USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 7 > Part 21
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of Mr. Backes in all its phases is an honorable and manly one, and he is dis- tinguished for his high-minded integrity, sagacity, and generosity, which qualities are richly blended and developed in him. His fraternal affiliations are with the Ma- sonic order. He is a member of Lafay- ette Lodge, No. 100, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Washington Com- mandery, No. I, Knights Templar; Con- necticut Consistory of Norwich ; Sphinx Temple of Hartford. Mr. Backes is also a member of the Hartford City Club and of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce.
On September 21, 1877, Mr. Backes mar- ried Marie, daughter of Anton Schwarz, born in Sweibrücken, and she died De- cember 7, 1914. Mrs. Backes was a true helpmeet to her husband throughout the years he was striving to attain success. She was ever ready with encouraging words to cheer him when clouds over- shadowed, and her optimism and wifely counsel proved a bulwark against the dis- couragements and trials which beset him. Mr. and Mrs. Backes were the parents of three children: I. William J., graduated from Sheffield Scientific School, 1899, is now chief of the maintenance department of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company; he married Elsie Goer, and is the father of four children : Edward, now a student in Pennsylvania Military College, Chester, Pennsylvania ; Frederick, Helen and Gertrude. 2. May C., educated at Simmons College, Boston ; married Karl Peiler, mother of a daugh- ter, Louise Peiler. 3. Mrs. Helen B. Stearns, educated at Vassar, mother of a son, Putnam Stearns.
Mr. Backes and his family were active members of Emmanuel Congregational Church, and to its charities and worthy causes he has always been a cheerful and generous contributor. Courteous and un- assuming as a man, with a quiet de-
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meanor, Mr. Backes possesses the char- acter which draws to him and sincerely holds a host of friends. He enjoys well- earned respect and esteem.
DOWD, Bernard Joseph,
Manufacturing Executive.
The secret of the success attained by Bernard Joseph Dowd, factory superin- tendent of the Royal Typewriter Com- pany of Hartford, might be summed up in the one word, preparedness. Throughout his boyhood, his youth and his early man- hood, he spared no pains nor toil in equip- ping and arming himself so as to be ready for opportunity. He was never satisfied with a superficial knowledge of any sub- ject which he studied, and this quality of thoroughness has made him a master of detail. Mr. Dowd early discovered the wisdom of the words of Abraham Lin- coln when he said: "I will study and prepare myself to be ready when my time comes."
Mr. Dowd was born April 15, 1883, in County Cavan, Ireland, son of Hugh P. and Catherine (Smith) Dowd, and was but a child when brought by his parents to America. He attended St. Peter's Parochial School and the Hartford High School. Before completing high school he entered upon a career in the business world which has been one of signal suc- cess. His first position was in the draft- ing room of the Hartford Cycle Company. That was in the year 1898, and for seven- teen years he systematically continued the work of preparation at evening schools, Evening High School, the Hillyer Insti- tute and private tuition. Ambitious and alert, he found it no difficult task to sacrifice pleasure in order to center his energies on his work and study. Courses in mechanical drawing, mathe- matics, French, chemistry, physics, me-
chanical engineering, business manage- ment, rhetoric and public speaking, were the principal subjects taken up by Mr. Dowd. As his abilities increased, he sought wider scope for their development, and was successively employed by the Sterling Blower Company, the Electric Vehicle Company, the Underwood Type- writer Company of Hartford, and the P. & F. Corbin Company of New Britain. His vigor and mental acquirements soon brought him reward, and in 1907 he entered the employ of the Royal Type- writer Company, in Brooklyn, New York, as a typewriter designer. His progress was steady, first as an assistant, and in 1911 he was made chief draftsman, and was beginning to reap the advantages of his years of earnest and searching study. In 1916 Mr. Dowd was promoted to the position of supervisor of planning at the Hartford plant of the Royal Typewriter Company, and two years later to the posi- tion he now holds, factory superintendent, and in this office he has proved himself an excellent executive. Mr. Dowd is a member of the American Society of Me- chanical Engineers.
DeBARTHE, Albert Winfield,
Business Man.
Of our sister nations who have given us of their sturdiest blood, one has recently held the attention of all the world, in her devastation by ruthless hands. As never before France has come to be honored and admired in her bitter sorrow. And to every American citizen has come an added respect for those among their fel- lows who trace their origin back to sunny France. Those qualities which have made the sons of France gallant soldiers, un- daunted in defeat and magnanimous in victory, have made them citizens who have upheld the honor and forwarded the
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principles of our Nation. It is with a sense of sincere, if solemn, gratification that we record here, in honor of his mem- ory, the story of the life of Albert Win- field DeBarthe, whose ancestors came to us from the shores of France.
The name of DeBarthe is derived from the place of residence of the original founder of the family, Barthe. It is thus that many surnames were given, when their use became general, as a means of distinguishing between different men bearing the same Christian name. Ac- cording to tradition, there were two brothers who came from Bordeau, France : Joseph and Peter, sons of Peter DeBarthe. One of these sons, Joseph, settled in Western Connecticut, and for many years was a resident of Bristol.
Peter DeBarthe (second) was born in Pennsylvania. He was educated in the district schools, and learned the trade of cigar maker in Philadelphia. He followed this trade all his life. He came to Suf- field, Connecticut, a few years before his son, Albert W., was born and worked there as a journeyman cigar maker. He then went to Westfield, Massachusetts, where he went into business for himself, manufacturing a fine quality of cigars, and doing a wholesale and retail business, which at that time was quite an impor- tant business in this line for that section. About 1874 he came to Hartford and established himself in business there. He was one of the earliest cigar manufac- turers of Hartford, having seen the ad- vantage of building up a manufacturing establishment near the source of supply. This was at a time when the tobacco growers of the Connecticut River Valley were expanding their operations, and broadening the fields which now extend for miles up and down the fertile valley. Peter DeBarthe was connected by mar- riage with the family of Robert Fulton,
the inventor of steamboats. Mr. De- Barthe died shortly before the advent of the twentieth century. His wife, Phil- ena, was a daughter of Henry Barnes, of Philadelphia, who was a native of Scot- land. Peter DeBarthe and his wife had several children, of whom the following grew to maturity : Peter, now deceased ; William, now deceased; Emerson, a resi- dent of the State of Washington ; Albert Winfield; Ada, wife of John B. Knox, secretary of the Phoenix Fire Insurance Company of Hartford.
Albert Winfield DeBarthe was born in West Suffield, Connecticut, April 2, 1861, and died in Wethersfield, May 7, 1917. He was educated in the public schools of Hartford, and learned the trade of cigar maker with his father. He followed this trade for about ten years, but having a desire to follow some business of a dif- ferent nature he looked about him for an opening, and started in the laundry busi- ness in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the name of New Method Laundry. This active and exceedingly practical work appealed to him, and as he had a genius for organization, and a faculty of gaining and holding the good will of his em- ployees, he was very successful in meet- ing the needs of the public. After about four years he came to Hartford and started a laundry under the same name. Three or four years later he formed a partnership with George L. Best, and the business was incorporated as the New Method Laundry Corporation. Mr. De- Barthe was president and Mr. Best was secretary and treasurer. The business is still in active existence, and is run along the lines followed by Mr. DeBarthe. The loss of his cheerful personality is felt by those who were associated with him. It is next to the oldest laundry in the city, and employs sixty-five people, on the average, and runs two automobiles and
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five wagons. Mr. DeBarthe was a mem- ber of Lincoln Lodge, Knights of Pythias.
Mr. De Barthe married Mary A., daugh- ter of John Ellsworth Strong, of Hart- ford, and sister of Harry Strong, of whom we give a sketch elsewhere in this work. Mrs. De Barthe survives her husband, and also the daughter, Mabel, who married Horace R. Grant, of Wethersfield.
Mr. DeBarthe was a man of fine char- acter and broad intelligence, optimistic, genial, and in all his interests thoroughly practical; one of those men who are needed sorely in our complex existence, for the very spirit of good cheer which he put into all his business relations, and the sterling worth of his character.
ELLIOTT, William F., Business Man.
William F. Elliott, member of the firm of Hennessey & Elliott, proprietors of the "H. & E." Laundry in Hartford and Bridgeport, Connecticut, is a representa- tive of that sturdy Scotch-Irish stock that has contributed so notably to the progress and development of the United States and Canada. High ideals of morality and religion, practical business sense, energy and thrift have characterized our citizens of Irish descent. They had no ideas nor customs to discard in taking their place as American citizens; their ideals of liberty and righteousness are the same as those of the Puritans and Pilgrims who established our institutions, and here they have found opportunity for self-development in what- ever sphere of activity they might choose that was denied them in the older and more conservative environment of their native land.
The name of Elliott has been variously spelled. It appears in the early records as Eliot, Elliot and Elliott. It has been borne by many prominent representatives
of the Colonial days. Rev. John Eliot, the famous Indian Apostle, was the founder of the Roxbury family of Eliots, and there were three old early Colonial families bearing the name.
William F. Elliott was born February 11, 1875, in St. John, New Brunswick, son of Christopher and Margaret (Gale) El- liott, and grandson of Robert Elliott. The latter was a native of Ennishillen, in the north of Ireland, and came to Queens county, New Brunswick, about 1825, and settled on the homestead on which Wil- liam F. Elliott was born and where his father still resides. Robert Elliott mar- ried, the surname of his wife being Gra- ham. They were the parents of Christo- pher Elliott, who was born about 1838, and still resides on the paternal home- stead, where throughout his entire life he was engaged in agricultural pursuits.
It was on this homestead that the youth of William F. Elliott was spent, and at such intervals as he was not attending the district school he was accustomed to assist in the work about the farm, and in this manner acquired a strong and robust constitution, and thus laid the foundation of physical vigor and devel- oped that personal initiative without which no real success can be obtained. Upon attaining the age of twenty-one years, Mr. Elliott came to the United States and first located in Providence, Rhode Island. There he found employ- ment as a fireman, and applied himself to the study of steam engineering, receiving in due time his license as a stationary en- gineer. Being of a mechanical bent. he continued his studies along electrical lines and was engaged in the latter business for several years. In 1906 he removed to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and started in the laundry business in partnership with Mr. Hennessey, under the firm name of Hennessey & Elliott. They established
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the first family washing business in the city of Bridgeport, and employ on an average twenty persons. Mr. Hennessey is in immediate charge of the Bridgeport business, while Mr. Elliott takes care of the Hartford branch. In 1916 a new plant was built at Bridgeport and this has been equipped with the very latest machinery and facilities. The business was extended to Hartford in 1908, and is one of the old- est of its kind in that city. A large force of employees is kept busy throughout the year, and five auto trucks are needed to collect and deliver the laundries.
Mr. Elliott is possessed of much deter- mination and force and has the ability to execute his plans. His early training and the knowledge thus gained has been of untold value to him in his present busi- ness, and he has made himself master of its smallest detail, accounting in a meas- ure for his signal success. His business matters occupy the greater part of his time, and he, therefore, has no particular desire to take more than a good citizen's interest in public affairs. He is not a seeker for office, but is anxious, and at all times willing, to take up his part of the burden and can always be counted upon to lend his support, financially and other- wise, if need be, in the furthering of any well-deserved movement for the benefit of the general public.
Mr. Elliott married Olga Fischer, daughter of Gustave Fischer, of Hartford.
MITCHELSON, Ariel, Agriculturist.
In the realm of science are numbered many lines of labor. The last word is not yet said or written along these lines. But perhaps agriculture holds the most inter- esting possibilities of any science, because agriculture is not an exact but an inex- haustible science. In the early days of
our civilization agriculture was practiced ably for the purpose of providing the necessities of life. The possibility of rais- ing the pursuit above the level of drudg- ery seemed not to occur to the average farmer, and whenever opportunity offered he dropped it and turned to some more interesting work. It remained for the few men capable of crystallizing their ideals into progressive results, to grasp the pos- sibilities of development along this line of productive endeavor. Here and there, among mediocre farms, we find one pre- ëminent among its neighbors, an example of agriculture, the science.
Ariel Mitchelson, one of the most pro- gressive agriculturists of his day, is a great-grandson of William Mitchelson, Jr. The latter came to Hartford in his youth, and on April 26, 1713, he married Mary Howard. He was efficient and in- dustrious, and when they inherited a con- siderable amount of property from the Howard family his management and care enhanced its value and gave their children a good start in life. Their son, Eliphalet, born about 1730-35, married, December 28, 1758, Susannah Eno, daughter of Wil- liam and Mary (North) Eno. They had several children : Their son was a suc- cessful physician in Charlestown, South Carolina, and many prominent people of Rhode Island are descended from their daughters. Their son, Ariel Mitchelson, was born December 14, 1774, in what is now the town of Bloomfield, near Scot- land Church, and died September, 1852. He was baptized in this church by Rev. Roger Viets. He followed farm- ing throughout his life, and was highly esteemed in his community, a man of strict integrity, serving among his neigh- bors as an arbiter in their disputes. He was a man of progressive ideas, in poli- tics a Whig, and served several terms in the General Assembly. In 1809 he mar-
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ried Elizabeth Cornish, of Granby, who was born November 11, 1776, daughter of Lieutenant Joseph and Elizabeth (Mor- ton) Cornish. Elizabeth Cornish was a descendant of James Cornish, the pioneer school teacher, who died in Simsbury at an advanced age in 1698. His wife was Phœbe (Larraboy) Cornish, and their son, Deacon James Cornish, was born in 1663. On November 10, 1692, he married (first) Elizabeth Thrall, daughter of Tim- othy Thrall, of Windsor, Connecticut. She was born May 1, 1667, and died Jan- uary 25, 1713-14. Deacon James Cornish died in Simsbury, April 2, 1740. Their second son, Joseph Cornish, was born Oc- tober 18, 1697, and died May 26, 1759. He married, May 5, 1726, Mary, widow of Samuel Humphrey, and daughter of James and Abigail (Bissell) Eno. She died September 16, 1731. Their eldest child, Lieutenant Joseph Cornish, born June 13, 1729, died September 24, 1776, of camp distemper. He married, October 25, 1753, Elizabeth Morton, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Wilcox) Morton, who died November 14, 1792. Thus the prominent family of Cornish joins the Mitchelson line in which we are inter- ested, by the marriage of Elizabeth Corn- ish to the first Ariel Mitchelson.
Ariel Mitchelson, father of Ariel Mit- chelson, was well educated, first in the common schools of his home district, then at the Holcombe High School in Granby, finishing at an academy in Poughkeepsie, New York. In the early days of the tobacco industry in his State, Ariel Mit- chelson recognized the probable future importance of the crop and entered what proved to be a significant career in the production and handling of tobacco. He was associated with his cousins, A. L. and C. L. Holt, of New York, who marketed a large quantity of his product there, but was himself one of the best
known wholesalers in this section. He was a broad, public-spirited man, giving generous and substantial support to any institution or project which had to do with the public welfare. He was largely instrumental in bringing the railroad through Tariffville when the original lay- out was through Farmington. He built part of the village of Tariffville, laid out streets, donated land for two school houses and the sites for the Baptist and Roman Catholic churches and Trinity Episcopal church, and to the latter, of which he was a member, he bequeathed five thousand dollars. For many years Mr. Mitchelson was a director of the Charter Oak National Bank, of which he was one of the organizers. His political affiliations were originally with the old line Whig party, later with the Republi- can, and he was keenly interested in the election of trustworthy and efficient offi- cials, though not ambitious to hold office himself. On June 5, 1848, he married Elizabeth Chappell, who was born in East Lyme, Connecticut, November 29, 1824, a daughter of Daniel and Hannah (Loomis) Chappell. Hannah Loomis was a descendant of the old Loomis family that settled in Windsor in 1639, and which has given the world many eminent men. Mr. Mitchelson died February 8, 1894, and his widow in 1900. Their remains were laid away in Scotland Church Ceme- tery. Mrs. Mitchelson in her younger years was a member of the Baptist church, and later united with the Episco- pal church. To her loyal devotion the family have always ascribed much of their success in life. They were the parents of eight children: 1. Ariel, born August 2, 1850, died at the age of six years. 2. Elizabeth C., born February 7, 1852, died at the age of four years. 3. George, born June 30, 1854, now a resident of Bloom- field; he is an enthusiastic collector of
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Indian tools; he married Mary Dyer, of Hudson, Wisconsin, June 12, 1899. 4. Joseph C., born May 22, 1856, lived most of his life in Kansas City, Missouri ; he married Emma Wilson, of Geneseo, Illinois, daughter of George and Jane (Prouty) Wilson; Mr. Mitchelson died at Tariffville, September 25, 1911, leaving a large and valuable collection of coins to the Connecticut State Library. 5. Eliza- beth, born November 3, 1859, married William F. Gorton, deceased, and had three children: Elizabeth, William A., and Joseph M. Gorton. 6. Charles, born November 19, 1861, died September 25, 1862. 7. Ariel, of extended mention be- low. 8. Mary Howard.
Ariel Mitchelson, Jr., was born March 20, 1864. He is upholding the traditions of his fathers both in public and private life. He was given a business education at the Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York, after attending Hartford schools. He remained on his father's farm and associated himself with his father in all his tobacco interests until his death, and has since conducted the business in his own name. He has in- creased the business as he became familiar with the details of the growth and curing of the product, extended the acreage and now grows fifty acres under shade. He was one of the first to raise shade grown tobacco in this section of the State. He has a fine warehouse with every modern equipment, and employs many laborers. Important as is this branch of production, it in no degree eclipses the magnificent herd of imported, pedigreed Guernsey cows. The dairy is a model of perfec- tion. The stables and barns are fitted with the latest equipment, and the great- est attention is paid to sanitation. He has exhibited his stock at numerous fairs, and has taken many first prizes. The
herd is widely known for its beauty as well as for its fine record.
Mr. Mitchelson is a director of the Col- onial National Bank of Hartford, of which he was one of the founders. He is past chancellor commander of Old Newgate Lodge, Knights of Pythias; member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Hartford; Hartford Club; Hart- ford Chamber of Commerce; Putnam Phalanx of Hartford. He was sent as a representative to the Legislature of 1912-13, and served on the committee of cities and boroughs. In religious connec- tion, Mr. Mitchelson is a member of Trin- ity Episcopal Church at Tariffville. His farm has become one of the show places of New England, and has been in the family since 1664, the original grant from the King being in his possession.
Mr. Mitchelson married Mary Violet, daughter of Seth and Adelaide (Hurl- burt) Ely, of Windsor, and they have two children: Joseph Ariel, born November 13, 1897, a member of the class of 1921, at Amherst; May Adelaide, born Septem- ber 26, 1900, attending Miss Capen's Pre- paratory School at Northampton, Massa- chusetts.
HATHEWAY, Ernest A.,
Tobacco Dealer.
Life is what we make it; but many a man has found the course of his life di- verted from the channel which he had chosen, found himself governed by new conditions and necessities, where the work which lay before him was different from that towards which his ambition had faced. When a man is big enough to accept such a situation and put heart and soul into the work placed in his hands, he sets a standard for those who follow that aids materially in the maintenance of high ideals in the community. He does
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one man's share towards shaping the cut Valley. He found it profitable and trend of human progress. Ernest A. Hatheway, of Hartford, Connecticut, is one of those men. Hle is a member of the firmn of Hatheway & Steane, growers and packers of tobacco.
The name Hatheway or Hathaway is one of those surnames derived from place, and means dweller by the Heatli-way. It is a surname rarely found in the early records of the American colonies. Three brothers, Shadrach, Samuel and Jacob Hatheway, were early settlers in Suffield. Shadrach married Deborah Kent, and died, leaving two sons. Jacob married the widow of Shadrach, and was the grandfather of Milton Hatheway, who is still remembered by the older residents of Suffield, Connecticut. The present Hathe- way homestead, which is now owned by Mr. Hatheway, now standing in good re- pair, was built by Charles Hatheway, son of Jacob Hatheway, and since that time the family have been prominent in Suf- field, and in the early years of the nine- teenth century they were the wealthiest family in the town. Luther Hatheway, son of Charles Hatheway, married Clara, daughter of General Samuel Safford, lieu- tenant-colonel in the battle of Benning- ton during the Revolutionary War. Mil- ton Hatheway, born in 1797 in Suffield, owned a grist mill and cotton seed oil mill, and also conducted the farm. He was a member of the State Legislature. He was twice married ; his first wife was a member of the prominent Heath fam- ily, and the second, Elizabeth Bliss.
Henry Safford Hatheway was born in Suffield in 1830, son of Milton Hatheway by his first marriage. He was educated in the public schools and the Connecticut Literary Institute. He was reared on the farm, and early in life became interested in tobacco growing. then being tried out more or less extensively in the Connecti-
turned each year a larger acreage of the deep rich soil of the homestead farm to that crop. In 1865 he added tobacco pack- ing to his business interests, still con- tinuing to produce the crop quite exten- sively. Ile was a public-spirited man, interested in all the town affairs, especially the development of the school system, serving on the school committee for some time, but was not a politician. Ile mar- ried Mary Jane, daugliter of Albert Dens- low, of Windsor Locks, a direct descend- ant of llenry Denslow, the first settler of Windsor Locks. He was killed by the Indians and a monument stands in his honor in that town. Mr. and Mrs. Hathe- way were the parents of six children, of whom five grew to maturity : Ada E., who married J. E. DeWitt, now deceased ; Lissa I., who married Henry W. Keig- win, of Mount Vernon, New York ; Frank S., who died in 1895; Ernest A., of whom we give further mention below; Jennie N., who married G. F. Holloway, of Suf- field. The parents and all of the children were members of the Second Baptist Church of Suffield.
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