USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 7 > Part 37
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Linna Amelia Barber, youngest daugh- ter of George Harvey and Silena Matilda (Henry) Barber, was born in Thompson- ville, Connecticut, September 3, 1855. She married, in Thompsonville, October 13, 1881, Herbert Clarence Moseley, a merchant of that place, son of George Washington and Mary (Lathrop) Mose- ley. George W. Moseley established a general store in Thompsonville, later re- moved that business to Hartford, Connec- ticut, where he resided for the remainder of his life. Herbert Clarence Moseley was born in Thompsonville, Connecticut, January 19, 1853, and there died May 23, 1910. He completed grammar school courses in Thompsonville schools, then was a student at Williston Academy, there finishing his studies. He began business life with his father in his general store at Thompsonville, and when a wholesale grocery was established in Hartford by Mr. Moseley, Sr., his son accompanied him and was engaged there for some years. He then moved West to Pana, Il- linois, but later returned to Thompson- ville, married, and until his death was en- gaged in the wholesale grocery business
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in Hartford. He was a good business man and very successful in his undertakings. He was a Republican in politics, an at- tendant of the First Presbyterian Church of Thompsonville, and highly esteemed in his community as a man of upright, hon- orable life.
Mr. and Mrs. Mosley were the par- ents of two sons: 1. Clarence Lathrop, born June 26, 1885; graduated at Yale College, in 1906, took up electrical en- gineering, and was for several years with the General Electric Company at San Francisco; he married Winifred Forbes, April 27, 1917, and now resides in Penn- ington, California. 2. Harold Alden, born September 23. 1888; a graduate of Dart- mouth, class of 1911 : he settled the estate of his uncle, Seth Alden, and other es- tates, and was engaged for a time on gov- ernment work with the Winchester Re- peating Arms Company of New Haven, Connecticut.
SEXTON, Earl, Civil Engineer, Inventor.
The name Sexton or Saxton is a very ancient one and there appear to be at least two possible origins, from either of which it may be derived, if indeed dif- ferent families bearing the same name are not derived from both. The office of Sacristan, now known as sexton or ver- ger of a church, is one of these, and we have, accordingly, record of one Hugh Sacristan who flourished in the County of Kent in 1273. A. D. The alternate source is Saxton, a parish in the diocese of York. which may have given its name to some family residing there. In the case of the latter alternative, however, it is quite pos- sible that even the name of the place may have originally been derived from the same church office. With the usual flexi- bility of spelling in those days, we find
the name anciently under many divergent forms, and besides the common forms of Sexton and Saxton, we have those of Sex- tone, Sacristan already mentioned, Sex- teyn and it is even probable that Saxon is a still further modified spelling. In re- gard to the descent of the American fam- ily or families bearing the name, there are one or two points of importance yet to be cleared up and chief among these is the link which connects it or them with the English derivations. From the re- searches of Mr. Harold Newell Saxton, of New York City, it would appear that the Sextons and Saxtons of this country are all descended from one George Saxton, or Sexton (his name is variously spelled), who was of Westfield, Massachusetts, and died in that community about the year 1689. Mr. Saxton, however, admits that he is not certain but that there may be other branches with which he is not acquainted that are descended otherwise. However this may be, there is no doubt but that the line which is at present rep- resented in Connecticut by Earl Sexton, of Hartford, the president and treasurer of the American Pump & Engineering Company of that city, is directly de- scended from this same George Saxton or Sexton.
Five men bearing the name of Saxton or Sexton are recorded to have come to the New England colonies prior to the middle of the seventeenth century. These were Giles Saxton, Peter Saxton. Thomas Saxton, of Boston, Richard Saxton, of Windsor. Connecticut, and George Sax- ton. of Windsor. Connecticut, and West- field, Massachusetts. The first two of these were Puritan ministers who did not remain permanently in the colonies, but eventually returned to England and there died. Thomas Saxton, on the contrary. continued in the New World and un- doubtedly left descendants. Richard Sax-
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ton, who is believed to have come to this country in the good ship "Blessing" in 1635, settled in Windsor, Connecticut, where he married and had children. It is from George Saxton, however, that the line with which we are concerned is de- scended. It is distinctly probable that he was a brother of Richard Saxton, and appears to have settled first in Westfield, Massachusetts, as his oldest son, Benja- min, was born there in 1667. He later went to Windsor, Connecticut, where a son John was born, May 26, 1673. He re- turned, however, eventually to Westfield, where he passed his old age and finally died. There is a record of his having bought land in Westfield as early as 1663, the entry appearing in the county clerk's office at Springfield, Massachusetts, as of June 10 in that year. George Saxton's children were as follows, the dates of their birth being nearly approximate: George, born in 1658; James, born in 1660; Dan- iel, born in 1662; Joseph, born in 1665; Benjamin, born in 1667; and John, born in 1673. Of his wife we only know that her first name was Katherine. It was the eldest of these sons, George Saxton, whose birth occurred in 1658, that carried on the line which we are following.
George Saxton lived for a time on Long Island, and in a deed given in 1690 he is described as a resident of New Town, near Jamaica. He is said to have married Hannah Spencer, of Hartford, a daugh- ter of Sergeant Thomas Spencer, of that city. Mrs. Saxton is believed to have married Daniel Brainerd, of Haddam, in 1698, eight years after the death of her first husband, who is recorded to have died in or near 1690. George and Han- nah (Spencer) Saxton were the par- ents of the following children: George, born probably at Hartford in 1677 or 1678; Nathaniel, born December 5, 1682 ; Charles, born September 9, 1690; and
Gershom, born at New Town, Long Island.
Joseph Sexton, a descendant of the above ancestors, lived for many years in Missouri, and was the grandfather of Earl Sexton; one of his children was Erastus Snow Sexton, who returned from Missouri to the East and made his home at the town of New Egypt, Ocean county, New Jersey. He was married to Sarah Jane (Inman) Sexton, and it was of this union that Earl Sexton was born.
The birth of Earl Sexton occurred at New Egypt, Ocean county, New Jersey, October 22, 1879, and he passed the years of his childhood in his native place. He was educated in the public schools of New Egypt, but later attended schools at Jacobstown, and still later studied at the Jamestown Seminary at Mount Holly, New Jersey, and the Ryder-Moore Busi- ness College at Trenton. He finally took up a course of civil engineering with the International Correspondence School, and about the year 1901 entered the employ of the Flint & Wallington Manufacturing Company of New York City. This con- cern was engaged in the manufacture of windmills, towers and pumps, and young Mr. Sexton remained in its employ as a stenographer for about a year, and then went on the road for the same concern for some three years longer. He then sev- ered his connection with this company and went South, making his home in Louisville, Kentucky, where he worked in the employ of the International Harvester Company, for whom he traveled as a salesman for about eighteen months, and later was employed in their shipping de- partment for about a year longer. Al- though the work was congenial to Mr. Sexton and there seemed to be large op- portunities awaiting him, he was obliged to give up this position, owing to the fact that the southern climate did not agree
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Maul6 H. chuston
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with him, and that he suffered what, had it been allowed to proceed, would doubt- less have resulted in a serious impair- ment of his health. Accordingly, he re- turned North and not long after secured an excellent position with the Central Supply Company of Worcester, Massa- chusetts, who were jobbers of water sup- plies, pumps, engines, etc., where he rap- idly worked his way up the ladder of pro- motion until he became manager of the pump department. How efficient was his work in this capacity may be seen from the fact that he built up the company's business in pumps from a total amount- ing to five thousand dollars a year to one of one hundred thousand dollars a year, an accomplishment all the more remark- able from the fact that it occupied no more than four years. At the end of that period, Mr. Sexton resigned his position with the company and came to the city of Hartford, Connecticut, where he accepted his present office of president and treas- urer of the American Pump & Engineer- ing Company of that city. This was in the year 1912, February 23, and since that time he has, through his connection with this concern, come to occupy a particu- larly prominent place in the engineering and business world of Hartford. The American Pump & Engineering Company was indeed largely organized by him and came into existence at the time of his first coming to Hartford. It was organized for the purpose of manufacturing, construct- ing, purchasing pumps, windmills, towers, engines, boilers, farm machinery and tools, for the exporting and importing trades, as well as for a local wholesale business in engineering and water works equipment. This business, which had practically no dimensions at that time, has grown to be a very large and successful enterprise, and the future promises even more brilliantly than the realization of the present. It is
not alone in his capacity as organizer and business man that Mr. Sexton is known, and it is probable that he enjoys an even wider reputation in connection with the many inventions which have found their origin in his fertile brain. These inven- tions cover a remarkably wide field of human endeavor and are extraordinarily diverse, one, for instance, which appeared a few years ago, is a stenographic note book which offers great advantages over those previously in use. Another device was a corn husker, which bound the corn stalks in sheaves. Probably the most im- portant device which he has yet produced is a tobacco-bed sprayer system, which has been properly protected by patents and which is the only successful sprayer device ever invented. Mr. Sexton is prom- inently identified with a number of clubs and fraternities, and is a well known fig- ure in the social world of Hartford. He is a member of Camp 49, Patriotic Sons of America, of Pemberton, New Jersey ; U. C. T .; and St. John's Lodge, No. 4. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
Mr. Sexton was united in marriage with Viola E. Lewis, daughter of Joseph Lewis, of Sewell. New Jersey, where Mrs. Sex- ton was born, November 11, 1884. Two children have been born of this union: Donald. November 10. 1909, and Vir- ginia, February 26, 1913.
JOHNSTON, Frank Hawthorne, Man of Various Activities.
One of the leading and substantial busi- ness men of the city of New Britain, Con- necticut, is Frank H. Johnston, who has imbibed in his character many of the worthy characteristics of his forebears. He is a scion of an old family that has long been prominent in Scotland. The name has been derived from Johnstone, a city in Scotland, from which the early
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members of the family came. Mr. John- ston is a son of Robert Johnston, Jr., and his wife, Ellen Jane (Alcorn) Johnston. Robert Johnston, Jr., came from Ayr, Scotland, in 1851, and settled at Am- herst, Massachusetts, where he was a merchant. Later he removed to New Britain, Connecticut, and there our sub- ject was born, August 10, 1861.
The education of Frank H. Johnston was received in the grammar and high schools of his native city, and at the age of fifteen years he entered the employ of the American Hosiery Company in the capacity of clerk. For five years he con- tinued associated with this firm, and dur- ing that time he rose through various po- sitions and attained the position of pay- master. Subsequently, he became asso- ciated with the New Britain Lumber & Coal Company, continuing for five years. He applied himself to the mastering of. the details of this business, and being pos- sessed of natural business acumen and good judgment, he was able to start in business on his own account. He incor- porated the City Coal & Wood Company in 1889, with a capital of $5.500. This corporation has met with great success, due to the management of Mr. Johnston. He has been the moving spirit in the progress of the business throughout the years and now serves as its president and treasurer. The corporation has an in- vested capital of $75,000, and the sales annually are approximately $300,000.
As is naturally expected, Mr. Johnston is identified with several other business interests, among them being: Director of the Prentice Manufacturing Company ; director of the D. C. Judd Company ; member of the executive committee of the New England Coal Dealers' Asso- ciation ; vice-president for Connecticut of the New England Builders' Supply Asso- ciation ; and vice-president for Connecti-
cut of the National Builders' Supply As- sociation. Mr. Johnston also organized the People's Coal & Wood Company of New Britain, and the Eastern Coal & Coke Company of Hartford, wholesale dealers.
In politics Mr. Johnston is a Republi- can, and while desirous of aiding in any public movement to the best of his abil- ity, he does not seek political preferment. He has been a member of various city commissions, in which he has been of great service by virtue of his experience and business ability. He has ever been foremost in military affairs, and in 1890 enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard, serving a term of four years. Dur- ing the World War he was one of the first to enlist in the Connecticut Home Guard, and was commissioned captain. From 1914-1916 he was major of the Putnam Phalanx, of Hartford, the smart military organization. Fraternally, Mr. Johnston holds membership in the following clubs and lodges: Centennial Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, in which he has at- tained the thirty-second degree; Wash- ington Commandery, Knights Templar ; Sphinx Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows; the Amer- ican Mechanics ; and is also a member of the National Academy of Political Sci- ence, the Hartford Club, the Farmington Country Club, and the Oasis Club.
Mr. Johnston finds recreation from the arduous cares of his various business du- ties in travel, and has spent consider- able time in study in foreign countries.
Mr. Johnston is also particularly fond of organization work, and during the thirty years of his business life he has given a great deal of time to the pro- moting of commercial and civic organiza- tions. This was first evident when as the result of his efforts the first organization
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of business men in the State was effected. This was the Merchants' Association of Connecticut, and was organized in 1800, with Mr. Johnston as the treasurer. Fol- lowing this was the organization of the Merchants' Association in New Britain, New Haven, and other cities of the State, and eventually through these activities began the State Business Men's Associa- tion of Connecticut, in 1897. In 1914. when Mr. Johnston was president of the State Association, the title of the organi- zation was changed to the Connecticut Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Johnston was reelected for a second term as the first president of the State Chamber of Commerce, and has since been a member of the executive committee of the State Association.
In 1917, as a result of the activity of Mr. Johnston in State matters, he was nominated as director of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of Amer- ica, Washington, D. C., and in 1919 was unanimously reelected as a director for a second term. The State of Connecticut has honored Mr. Johnston at various times, he having received from Governor Baldwin the appointment of representa- tive of the State at the International Con- gress of Chambers of Commerce in Bos- ton in 1912, and from Governor Hol- comb, to represent the State at the In- ternational Congress of Chambers of Commerce in Paris and London in 1914.
Mr. Johnston married, at New Britain, Connecticut, September 1, 1889. Annie Isabel Andrews, daughter of John Henry Andrews, of New Britain, and they are the parents of two children : 1. Douglas Andrews, born September 1, 1800; he graduated from the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale with honors, in the class of 1911, and is now associated with his father in business, and is vice-president and superintendent of the City Coal & Wood Company. He served in the Field
Artillery, Thirteenth Battalion, United States army, during the World War, and was commissioned lieutenant as a reward for his dutiful, excellent service. 2. Agnes Hawthorne, born October 30, 1896, a graduate of Wellesley College, class of 1918.
FLYNN, Michael H.,
Manufacturing Exccutive.
There is a dignity of family and a dig- nity of achievement. The one fulfills a large part in the making of the other. Nevertheless the personality of the indi- vidual, the power of making use of the materials at hand, the capacity for absorb- ing experience and making it a significant part of his mental equipment, these are the qualities of the man himself-quali- ties which give to the world the self-made man.
The O'Flynns, now O'Lynns, and the O'Donnel- lans, were Chiefs of L'i Tuitre. The territory of Ui Tuitre lay along the northern shores of Laugh Neagh, and the River Bann, and extended to Alieve, Mis, comprising the Baronies of Toome and Antrim, and was afterward known as North- ern Clanaboy. These O'Flynns were among the most warlike opponents of John de Courcy and the early Anglo-Norman invaders.
The O'Flynns, Chiefs of Siol Maolruain, pos- sessed a large district in the barony of Ballintob- her, County of Roscommon, in which lay Slieve L'i Fhloinn, or O'Flynn's Mountain, and which comprised the parishes of Killkeevan and Kiltul- lagh, and also part of Ballynakill, in the barony of Ballymore, County of Galway. Lough Ui Fhloine,-O'Flynn's Lake,-lies in this territory, as does the village of Ballinlough, that is the town of Flynn's Lake. O'Flynn's Castle, of which only the foundations are now traceable, stood on the top of the hill between the village and the lake. Others of this name were settled in Mun- ster.
O'Flynn was Chief of Arda, a territory in the barony of Carbery, and Hy Baghamna, now the barony of Ihane, and Barryroe, adjoining Car- bery, in the County of Cork. These Flynns were of the line of Ith, uncle of Milesius. The name is also met with in Clare and other localities.
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The crest of the family of Flynn and O'Flynn is as follows: A dexter hand, erect, holding a serpent, the tail embowed and head to the sinister, all proper.
Thomas Flynn, the grandfather of Michael H. Flynn, was born in Queens county, Ireland, in 1800, and died in 1880. When a young man he went to England and learned the trade of carpet weaver. Being an ambitious young man and real- izing the advantage of continuing his work in a young and progressive country, he came to America when he was twenty years of age and went first to New Jersey. Here he was married and soon after went to Tariffville, Connecticut, where he was employed in the old carpet factory as a hand loom weaver. That was in the days before the introduction of power looms. When the new power looms were brought into use he retired to a farm in the town of Simsbury (Tariffville), Connecticut, which was owned by his second wife.
Michael A. Flynn, son of Thomas Flynn, was born in Tariffville, Decem- ber 4, 1837, educated in the public schools, and learned the trade of blacksmith. He ran a blacksmith shop there on his own account for thirty-five years. Then in 1890 he removed to Hartford and engaged in blacksmithing, still for himself and so continued until his death, which occurred April 24, 1914. He was a genial man and a skillful workman; a Democrat, and served as selectman of Simsbury for four years. His wife, Rachel, was a daughter of Jonathan Ledgard. She was born in Dewsbury, Leeds, England, and came with her parents to America, when four years old. They located in Tariffville, at the time that power looms were installed in the carpet mill, when Jonathan Led- gard became a foreman. After a time he left there and removed to Massachusetts, where he was employed in the woolen
mills, finally settling in Maynard, Massa- chusetts, where he died.
Michael A. Flynn's first wife was Mary Lynch, and there was one daughter by that marriage, Mary, who is now a pipe organist in Middletown. For ten years prior to going there she was organist in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Hartford and during all this time has been recognized as a very successful teacher of music. By his second mar- riage, Mr. Flynn had twelve children, five of whom grew to maturity: Margaret, who married William T. Smith, of Water- bury; Michael H., the subject of this sketch; Alfred A., Daniel J., and Kath- erine.
Michael H. Flynn, son of Michael A. Flynn, was born in Tariffville, October 8, 1875. He was educated in the grammar and high schools of Hartford, and then entered the employ of W. H. Kelsey & Company, tailors. He remained there four years and a half. He then worked for the Pratt and Whitney Company, then for L. H. Blood & Company, as a designer of machinery, and held the office of secre- tary of the company. After three years he left there and was with the Pope Man- ufacturing Company for a time, then with the Underwood Typewriter Company when their plant was in New Jersey. He came with them when their factory was transferred to Hartford and remained with them four years as a machine de- signer. The last year, in order to gain practical experience, of which he felt the need, he worked in the tool room. He was afterwards for a short time with the Travelers' Insurance Company, then back to the typewriter business with the Union Typewriter Company, at the Smith Prem- ier factory in Syracuse, and at the Yost factory in Bridgeport. He spent alto- gether about two years on those two ma- chines, then entered the employ of the
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Royal Typewriter Company in Brooklyn, in 1907, as chief draftsman, coming to Ilartford with that company in 1908. In 1910 he was promoted to assistant super- intendent, and in 1913 to superintendent. He remained in that capacity until Au- gust, 1918, when he accepted his present position, that of manager of the factory of the M. S. Little Manufacturing Company. This well known Hartford firm makes a specialty of bent pipes and plumber's sup- plies, and was engaged during the World War in the manufacture of munitions.
Mr. Flynn is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; of the Hartford Club, and the Knights of Co- lumbus. He was appointed a member of the Charity Commission by Mayor Law- ler, and reappointed by Mayor Hagarty.
Mr. Flynn married Elizabeth, daughter of James Condren, of Hartford, and they have two children, Edward and John.
PRESTON, Thomas James, Clergyman.
Rev. Thomas James Preston, pastor of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church of Thompsonville, Connecticut, enjoys the distinction of being one of the most es- teemed citizens of that town. Those of his profession who devote their lives and services to the ministering of the gospel are among the noblest characters of man- kind. Sacrificing practically all of self, they make the cause of humanity their cause. They are ever ready to counsel, cheer and uplift the downtrodden; by their eloquence they put faith into the heart of the weary, and through their ministrations assuage grief. Unselfishly they labor day after day, striving to aid in countless ways. Men of worthy and up- right character, they are deserving of the position of esteem which they hold. They are naturally possessed of the qualities of
determination and ability to surmount the countless obstacles which present themselves before them. Their desire to serve comes straight from their hearts and no discouragement seems too much for them. Emanating faith, hope and charity, they are among the chosen people of the earth.
Father Preston was born November 3, 1849, in the city of New Ilaven, Connec- ticut, son of Thomas and Margaret ( Ban- non) Preston, and grandson of Thomas Preston, natives of Ireland.
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