USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 7 > Part 3
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
trance of the United States into the World War, Colonel Goodman was in command of the First Infantry Connecticut Na- tional Guard and was stationed at Hart- ford and New Haven until late in Novem- ber, 1917, when he was transferred to the work of training troops for overseas service at Camps Greene and Wadsworth in South Carolina. There his experience and military training was most valuable ; he performed great service to his country in the manner in which troops under his orders were trained and the military spirit instilled into them. From all over they came, from all sorts and conditions of life, and it was a most arduous task to substitute military discipline for the hab- its of years forming. A strong will, pains- taking effort, and withal a human under- standing were necessary qualifications for one who would lead, and these qualities are possessed in a high degree by Colonel Goodman. He served in the National army until December 22, 1918, on which date he received his discharge.
Mr. Goodman is a Republican in pol- itics, served for two terms as a member of the Common Council, and was a member of the Republican Town Committee for four years, 1904-08, and in the latter year was a member of the Health Commission. Fraternally, he is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, Ancient Free and Accept- ed Masons ; Washington Commandery, Knights Templar; and Sphinx Temple. His clubs are the Hartford, Hartford Golf, University, Graduates' and Yale. He is a member of the Connecticut Historical Society, the Municipal Art Society, and the Society of Colonial Wars. For recre- ation he indulges in outdoor sports, being particularly fond of fishing and tennis.
Mr. Goodman married, April 19, 1917, Helen Hatch, daughter of Edward B. Hatch, of whom there is an account else-
where in this work. Mr. Goodman and his wife are attendants at Trinity Epis- copal Church, of which he is vestryman. Their home is at No. 33 Sycamore road.
BUSH, Philip Milton,
Manufacturer.
It may well be said that a man is as great as his opportunity; but the man who is truly great is he who makes his own opportunity. The man who carves out his own way in life is greater than the man who merely fits himself into some niche that has been prepared for him, or which has been left vacant by some other man. In these days, when men in every industry find new openings for develop- ment, the man who turns the accumulated energy of the age into a new channel gives us new worlds as truly as those dis- coverers whom history lauds. Philip Milton Bush, of Hartford, is a man whose work has been of this nature, working out new ways of applying well known principles and finding, as an outgrowth of these efforts, still newer principles on which to found other branches of work. The name of Bush originated in the place where lived the first man who bore the name. It is of Teutonic origin, and means dweller by a bush or a thicket.
Benjamin Franklin Bush, father of Philip M. Bush, was born in Smyrna, Pennsylvania. He was only a lad when he came to Hartford, Connecticut. He served his time as an apprentice at the factory of Pratt & Whitney, and remained with that company as long as he lived. He was a man of great natural ability which, together with a tireless capacity for applying himself to the work in hand, made him a valuable employee to the company and gave him really wonderful skill. He married Elizabeth, daughter of
Conn-7-2
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Philip Milton Bush was born in Hart- ford, November 14, 1880. He was edu- cated in the grammar and high schools of Hartford, and from a lad of tender years was energetic, active, always interested in the life about him. During vacations and at other periods of leisure in his school life, Mr. Bush learned the ma- chinist's trade, going into the theory of mechanics, as well as the actual practice. When he was graduated from high school he took charge of the drafting room of the Sterling Blower & Pipe Manufacturing Company, engaged in the manufacture of exhaust, heating and ventilating systems. He filled this position with remarkable success, considering his youth and lim- ited experience. There he remained for seven years. He then filled the position of manager of the Norton Manufacturing Company for a year at their plant in Chester, Connecticut. After that he be- came superintendent of the automobile department of the Whitlock Coil Pipe Company of Elmwood, remaining with them for three years, or until 1907, when he embarked in his present business. Here he made for himself a place in the world of industry. After about a year he wished to branch out more widely, and the firm was incorporated under the name of the Bush Manufacturing Company. The business has developed and grown and has become an important industry. The factory on Commerce street is
James and Elizabeth (Sawyer) Smith, equipped with the most up-to-date ma- who was born in Dundee, Scotland., chinery, and the work turned out must Elizabeth (Smith) Bush was born at Cape come up to the highest standards before it is allowed to pass out of their hands. They make radiators for automobile trucks, tractors, and aeroplanes. During the war with Germany the product was almost entirely used in government work. In normal times the product is sold direct to the motor car vehicle manufacturers. Ann, Massachusetts. There were three children : Frank, now employed with the Johns Pratt Company of Hartford ; James, with the Aetna Life Insurance Company ; and Philip Milton, of whom further. The father of Benjamin F. Bush was Philip Bush, also born in Smyrna.
Mr. Bush married Gertrude Louise, daughter of Elias Lyman. Mr. and Mrs. Bush are the parents of two children : Gertrude Goodman, born April 30, 1910, and Philip Lyman, April 21, 1912. Mr. Bush is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church.
Personally, Mr. Bush is a man of open mind and genial disposition. He is deeply interested in all lines of mechan- ical work, and believes that the discover- ies and inventions of recent years have by no means embodied the last word in mechanical science. He is keenly appre- ciative of the fine arts, and does not allow himself to become too absorbed in busi- ness to leave time for those refinements and relaxations which make life worth while.
TREADWAY, Charles Seth, Organizer, Financier.
In the death of Charles Seth Tread- way, on January 27, 1905, the town of Bristol, Hartford county, Connecticut, lost one of its most prominent and public- spirited citizens, and one who has been in the highest degree identified with the great development of that place during the past three decades. His parents, Charles and Emily (Candee) Treadway, were residents of Bristol, and there Mr. Treadway was born on January 24, 1848.
He continued to live there and attended
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the local public schools until he had reached the age of twelve, when his par- ents removed to Winsted, Connecticut, where the youth attended the high school. It was in Waterbury that he entered upon the business career which was to make him a prominent figure in the Connecti- cut financial world. The first few years of this career were marked by a number of beginnings in several different lines, successively made, and each leading to something of greater promise. Having completed his schooling at the age of fif- teen years, he entered the employment of the Waterbury Clock Company, with which his father was connected, to learn the trade of clockmaker. He did not re- main there more than a few months, leav- ing to accept an offer of a clerical position in the Waterbury post office. It was due to A. S. Chase, at that time president of the Waterbury National Bank, that Mr. Treadway finally entered the business which, more than any other, was to form his life work. This gentleman on his visits to the post office had observed the youth and been impressed with his air of alert industry. It is reported that ap- proaching him one day, he asked him if he would like to learn the banking busi- ness. The young man replied promptly that he would, whereupon the offer of position of office boy in Mr. Chase's in- stitution was made and at once accepted. And now, as before, his keen intellect and willingness to work hard impressed Mr. Chase, and he was rapidly promoted, through a number of intermediate posi- tions, to that of teller, he being at the time of his appointment one of the young- est men to hold that responsible position n the State of Connecticut. Mr. Tread- vay had in the meantime made the ac- quaintance of the late Andrew Terry, ounder of the Andrew Terry Company,
of Terryville, Connecticut, manufacturers of malleable iron. Mr. Terry was im- pressed with the young man's ability and invited him to join him in a western en- terprise which he had under considera- tion. Mr. Treadway at once agreed to the proposition and together with Mr. Terry went to the town of Lawrence, Kansas, which was at that time feeling the effects of the great boom enjoyed in that section of the country. In this prom- ising environment a bank was opened of which Mr. Terry was the president and Mr. Treadway the secretary and teller. The enterprise prospered and Mr. Tread- way remained in the Kansas town for four years in the capacity mentioned above. In the year 1875 the Bristol National Bank was organized by John Humphrey Sessions and a number of his associates. To these gentlemen the name of Mr. Treadway was mentioned as that of one eminently fitted to take charge of the cashier's department of the new insti- tution, and they accordingly wrote him in the West and made him the offer of the position of cashier. Mr. Treadway at once accepted and returned to his native place to assume his new duties after an absence of about thirteen years. Though he thus renewed his residence and asso- ciations with Bristol, he never forgot his friendships in Waterbury, nor lost his affection for the place itself, and that the converse of this is also true may be seen in the notices which appeared in the Waterbury papers on the occasion of his death. Mr. Treadway continued to act as cashier of the Bristol bank until the year 1899, when, upon the death of Mr. Ses- sions, he was elected president, an office which he held until his own demise six- teen years later. Under his capable man- agement, the bank continued its success- ful development until it became one of
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
the prominent institutions in financial Connecticut.
The business operations of Mr. Tread- way were not actuated solely by personal considerations, and many of his most characteristic successes were achieved with the general development of the com- munity quite as much in mind as his pri- vate interests. Ten years of banking in Bristol had given Mr. Treadway a con- spicuous position in that town, and it was as a man of influence that he started in the year 1883 a definite movement toward the improvement of conditions there. In spite of his unselfishness and broad con- ception of public welfare his plans met with considerable opposition on the part of the extreme conservatists in the com- munity. Mr. Treadway and his associ- ates were not the men, however, to be de- terred by obstacles, and they proceeded surely towards their goal. Their plan was the establishment of an adequate public water supply and to this end the Bristol Water Company was organized with John H. Sessions as its head. The plant, which was finally constructed, is one of the most modern and effective in the State of Con- necticut, and to its final success Mr. Tread- way devoted his great energies, mastering its construction and operation in the greatest detail. At the death of Mr. Ses- sions, Mr. Treadway succeeded him as president of the water company and served in that capacity until the end of his life. His next movement in the inter- est of the town was towards the installing of electric lights, and in this matter also his efforts were crowned with success, and the year following the establishment of the Bristol Water Company saw that of the Bristol Electric Light Company, with Mr. Sessions again at the head. The lighting company, however, was ab- sorbed ten years later by the Bristol and
Plainville Tramway Company, also the product of Mr. Treadway's enterprise, and which carried on a successful trans- portation and lighting business. At the death of Mr. Sessions, Mr. Treadway suc- ceeded to the presidency of these com- panies and held the office until a few months before his death, when ill health obliged him to give up the manifold duties connected with their management. It was largely due to his skill and judgment that the various public utilities were so successful and that the operating com- panies were placed upon such sound financial basis.
Mr. Treadway's interests were not con- fined to enterprises of this semi-public type, however, for he has played an equally important part in the industrial development of the town. One of the largest concerns with which he was con- nected was the New Departure Manufac- turing Company. The company was or- ganized in 1887, and a few years later Mr. Treadway became a stockholder, and in 1900 was elected its president to succeed W. A. Graham. The business at once felt the stimulus of his progressive man- agement and grew rapidly until it attained enormous size and an international ac- tivity. It possesses at the present time a market for its products, such as bells, brakes for bicycles, ball bearing, steel balls, and many other devices in all parts of the world. A branch factory was es- tablished in Germany some time before Mr. Treadway's death. The association of Mr. Treadway with Everett Horton was also the cause of a large concern known as the Horton Manufacturing Company. Mr. Horton was the inventor of a steel fishing rod which he had patented, and Mr. Treadway and a num- ber of his associates organized a company for the manufacture of this article. Of this,
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C. F. Pope, of New York (a close personal friend of Mr. Treadway), was chosen president, but Mr. Treadway was the treasurer and upon him devolved the control of the business. He was also the vice-president of the Bristol Brass Com- pany, and held the same office in the Bris- tol Manufacturing Company. He was a director of many important concerns, notably the Blakesley Novelty Company, the Bristol Press Publishing Company, the Southington National Bank, and for a period of the "Waterbury American."
A man so closely and prominently iden- tified with large and semi-public under- takings, as was Mr. Treadway, would find it out of the question to remain aloof in matters of more formal public concern. To this result, too, was contributary a keen interest in public issues generally, particularly those of local application. It was practically inevitable, therefore. that he should become connected with local politics, and that, becoming thus con- nected, he would exert a profound in- fluence on the conduct of public affairs. Notwithstanding this Mr. Treadway en- deavored to the best of his ability to avoid public office without, however, com- plete success. He was elected a repre- sentative from Bristol to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1884. He was treas- urer of the town of Bristol from 1888 to 1900, inclusive, and treasurer of the bor- ough from its incorporation in 1894 to 1901, inclusive. He also served on the board of directors of the Free Public Li- brary from its organization in 1892 until his death, and was at one time treasurer of the first school district. It would seem that the duties and obligations involved in the many offices, public and private, enumerated above would have proved as great a burden as any man could success- fully bear, yet Mr. Treadway found time
and energy to devote to social life, and was included in the membership of many clubs and orders. He belonged to the Townsend Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Waterbury, and to Reli- ance Council, Royal Arcanum, of Bristol. He was a director of the Farmington Country Club, and a member of the board of governors, and at one time vice-presi- dlent of the club. He was also a member of the Waterbury Club, the Bristol Golf Club, and the Bristol Business Men's Association.
Mr. Treadway married (first) Decem- ber 22, 1873, Margaret Terry, of Law- rence, Kansas, a daughter of Andrew Terry, of that place. To them two chil- dren were born, as follows: Susan Em- ily, who died when but four years old, and Charles Terry, whose sketch follows. Mrs. Treadway's death occurred in 1880. On January 24, 1884, Mr. Treadway mar- ried (second) Lucy Hurlburt Townsend, of Waterbury, a daughter of George L. Townsend, a resident of that place. To them four children were born: Townsend Gillette, Morton Candee, Lucy Margaret, and Harry, who died in infancy. The three others with their mother survive Mr. Treadway.
Of the influence of Mr. Treadway upon the community, and of the regard which the community held him in, it is per- haps more appropriate to let those who directly felt these things speak. And of such words we have no lack. The "Bris- tol Press" on the occasion of his death concluded a long commemorative article as follows :
Mistakes were rare indeed in his career. He studied problems coming to him for solution, with conservatism born of bank training, yet with the progressiveness of a promoter of large suc- cesses. No man was ever truer to the trust of his fellow-men, none more worthy of reputation for unfailing honesty and fairness in all dealing.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
His opinions were carefully formed, firmly held, even against opposition that would have over- whelmed most men. Once he saw a course to be right, he held to it with that remarkable tenacity of will that makes men masters and leaders. His mental capacity was large, carrying the details of affairs in which he was interested, without con- fusion of facts. In his home and with his friends, his devotion was sweet. In dealing with the pub- lic he always tried to meet men on a level, al- ways tried to be fair and if perchance he felt that he had not been just, his effort was prompt to make amends. Outspoken at all times, decep- tion had no place in his ethics of conduct. Mr. Treadway's life has gone into the structure of the community. His death marks the sacrifice of a personality that was eminently valuable, and a loss, the appreciation of which will be better estimated with every day that passes.
Not only the Bristol papers, but those of Waterbury joined in the chorus of praise and sorrow over the sad event, but perhaps the most appropriate ending to this sketch is the resolutions passed at the time by the directors of the Bristol Na- tional Bank, an act in which this institu- tion was joined by the many other con- cerns with which Mr. Treadway was as- sociated. Those of the bank read :
At a meeting of the directors of the Bristol National Bank, held Monday, January 30, 1905, it was voted that the following be spread upon the records of the bank :
The members of this board have learned with profound sorrow of the death on the 27th inst. of their late esteemed president, Charles S. Tread- way, and desire to express their high apprecia- tion of him as a valuable citizen in this com- munity, having been identified with so many of its manufacturing and industrial enterprises. It is largely due to his wisdom as a financier and to his superior business qualities that these have been successful and thus contributed to the pros- perity of the town. We feel that in all these years his connection with the various industries has been one of credit to himself and of lasting benefit to the town. He was connected with this bank from its organization in 1875, acting as cashier until 1899, when upon the death of Mr. John H. Sessions, he succeeded to the presidency, holding these positions to the satisfaction of both
officers and patrons of the bank. We, as directors of this bank, fully realize that in the death of Mr. Treadway we have lost a trusted manager, a wise counsellor and one in whose judgment in matters pertaining to this institution we have had implicit confidence that he has always acted from the best motives of what he thought was right and just. We shall miss him at our board meet- ings where he has always been ready in a cheer- ful manner to impart any information asked for pertaining to the bank. He has passed away universally respected and mourned. To his fam- ily we tender our heartfelt sympathy in their bereavement.
Voted, that the bank be closed from I o'clock Monday the 30th until 12 o'clock Tuesday the 3Ist, and that the members of this board attend the funeral in a body.
Voted, that a copy of the above be sent to his family and published in the "Bristol Press."
TREADWAY, Charles Terry, Financier.
Charles Terry Treadway, president of the Bristol National Bank, treasurer of the New Departure Manufacturing Com- pany, vice-president of the Horton Manu- facturing Company, and a director in a number of Bristol's leading industries, is also a leader in political, social, educa- tional and religious affairs of that town. He represents a family which has been prominent in the industrial life of Con- necticut for many years and includes many distinguished names. His great- great-grandfather was Eli Terry, Sr., the pioneer of the clock industry in this State. Mr. Treadway's father was Charles Seth Treadway, late banker, manufacturer, State representative and treasurer of the town of Bristol, in whose footsteps in the paths of business success and good cit- izenship he has closely followed, espe- cially in his position as president of the Bristol National Bank. Mr. Treadway's mother, daughter of Andrew and Susan (Orr) Terry, was Margaret (Terry)
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Treadway, who died in his infancy. He president of the Bristol Water Company was born September 8, 1877.
Mr. Treadway was of a studious, thoughtful nature, and desired and ob- tained a thorough and advanced educa- tion. He completed elementary courses at the Federal High School, in Bristol, in 1891, and then took the full course at the Bristol High School, graduating in 1895, where he was president of his class. He also did a year of college preparatory work at Phillips Academy, Andover, in 1895-96. He then entered Yale Univer- sity, where he was graduated in 1900 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Mr. Treadway spent several months just be- fore entering business in 1900, touring the great centers of Great Britain and the Continent of Europe.
In December, 1900, Mr. Treadway en- tered upon his business career as treasurer of the New Departure Manufacturing Company of Bristol, which office he still holds. After his father's death in 1905 he was elected vice-president and director of the Bristol National Bank. After the death of Edward B. Dunbar, in May, 1907, Mr. Treadway was elected president of the bank, and had the distinction of being the youngest bank president in Connect- icut, being then under thirty years of age. In executive ability, experience and sagacity in matters of finance, he was as mature as many far older men, and had the advantage of an unusual training under his capable father.
Mr. Treadway is interested in many other corporations of importance in the business life of Bristol, being vice-presi- dent of the Horton Manufacturing Com- pany, and a director in the following or- ganizations: The American Silver Com- pany, the American Piano Supply Com- pany, and the Bristol Manufacturing Company. He was for several years
until the city of Bristol took it over into municipal management. He was also a director of the Bristol and Plainville Tramway Company for a number of years after his father's death, and until that company changed ownership in 1913. He is one of the incorporators of the Bristol Savings Bank.
For four years Mr. Treadway was sec- retary of the Bristol High School com- mittee. He was at one time chairman of the Republican town committee, and did splendid work in strengthening that party. In 1912 he was elected an alternate to one of the Hartford county delegates to the Republican national convention at Chi- cago, made famous as the convention which split the Republican party, and led to the election for the first time since Grover Cleveland of a Democratic Con- gress. In 1914 he became a member of the State central committee representing the Fifth Senatorial District. In 1916 he was a delegate from Hartford county to the Republican convention at Chicago. In 1918 he retired from the State central committee, and from active participation in State or local politics. In 1915 he was chairman of the executive committee of the Connecticut State Bankers' Associa- tion ; in 1916 its vice-president, and in 1917 its president, serving his full term of one year, and retiring at the conclu- sion of the greatest convention probably ever held by New England bankers, un- der the direction of the Connecticut As- sociation, at the Hotel Griswold in New London. He was for a number of years active in the management of the affairs of the Farmington Country Club, of which his father was a founder and an officer, and for one year ending October, 1918, he was the president of the club.
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