USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 9 > Part 18
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(VI) Arthur Benjamin Calef, third son of Jeremiah (3) Calef and eldest child of his second wife, Sally (Eastman) Calef, was born June 30, 1825, in Sanbornton, New Hampshire, and until fifteen years old re- mained on the paternal farm, attending the district schools of Sanbornton and Loudon. In the fall of 1840 he became a student at Woodman Academy in San- bornton, and in the spring of 1842 entered Gilmanton Academy. From 1843 to 1846 he taught district schools during the win- ter, passing the summer in the labors of the farm and the autumn at Woodman Academy. He prepared for college at the New Hampshire Conference Seminary at Northfield, and in the fall of 1847 entered Wesleyan College at Middletown. While a student here he taught a district school for three winters as a means of defraying his expenses. In the fall of 1848 he be- came preceptor of Woodman Academy, and also taught private pupils. He grad- uated from Wesleyan University in Au- gust, 1851, and in September following, entered the office of Judge Charles Whit- tlesey, of Middletown, to begin the study of law. He continued to teach classes in the high school and was admitted to the bar October 30, 1852. In the autumn of that year he was a teacher in the Middle- town High School, resigning in December to open a law office. From February, 1852, to June, 1861, he was clerk of the Middlesex county courts, and in the meantime built up a most excellent prac- tice as an attorney. In the former year he was elected to the Common Council of the city, and in the latter year was elected city treasurer before completing his thir- tieth year, being the youngest person to occupy that position. In 1858 he was
city attorney, and throughout his long and active life was recognized as an able and useful lawyer. He originated the system of partisan registration, and in 1860 drafted and secured passage of the law for registration of voters. He was also very active and influential in making the city schools free. In 1860 and 1864 Judge Calef was a delegate to the Na- tional Republican Convention, and was postmaster of Middletown from 1861 to 1869. In the latter year he was tendered the Republican nomination for member of Congress, but declined to become a candidate. He was alderman in 1875, and judge of the City Court from 1884 to 1895, when he was retired on account of the age limit. Judge Calef was the first treasurer of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Savings Bank, and a trustee from its incorporation in 1858. He founded the Calef Oratorical Prize at Wesleyan in 1862, and was president of the Alumni Association from that year until 1880. In 1878 he was lecturer on Constitutional Law at the university. From its found- ing in 1867 and for ten years he was president of the Eleventh Chapter, Psi Epsilon fraternity, of Wesleyan.
Judge Calef enjoyed a very large prac- tice in State and United States courts. From 1871 to 1885 he had a partner, A. Ward Northrop, and this association was dissolved on the appointment of the latter to the position of postmaster. Subse- quently his son, Arthur B. Calef, was ad- mitted to partnership. For many years Judge Calef was president of the Middle- sex Gas Light Company, and he was a director in various financial institutions of Middletown. He was a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 2, Free and Accepted Masons, and was grand junior warden of the Grand Lodge of the State. He died August 17, 1900, and his demise was very widely lamented.
Judge Calef married, March 21, 1858,
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in Canterbury, New Hampshire, Hannah Foster Woodman, of that town, born De- cember 31, 1827, in Nashua, died January 14, 1892, in Middletown, a daughter of Caleb Morse and Lucy (Foster) Wood- man, and granddaughter of Colonel Asa Foster, a Revolutionary soldier.
MILLER, James Raglan, Physician, Hospital Official.
There were varied ways of deriving sur- names in the early days, but the most common way was from the occupation of the individual. The name of Miller is of this class and was early assumed by one who was a miller by trade. As with the name of Smith, there were many different families bearing the name, and the line- age of some of them is very difficult to trace. The family of which Dr. Miller is a descendant was early settled in Vir- ginia, and there his grandfather, James Quinn Miller, was born at Appomatox Court House. Subsequently he removed to Cadiz, Kentucky, where he was promi- nent in the civic life, serving as a member of the school board. He also conducted a general merchandise store.
1
Ira Miller, his son, was born in Cadiz, Trigg county, Kentucky, April 22, 1848, and died in 1916. When the Civil War broke out he had an appointment at West Point and went into the Confederate army as aide-de-camp to General Forrest, who was at that time a colonel. Ira Miller was wounded four times ; he served all through the war, and at one time, while with Colonel Forrest's troops, escaped from Fort Donnelson before that fort was surrendered; he also took part in the battles of Shiloh and Lookout Mountain. After the war he went into business for himself at Louisville, Ken- tucky, as a wholesale dealer in dry goods. The same week the Chicago fire occurred, his store was burned, and being unable
to collect his insurance, he was forced to discontinue his business. Soon after this time he removed to New York City, where he entered the employ of C. B. Smith & Company, of which the present firm of Smith, Worthing & Company, saddlery manufacturers, is the successor. Mr. Miller was in charge of the firm's store until 1887, in which year he re- moved to Westfield, Massachusetts, sub- sequently becoming general manager of the American Whip Company, and later president of the United States Whip Com- panies. These business activities held his interests until about 1911, when he re- tired. Mr. Miller was a Mason, thirty- second degree, and was a member of the Christian church. He materially aided in the organization of the first Young Men's Christian Association in Louisville. He was also one of the organizers of the United States Whip Company, which was consolidated with the leading manufac- turers in the country.
Mr. Miller married, in 1883, Frances Eliza Smith, daughter of Charles Board- man and Elizabeth Ann (Thayer) Smith. Mr. Smith was the senior member of the firm of Smith, Worthing & Company. Mr. and Mrs. Miller were the parents of four children : Charles B., of Portland, Ore- gon ; James R., of whom further ; Preston Thayer, of Westfield, Massachusetts ; and Susan Elizabeth, wife of Kent Wads- worth Clark, general manager of the Ori- ental Hotel in Kobi, Japan, where they make their home.
James R. Miller was born in Hartford, February 7, 1886, and soon afterwards was brought with his parents to West- field. He was educated there and gradu- ated from the high school in 1903. and four years later from Yale University. In 1911 he received his degree of M. D. from Johns Hopkins University, and for the following two and one-half years trav- elled in Europe, spending considerable
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time in Munich, Freiberg, and Vienna, where he followed post-graduate work in obstetrics and gynæcology. After his re- turn to America he was instructor in clinical obstetrics at his alma mater dur- ing the year 1914-15, and in the fall of 1915 he located in Hartford, where he has since successfully engaged in the prac- tice of his profession. Dr. Miller is assist- ant in obstetrics and gynæcology at the Hartford Hospital and is physician-in- chief at the Hartford Dispensary. He is a member of the Hartford, Hartford County and Connecticut Medical socie- ties, and of the American Medical Asso- ciation. His clubs are the University Club of Hartford and the Hartford Golf Club ; he is also a member of several fra- ternities, among them being: Beta Theta Pi; Alpha Omega Alpha, and while at Johns Hopkins he was a member of the Pithotomy Club.
Dr. Miller married Elisabeth Wells, daughter of William and Katharine (Van Husen) Wells, of Detroit. Mr. Wells' mother was a Lee, connected with the Fitzhugh Lee family of Virginia. Dr. Miller and his wife are the parents of three children: Katharine Van Husen, Frances Thayer, and Elisabeth Raglan. They attend and aid in the support of Trinity Episcopal Church of Hartford.
Charles Boardman Smith, father of Dr. Miller's mother, was born July 31, 1811 ; he married for his second wife, October 3, 1855, Elizabeth Ann Thayer. His father was Norman Smith, born at Hart- ford, November 4, 1772, died May 20, 1860. He married (first), November 23, 1795, Mary Boardman, born at Westfield, October 31, 1772, died August 3, 1820, daughter of Captain Charles and Abigail Boardman.
Captain Charles Boardman was born at Westfield, September 4, 1725, and died August 12, 1793. He was a mariner and master of vessels. He married, August 7,
1753, Abigail Stillman, born March 2, 1733, daughter of Deacon John and Mary (Wolcott) Stillman.
Timothy Boardman, father of Captain Charles Boardman, was born July 20, 1700, and died December 27, 1753. He married, December 21, 1721, Hannah Crane, born November 24, 1702, daughter of Israel and Lydia (Wright) Crane, and she died February 20, 1780.
Daniel Boardman, father of Timothy Boardman, was born August 4, 1658, and died February 20, 1724-25. He married, June 8, 1603, Hannah Wright, daughter of Samuel and Mary Wright.
Samuel Boreman, as the father of Dan- iel Boardman spelled the name, was born at Banbury, England, and was baptized there August 20, 1615. He went to New England and was a resident of Ipswich, Massachusetts, as early as 1639, when he had land recorded to him. By occupation he was a cooper. In 1641 he sold his house and land and removed to Wethers- field, Connecticut, at the time of his death being owner of about three hundred and fifty acres, which included an Indian grant. Samuel Boreman took an active part in public affairs, and for eight years was selectman. He also served as rate- maker, juror and surveyor of highways, and held important offices in the church. In 1657 he was elected deputy to the Gen- eral Court, served for eighteen terms thereafter, and was one of those present when the famous charter of Connecticut was "first publiquely read" to the free- men. Samuel Boreman married Mary, daughter of John and Mary Betts, and his death occurred in April, 1673. He was the son of Christopher Boreman, grand- son of Thomas, great-grandson of Thomas. The latter was a son of Wil- liam Boreman, of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, the earliest English ancestor of the name to whom the American ancestor can be traced. He was living in 1525.
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Frank I leavey
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
CAREY, Frank S.,
Publisher, Esteemed Citizen.
To write of Frank S. Carey, when the years have begun their onward march from the time when his valued work and service were performed, is to be unfail- ingly impressed with the wise vision with which he chose the worthwhile things of life and by the devotion with which he strove toward the noble ideals they em- bodied. Thus it was that while his inter- ests can be summarized within a few words, from these as a center there ema- nated an influence far-reaching in its effect and a source of uplifting strength to the circle of his associates. His home and his work in the Hartford "Courant," with which he was identified for nearly forty-five years, represented the major relations of his life, and in the first he found inspiration, courage, and strength for the exhausting labors he gave to the latter, and which eventually wore down his health. The record of his life is here placed as that of one of Connecticut's sons, distinguished for long continued and vitally essential service, and to the facts thereof are added the tributes of his colleagues and friends.
Mr. Carey was a descendant of proud American ancestry, tracing in direct line to John Carey, one of the founders of the town of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, who established his family in America in 1634, purchasing land from Miles Standish. An- other of his ancestors was Rev. John Rob- inson, minister of the Pilgrim band.
Frank S. Carey was a son of George B. and Anne (Havens) Carey, and was born in Hartford, Connecticut, April 3, 1854. His formal education was obtained in the Arsenal School and the Hartford High School, and he left the latter institution before the graduation of his class, 1873, entering business life in the employ of the cloth brokerage firm of Collins &
Fenn. After several years in this connec- tion he became bookkeeper for the firm of Hawley, Goodrich & Company, which later became the Hartford Courant Com- pany, publishers of the Hartford "Daily Courant." He found his work in the busi- ness and advertising departments, and upon the incorporation of the present company, in 1890, he was made secretary, later became secretary and treasurer, and then treasurer and vice-president, hold- ing the last-named office until his death. "Those were the days when journalism was in the transition stage, and it was due largely to his sure and guiding hand that the change from that earlier period to the present was safely made. Grouped with him were men whose names are written high and in illuminated letters in the annals of American journalism-and he was one of those of sufficient vision and strength to carry their visions into reality. Yet, in those days, vital to the future, when the newspaper was more like a daily letter to each individual subscriber than it can be to-day, and when subscribers and advertisers were personally known to the men behind the screens of the news- paper, Mr. Carey always found time to stop for a chat at the counter, or in the office, with those who came to praise or blame-and always was he ready to assist many of the younger members of the growing 'Courant'."
From 1904 to 1910 Mr. Carey was water commissioner of Hartford, during the ad- ministrations of Mayors William F. Hen- ney and Edward W. Hooker. Much of the work that he accomplished during that time was in the nature of deep- seated, fundamental planning, which has since proved its value, as at that time pro- vision was being made for the future water supply of the city, and projects endorsed pointed directly to the present Nepaug system, which is to become the chief source of Hartford's water supply.
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As this was his only public office, as the Hartford "Courant" was his only official business connection, so did he have but one social membership, and that in the Hartford Golf Club. "His was a quiet, constructive and well-rounded life- largely embraced and surrounded by his home and his newspaper desk. Few men, perhaps, gave more of themselves for those about them; few were less known to the many whom, by the use of his ability and power, he had benefited either directly or indirectly. He came and went from home to office, and measurement of his actual achievement can be accurately made only by those who worked and labored with him in what was for them and the community a great cause."
The following is the editorial note and tribute that appeared in the "Courant" at the time of Mr. Carey's death, December 4, 1919:
One of the choice men of his generation in Hartford died yesterday when the life of Frank S. Carey, vice-president of the Hartford Courant Company, went out. He was of a modest and quiet nature, and would be surprised at such an estimate of him, but those who knew him well were aware of his fine qualities. He was wise, straightforward, capable and safe, and as faithful and trusty as men are made. Everybody who came to know him was his friend. He was the sort of man that people took to when they met him. He entered the service of the "Courant" in the seventies, when the old firm of Collins & Fenn went out of business. That was in the days of General Joseph R. Hawley, Charles Dudley Warner, and Stephen A. Hubbard, but he was especially associated with General Arthur L. Goodrich, who became an officer of the company at the same time with him. All of these are now gone.
Mr. Carey began work here in a small way, but soon was indispensable to the paper, and it is no exaggeration to say that his services at a critical time saved the concern from financial wreck. Fortunately that was long ago. He took hold of the business with a master hand and reorganized the office and became its ruling force. The wel- come progress of the paper has followed his advent to authority. His devotion to it was un-
limited and, indeed, was the first cause of his break-down eight years ago. Personally Frank S. Carey was a lovable man, approachable, cempan- ionable, sympathetic, and in all ways trustworthy. There are few as choice men as he was.
Mr. Carey married, in February, 1880, Ella Bissell, and they were the parents of : Hiram Bissell, Harold Dearborn, and Ruth Bissell, the last-named deceased.
This memorial to one of Hartford's dis- tinguished citizens closes with the words spoken at his funeral by Rev. Dr. John Coleman Adams, pastor of the Church of the Redeemer, in which Mr. Carey was long active :
We have spoken of him together many times since he went, but not in any terms of that body do we speak of Frank S. Carey. Not his weight, nor his height, nor his voice or his complexion, nor anything that is of the material. Those do not concern the self that we knew and loved. But we have spoken of this or that trait; it has all been in terms of the unseen and spiritual. We have spoken of his integrity, his industry and faithfulness in business when he was well and strong. All these are expressions of things intel- lectual and spiritual; they all have reference to the inner, not the outer traits of the man. No- body would try to describe Frank S. Carey in terms of the outward and physical. All such things are what the apostle calls the things of the unseen which are eternal. * * For he * was a man who began on earth the life that is to continue and last. He was a man who had a sense of spiritual values. He prized such things, and strove toward them. He was a man who knew what religion meant. Thank God for a man of faith in these days. Thank God for a man of Christian hope, who, in his daily life, shows that atmosphere of good will which is of the kingdom of Heaven.
In these things and for these things we honor his memory. We love to think of him as carry- ing them forward, beyond the boundary of the seen. For him who has begun the life of the spirit on earth, in howsoever small and imperfect a way, life is simply carried forward into larger dimensions than here. Thank God we can think of him in these terms of high honor and spiritual appreciation. If we would pay him the highest tribute, let us live ourselves as we have seen him living.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
RYAN, Leonard Osborne,
Corporation Counsel.
One of the young attorneys of Middle- town, who has made rapid progress in his profession is the present corporation counsel of the city of Middletown. Leon- ard Osborne Ryan was born December IO, 1886, in Middletown, son of Arthur B. and Agnes M. (Sears) Ryan. His great- grandparents came from Ireland about one hundred years ago. They were iden- tified with the manufacture of crockery in Ireland, and were people of good blood and strong pride. All their children, ex- cept one, removed to Indiana and Cali- fornia.
(II) The exception, Michael A. Ryan, was born in New York City, settled in Danbury, Connecticut, and was a hat maker there, where he died in 1867, at the age of thirty-seven years. He married Almira E. Carl, a native of Danbury. She was a daughter of Peter and Julia (Barber) Carl, the former prominent in the American Revolutionary activities in the vicinity of Danbury.
(III) Arthur Benton Ryan, son of Michael A. and Almira E. (Carl) Ryan, was born March 2, 1855, in Danbury, where he grew up, attending the gram- mar and high schools. At the age of six- teen he removed to Hartford, where he began an apprenticeship at the jeweler's trade with Thomas Steele & Son. After five years he removed to Middletown, and in July, 1876, became associated with John L. Smith, jeweler of that city. Four years later he purchased the business and formed a partnership with C. Wy- man Barrows. Later the firm included three proprietors, Ryan, Barrows, and Parker, and this association continued about twenty years. At the end of this period, Mr. Ryan sold his interests and removed to Boston, Massachusetts, where
for a period of twelve years he was en- gaged in the manufacture of baking powder. This business he sold out and for some years operated a commission business, dealing largely in grocers' sun- dries. This business he also sold in 1912, when he returned to Middletown. Mr. Ryan is an active member, and was for some years deacon of the First Baptist Church, of whose Sunday school he was superintendent for twenty years. For several years he was vice-president of the Young Men's Christian Association, of Middletown, during which period its pres- ent handsome building was erected. Be- fore removing to Boston, he served two years as an alderman in Middletown, and during the Progressive movement of 1912 he was a candidate on that ticket for rep- resentative. For a number of years he was a director of the Central National Bank, of Middletown.
Mr. Ryan married, September 25, 1879, Agnes Maria Sears, who was born July 15, 1855, in Hartford, third daughter of Hezekiah Kilbourn and Julia (Osborne) Sears, granddaughter of Calvin and Mar- tha (Chapin) Sears. (See Sears line). The children of Arthur Benton and Agnes Maria (Sears) Ryan are: Stetson Kil- bourn, secretary of the State Board for the Education of the Blind, and deacon of the First Baptist Church, of Middle- town; Leonard Osborne, mentioned be- low; and Arthur Benton, residing in South Farms, and now on the staff of the Middletown "Press."
(IV) Leonard Osborne Ryan, son of Arthur Benton and Agnes Maria (Sears) Ryan, was educated in Middletown, grad- uating from the high school in 1904. He subsequently entered Wesleyan Univer- sity, from which he was graduated in 1908, with the degree of Bachelor of Phil- osophy. He began the study of law in the Yale Law School, was graduated in 1912;
Conn-10-9
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was at once admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession in Middle- town, where he has continued to the pres- ent time, carrying on a very successful general practice. While at Yale he won the Philo S. Bennett prize for an essay on political science. He is a member of the Middlesex County Bar Association, and is quite active in leading fraternal orders. He is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 2, An- cient Free and Accepted Masons; Wash- ington Chapter, No. 6, Royal Arch Ma- sons ; and Columbia Council, No. 9, Royal and Select Masters. He is also a member of Central Lodge, No. 12, Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; of Appollo Lodge, No. 33, Knights of Pythias; and Matta- bessett Council, No. 12, Order of United American Men. Politically, he is a Dem- ocrat ; served as clerk of the City Court in 1913-14; was appointed corporation counsel in February, 1920, and was reap- pointed in 1921. He is chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, and has been very active in promoting movements representing his political principle. For several years he has been a trustee of the First Baptist Church, succeeded his father as superintendent of its Sunday school, and was for some years a director of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion. While in college he engaged in newspaper work, and was for some time editor of the Middletown "Sun."
Leonard Osborne Ryan married, Octo- ber 10, 1916, Edith Reeve Lowery, a na- tive of Chelsea, Massachusetts, daughter of William E. and Eunice (Bates) Low- ery, of that city.
(The Sears Line).
(I) The Sears family, of which Mrs. Arthur Benton Ryan is a descendant, was founded by Richard Sears, who lived in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and concern- ing whom very little can now be discov-
ered. He probably had more than one wife, and it is not known which was the mother of his son, Silas, of whom further.
(II) Silas Sears, son of Richard Sears, died in Yarmouth, January 13, 1698. His wife. Anna, survived him, dying March 4, 1726.
(III) Captain Joseph Sears, third son of Silas and Anna Sears, born about 1675, in Yarmouth, died May 7, 1750, in that town. There he married, September 19, 1700, Hannah Hall, born about 1680, died July 28, 1753, descendant of John Hall, one of the pioneers of Yarmouth.
(IV) Roland Sears, fourth son of Joseph and Hannah (Hall) Sears, born May 14, 1711, in Yarmouth, lived in Greenwich, Massachusetts, where he died in March, 1784. He married Maria Free- man, who was born October 13, 1719, and died November 22, 1784, daughter of John and Mercy (Watson) Freeman, descend- ant of an early Cape Cod family.
(V) Freeman Sears, eldest child of Roland and Maria (Freeman) Sears, was born July 20, 1740, in Hardwick, Massa- chusetts, and died June 30, 1807. He married, October 22, 1761, Mehitabel Haskell, born July 9, 1744, died April 6, 1845, daughter of Andrew and Jane (Clark) Haskell.
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