Chillson, born August 4, 1673, in Lynn, died there August 13, 1731, daughter of John and Sarah (Jenkes) Chillson.
Their eldest child, John Burnell, born November 1, 1696, in Lynn, lived at Dud- ley, Massachusetts, where he died in 1744, and was buried there. In Dudley rec- ords the name is spelled Burnul and Bur- null. He married Mehitable Edmonds, in Lynn, who died February 15, 1769, in Dudley, daughter of John Edmonds, of Lynn. Their first three children were recorded in that town, and they removed to Dudley soon after 1722. The records of that town record none of their chil- dren, but the family records establish the birth of their son, Joseph Burnell.
Joseph Burnell was born December 19, 1725, in Dudley. In 1760 he purchased some three hundred acres of land in Ches- terfield, Massachusetts, upon which lay a sheet of water with water power and much timber, including sugar maples. He erected two mills, one for sawing lumber and the other for grinding grain, and also engaged in grinding salt. He died there September 23, 1807, in his eighty-second year. He married (intentions published in Dudley, January 20, 1749) in Dudley, Hannah Tucker, of. Pomfret, Connecticut. They were the parents of Joseph Burnell.
Joseph Burnell was born December 13, 1756, in Dudley, and lived in Chesterfield. He was a skilled artificer and rendered valuable service to the colonies in the Revolutionary War. He was a corporal in Captain Benjamin Bonney's Com- pany, Colonel Elisha Porter's (Hamp- shire county) regiment from July 21 to August 27, 1779, served at New London, roll dated Chesterfield. He was the father of Francis Burnell, who married Sarah Russell.
Calvin Jones Burnell, their son, was
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born January 15, 1835, at Chesterfield. He attended the district schools of his native town, and subsequently was a stu- dent at a private school preparatory to his entrance to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was ap- pointed to the latter by Judge Rockwell, who at that time was a member of Con- gress from Western Massachusetts. His plans to enter West Point did not mater- ialize, however, as he was induced by an elder brother to enter into business with him in the manufacture of woolens. In order to prepare himself for this line of work, he was employed at the Pontoosic Woolen Mills of Pittsfield, Massachu- setts. Upon the completion of the mill operated by his brother he assumed charge of the weaving department, which position he held until 1855. In the latter year he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to accept an offer from the Bank of Mil- waukee as general bookkeeper. He re- mained there for three years and was assistant cashier at the time of his resig- nation. He had planned to return to the East that year, but upon being offered the position of cashier of the Bank of St. Paul, in St. Paul, Minnesota, he removed there in November, 1858, remaining until serious illness in his family made it neces- sary for him to return East, in April, 1860. The following year, Mr. Burnell removed to Hartford and acquired a position with the firm of Beach & Company as succes- sor to John C. Coffing. Mr. Burnell was identified with this company until his retirement from active business in 1917. They were dealers in dye stuffs, and upon the death of Charles M. Beach, the business was sold to the National Ani- line and Chemical Company with Mr. Burnell as company manager with Mr. H. S. Bidwell. At the same time Mr. Burnell served as secretary and assistant treasurer of the Broad Brook Woolen
Company, continuing as such for a num- ber of years. A member of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church of Hartford since its organization, he maintained an active part in all of its affairs. He was clerk of the meeting which called the first pastor, and served as assistant superin- tendent of the Sunday school for many years, also as superintendent of the home department. His death occurred March 10, 1918, after having been a resident of this city for almost half a century, one of its valued and worthy citizens.
Mr. Burnell married, October 21, 1858, Harriet M. Johnson, of Lenox, Massachu- setts, and they were the parents of the following children: I. Florence Agnes, wife of Dr. Nelson J. Goodwin, of Hart- ford. 2. Elizabeth R., who lives in Hart- ford. 3. Alice Gardner, wife of Luke V. Lockwood, of New York City. 4. Har- riet Johnson, wife of George T. Kendall, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. 5. Francis C., a resident of New York City.
BRACE, Thomas Kimberly,
Public Servant, Insurance Founder.
The late Thomas Kimberly Brace was among the most active citizens of Hart- ford and justified in his career the expec- tations naturally held regarding one de- scended from a most worthy ancestry.
The founder of the family in this coun- try was Steven Brace, a hatter, who came from London, England, and was in Hart- ford about 1660. In 1673 his home was on Lot No. 13, Charter street, and he died in 1692. His son, John Brace, born in 1677, in Hartford, had three sons, Jona- than, Elisha and Joseph. The eldest of these, Lieutenant Jonathan Brace, settled in 1740 in Harwinton, Litchfield county, Connecticut. He married Mary Messen- ger, of Hartford, and had five sons and five daughters. Among these was Jona-
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than Brace, born November 12, 1754, in Harwinton, and graduated from Yale in the class of 1779. While at Yale he pur- sued the study of law, and after gradua- tion removed to Central Vermont where he began the practice of his profession and attained a considerable success within a short time. Returning to Hart- ford in 1794, he made his home in Glas- tonbury, and was one of the most widely known citizens of Connecticut in his time. He married, April 15, 1778, Ann, widow of Thomas Kimberly, of Glaston- bury.
Thomas Kimberly Brace, son of Jona- than and Ann (Kimberly) Brace, was born October 16, 1779. He completed his education at Yale College, graduating in 1801. Very early in life he was engaged in the public service ; filled various posi- tions in the city government and from 1840 to 1843 was mayor of the city of Hartford. He was twice nominated for Congress, first in 1843, when he was can- didate on the Whig ticket, his party being in the ininority he was defeated. He was subsequently again nominated, but declined in favor of James Dixon, who was elected. Mr. Brace engaged exten- sively in business and built up the whole- sale grocery house of Thomas K. Brace & Company. He belonged to the class of men to whom others naturally turned for guidance. He was possessed of great executive ability, with a wide grasp of affairs and events, and his sound judg- ment made him always a safe counselor. Through his influence and exertions, the Ætna Insurance Company was brought into existence, and he served as its first president until 1857, when the infirmities of age led to his resignation. He died June 14, 1860, in his eight-first year.
Mr. Brace married. August 25, 1807, Lucy Mather, and they were the par- ents of several children. One of these,
Thomas Kimberly Brace, Jr., born Octo- ber 14, 1825, in Hartford, was a resident of Litchfield county. He married, Janu- ary 18, 1853, Mary Jane Buel, daughter of Samuel and Minerva (Wadhams) Buel. Their daughter, Lucy Mather Brace, became the wife of Joshua Wilson Allen, of Hartford (see Allen).
ALLEN, John,
Business Man.
The name of Allen is very frequently met in the United States, and it is also represented by many distinct families. It was brought to this country by several immigrants, and members of these fami- lies have proved themselves worthy and desirable citizens in the communities in which they have lived.
Joshua Allen, the immigrant of the family herein traced, was born in Lon- donderry, County Donegal, Ireland, son of Robert and Margaret (Russell) Allen, in the year 1787. His father was one of the most prominent and influential citi- zens of Londonderry, where he was engaged in farming on an extensive scale. His mother, Margaret (Russell) Allen, lived to be ninety-two years of age, and was a descendant of an old and honorable family, connected with that of Lord John Russell. As was the custom in that coun- try at that time, Joshua Allen inherited the paternal homestead upon the death of his father by virtue of the fact that he was the eldest son. He continued to carry on the tilling of the farm until 1825, the year in which his first wife, who was Margaret Scott, died. At that time he came to America and located first in New York City. Remaining there for seven years, he removed to Hartford, Connecti- cut, in order to find a better location to engage in his agricultural calling. He purchased a large tract of land west of
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Washington street, a section which is now very thickly populated. Through his diligent and persistent industry, Mr. Al- len became very successful in his under- takings and held a prominent place in the civic affairs of Hartford. He believed that the secret of success lay in the vir- tues-promptness, square dealing, indus- try and temperance. He was an active advocate, especially of the latter quali- fication, and would have no one in his employ who was addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors. In political faith he was an ardent adherent of the principles of the Republican party, ever ready to do his utmost share in promoting those prin- ciples. Until his death, which occurred in 1868, he was a regular attendant of the Center Church of Hartford. For his second wife, Mr. Allen married, in New York City, Nancy Knox, daughter of Samuel Knox, and a direct descendant of the reformer, John Knox. The family is from Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland, and one of the brothers of Samuel Knox is believed to have been the founder of the city of Knoxville, Tennessee. Mrs. Nancy (Knox) Allen survived her hus- band but a few months, and died in 1868. They were the parents of five children : Samuel, John, Robert, Mary and Nancy. Mary became the wife of John Scott Hunter (see Hunter).
John Allen, the second son, was born February 6, 1831, in New York City, and was only one year old when his parents removed to Hartford. He was educated in the latter city, and after graduating from school became associated in busi- ness with his father. The city of Hart- ford was rapidly growing to such an extent that the farming land of the Allen estate was becoming valuable from a building standpoint. Consequently Mr. Allen became interested in real estate and was instrumental in opening up a num-
ber of streets. At that time the buildings of Trinity College were located in what is now Bushnell Park, and it was found desirable to have it removed to the pres- ent location on Summit street. As Mr. Allen was keenly alive to all measures which would better general conditions, he generously donated the sum of five thou- sand dollars towards the carrying out of this plan. He exerted a wide influence in civic matters, and as a believer in the principles of the Republican party was most active in working for its interests. For several years he served as a mem- ber of the Common Council, and also as police and water commissioner. In all of these public offices he devoted his best energies to performing the duties of the positions in the best possible manner, winning the admiration of his fellow-citi- zens. In religious convictions, Mr. Allen was a valued member of the Center Con- gregational Church of Hartford, and here also he proved his worth as a true citizen in performing his share of committee work and serving as deacon for many years. Mr. Allen was a trustee of the Hartford Theological Seminary for over fifteen years, and when the Case Memor- ial Library was erected was chairman of the executive committee; in the year 1896 he served as treasurer of the semin- ary. He died in Hartford, June 6, 1909. In 1860, he was married to Mary Bonner, a daughter of Andrew Bonner, a native of Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. Allen were the parents of the following children : Mary Ann, who lived to the age of twelve; Joshua Wilson, of whom further; Isa- bella Jane, who died at the age of two years; and Alice Margaret, who became the wife of I. K. Hamilton, Jr., now a resident of Hartford.
Joshua Wilson Allen, second child of John and Mary (Bonner) Allen, was born March 2, 1864, in Hartford. He received
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his elementary education in the public and high schools of that city, where he prepared for entrance to Yale University. He was graduated from the latter insti- tution in the class of 1888 with the degree of A. B. He was a member of the Center Church of Hartford. He became regis- trar of the Hartford Theological Seniin- ary, and held the office of treasurer of that institution at the time of his death, which occurred October 7, 1897. Politi- cally, a Republican, he was a friend of good government, and was nominated for member of the Hartford City Coun- cil. Mr. Allen married, in 1891, Lucy Mather Brace, a daughter of Thomas Kimberly and Mary J. (Buel) Brace, of Hartford (see Brace).
HUNTER, John Scott, Manufacturer.
Prominent among the progressive men of Hartford county, John Scott Hunter was for many years connected in an offi- cial capacity with the Terry Steam Tur- bine Company, the largest concern of its kind in New England. Mr. Hunter also built the largest pumping engine in the world, which was installed in 1873 for the St. Louis Water Works. He was born June 14, 1834, in Manchester, Con- necticut, and died May 6, 1918, in Hart- ford, the son of James and Elizabeth (Scott) Hunter.
As a boy, John S. Hunter attended school in Rockville and in Pennsylvania. Upon completing his schooling he appren- ticed himself with the firm of Woodruff & Beach, of Hartford, to learn mechanical engineering. Subsequently he was placed in charge of the Hartford pumping works, a position he filled to the satisfaction of his employers for twelve years. Taking as partner a man named Sanford, Mr. Hunter engaged in business on his own
account and opened a machinist's shop on Commerce street, where for seven years he conducted a large and flourishing busi- ness. This was succeeded by the organ- ization of the Hartford Foundry & Ma- chine Company, of which Mr. Hunter was president. It was during this time that he built the pump referred to above. He removed to New York City, where for a time he was engaged in city work, erecting steam pumps, and was associated with the well-known Henry R. Worthing- ton Company. Upon his return to Hart- ford he became secretary of the Terry Steam Turbine Company, an office which he filled in a most capable manner until his death.
Through his connection with the work pertaining to the city's water department, Mr. Hunter was always actively inter- ested in all matters of a municipal nature, and in 1870 was appointed a member of the Board of Water Commissioners, serv- ing for three years. In 1894 he was re- appointed and was president of the board from 1895 to 1899. In 1904 he was appointed fire commissioner and served until 1907. Mr. Hunter was a member of the Society of Mechanical Engineers, and fraternally was affiliated with St. John's Lodge, No. 4, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
Mr. Hunter married (first) Hattie B. Boardman. He married (second), April 29, 1873, Mary, daughter of Joshua and Nancy (Knox) Allen. She died March 13. 1910 (see Allen). By his second mar- riage Mr. Hunter was the father of two sons : Charles A., of further mention, and George S. Hunter.
HUNTER, Charles Allen,
Banker.
Through his own initiative and deter- mination to succeed, Charles Allen
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Hunter, assistant treasurer of the Hart- ford Trust Company, has risen to the po- sition which he now occupies.
He was born March 8, 1874, in Hart- ford, son of John Scott and Mary (Allen) Hunter, and his entire life has been spent there. He prepared for entrance to Phil- lips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, at the old "South" School, now the Chauncey Harris School. He is also a graduate of the Military Academy at Cheshire. Upon completing the courses at these institutions, he entered the em- ploy of the Hartford Trust Company, as messenger, and has faithfully worked his way upward to his present office of assist- ant treasurer. Mr. Hunter occupies a high place in the esteem of his fellow- citizens and is prominent in the city's affairs. At the organization of the City Club, he was chosen as its first treasurer. He has also served in that office for the Hartford Dispensary, and holds the office of auditor with that institution at the present time. He is a member of the Hartford Golf Club, and finds his recrea- tion in outdoor life.
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