USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v.2 > Part 10
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THE I PUBLIC LIBRARY
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TILDEN FALL DONE
Theodore Ayman
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
LYMAN, Theodore,
Lawyer, Financier.
The calendar declares Mr. Lyman an octogenarian and the calendar is inexor- able, but he is one of those men who never grow old save in years. Although hope has long since ended in fruition ; ambition in realization, enthusiasm given way to ripened judgment, he has that spirit of perennial youth in his heart, that sympathy and desire to be of service, from which he draws a fresh inspiration each day, as from a seemingly inexhaustible source. He is one of the oldest members of the Hartford bar, though it is now several years since he has engaged in practice, but he retains an active interest in several of Hartford's important finan- cial corporations, holding official position.
Nearly a decade has passed since he celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his admission to the bar and over three dec- ades since he succeeded his honored father as director of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. As the years have taken their toll, the heavier burdens he carried were gracefully surrendered to younger shoulders, but he has not lost step nor surrendered his place in the line of public-spirited men whose achieve- ments are the glory of City, State and Nation.
Mr. Lyman traces his family history to England and to Richard Lyman, who sailed on the ship "Lion" from Bristol, England, in August, 1631, settling in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he was made a freeman, June 16, 1635. On October 15, following, he joined the party that later settled in Hartford, Connecti- cut, where he died in August, 1640.
The line of descent is traced through his son, Lieutenant John Lyman, born in England in 1623, who was brought to this country by his parents in 1631. He
was a resident of Northampton, Massa- chusetts, where he died in 1690. At the "Falls" fight with the Indians, May 18, 1676, he commanded the Northampton troops. He married, in 1654, Dorcas, daughter of John Plumb, of Branford. Connecticut.
Their son, John Lyman, born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1660, died at his home at South Farms in 1740. He married, in 1687, Mindwell, daughter of John and Mary (Crawford) Pomeroy, and kept a public inn at Smith's Ferry. His wife was born in 1666, died in 1735.
Their son, Elias Lyman, born at South Farms in 1710, died in 1790. He suc- ceeded his father as inn keeper and farmer, and was many times called out for service during the Revolution. He married, in 1736, Hannah, daughter of Deacon Samuel Allen, of Northampton, born in 1714.
Their son, Elias (2) Lyman, born at South Farms in 1740, died in 1816. He was also a farmer and inn keeper. He married, in 1764, Hannah Clapp, of East- hampton.
Their son, Gaius Lyman, born Novem- ber 24, 1769, died January 4, 1845. He kept an inn for several years, moving to Hartford in 1804 and there becoming a merchant, dealing in lumber and West India goods. He married, January 18, 1797, Submit Field, born June 17, 1774, died in Hartford, April 27, 1846, daughter of Deacon Joseph Field, of Sunderland. Massachusetts.
Their son, Christopher Columbus Ly- man, father of Theodore Lyman, was born at Northampton, Massachusetts, December 28, 1800, died at Hartford, Connecticut, May 28, 1883. For a time he engaged in the lumber business in Hartford, but in 1835, upon the organiza- tion of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company, became its assistant secretary,
Conn-2-5
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continuing in that position until 1878. He was the largest individual stockholder in the company and a director, but stead- fastly refused to accept higher position in the management than that of assistant secretary although often urged. He was a cultured musician, his large library of musical works one of the best in the State. He composed the music for sev- eral hymns but never attempted any more pretentious composition. He was a man of quiet tastes and unassuming manner ; generous, kindly hearted, and sympa- thetic, pure in thought and deed, a true Christian and a public spirited citizen whose years, eighty-two and five months, were spent in good works. He married at Bennington, Vermont, September 6, 1830, Cecilia Breakenridge. who died in Hartford, March 20, 1870.
Theodore Lyman, son of Christopher Columbus and Cecilia (Breakenridge) Lyman, was born at Hartford, Connec- ticut, January 4, 1834, and there his years, eighty-two, have been spent. He fin- ished public school courses with gradu- ation from high school in 1851, then entered Yale College whence he was graduated Bachelor of Arts, class of "55." He then began the study of law under the preceptorship of Thomas C. and Charles E. Perkins, eminent members of the Hart- ford bar, and on June 26, 1859, was ad- mitted to practice. He chose the law of real estate as his special line and for half a century continued in practice, attaining high reputation as an able, honorable ex- ponent of the law of property. His busi- ness connections have been numerous and exceedingly weighty, embracing many well-known corporations of the past and present. These have been largely sur- rendered but he is yet "in the harness" as director of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company, succeeding his father on the board in 1883, as vice-president of the Society for Savings; as director of the
Connecticut General Life Insurance Com- pany and as trustee of the Hartford Trust Company.
This outline of his legal and business career but indicates its extent, importance and usefulness. No movement or enter- prise that promised to advance the public good or Hartford's greatness but has had and has his hearty support. His high ethical standard won him the respect of his professional brethren of bench and bar, his genial personality, a host of friends throughout the State, his upright- ness and integrity the highest esteem of his business associates. He is a member of the University Club and Phi Beta Kappa fraternity.
Mr. Lyman married, January 22, 1886, Laura M., daughter of George T. Sher- man, of Milford, Massachusetts, and has four children: Helen, who resides in Hartford: Richard Sherman, of whom further ; and Bertha and Esther, both liv- ing with their parents.
Richard Sherman Lyman, only son of Theodore and Laura M. (Sherman) Ly- man, was born January 29, 1891. He was graduated from the Hartford High School with the class of 1909, and from Yale University, Bachelor of Arts, in 1913, and immediately entering the Yale Medical School. He then took a special course in the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy, then attended the Harvard Medical School, and thence went to Johns Hop- kins University as a member of the class of 1919. When Professor Sedgwick, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy, was asked to nominate men to go to Serbia to combat the typhus epidemic, Dr. Lyman was one of the ten candidates named, and became a member of the Red Cross expedition that went to Serbia under the auspices of the Rockefeller Foundation for Research. He was inocu- lated against typhus, and was one of the company of twenty-five who sailed March
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3, 1915, to be gone five months. He per- formed a full share of the arduous labors and exposures incident to that severe service, and returned home October 4, 1915. In high school, he was chairman of his class. He is a member of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church. He is a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity of Yale, also of the Elihu Club.
BRADSTREET, Albert Porter, Lawyer, Jurist.
From 1875 until 1897, Judge Bradstreet was in the public service of the State of Connecticut, as town clerk, Assemblyman, State Senator, judge of probate, deputy judge and judge of the District Court at Waterbury. His prominence in public life and in his chosen profession does not outrank his social popularity nor his repu- tation as a loyal friend to every good en- terprise.
(I) Judge Bradstreet is of the seventh generation of the family founded in America by Simon Bradstreet, who came over with Governor Winthrop in 1630, an A. B. and an A. M .. Cambridge Uni- versity, 1620-24. Simon Bradstreet came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony as as- sistant, was secretary of the Colony from August 23, 1630, to 1636; deputy gov- ernor, 1673-78; governor, 1679-86, and again in 1689-92. He died March 27, 1697, aged ninety-four years. His wife, Ann (Dudley) Bradstreet, was a daughter of Governor Dudley, born in England. who came to Massachusetts in 1638 with a commission as deputy governor, was Governor of the Colony in 1640 and one of the signers of the Charter of Harvard College. Ann (Dudley) Bradstreet was the first poetess of note in New England and one of a distinguished family, her brother later becoming a Governor of the Colony, a nephew becoming chief justice. She died September 16, 1672. Governor
Bradstreet married a second wife, Ann, daughter of Emanuel Dowling, and widow of Joseph Gardner.
(II) John Bradstreet, the youngest child of Governor Simon Bradstreet and his first wife, Ann (Dudley) Bradstreet, was born July 22, 1652, at Andover, Mas- sachusetts, but spent his life largely in Topsfield, although in 1681 he was living in Salem. His wife Sarah was a daugh- ter, of the Rev. William Perkins, of Tops- field.
(III) Simon Bradstreet, son of John and Sarah Bradstreet, was born April 14, 1682, lived and died at Topsfield. He married Elizabeth Capen.
(IV) John (2) Bradstreet, named for his grandfather, John Bradstreet, son of Simon and Sarah (Perkins) Bradstreet, was born at Topsfield, March 2, 1717. He married Elizabeth Fisk.
(V) Captain Dudley Bradstreet, son of John (2) and Elizabeth (Fisk) Bradstreet, was born in Topsfield, October 8. 1765. He married Polly Porter.
(VI) Rev. Thomas Jefferson Bradstreet, son of Captain Dudley and Polly (Porter) Bradstreet, was born April 7, 1807, died at Thomaston, Connecticut, October 5, 1897. He was a graduate of Yale College in 1834, was ordained a minister of the Con- gregational church, and delivered the first sermon in the church of that faith at Thomaston, Connecticut. In 1840 he was compelled to abandon his holy calling through ill health, and for a time he was superintendent of the Seth Thomas Clock Company, later was their commercial agent. His health continued to fail and finally he sought the out-of-doors occupa- tion of a farmer, so continuing until his death in 1897. For thirty-seven years he was a member of the board of education of Thomaston, served as selectman, and represented his district in the State As- sembly. He continued actively in church work, although unable to follow the call-
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ing for which he prepared, but as Sunday school superintendent and worker ren- dered valued service in advancing his Master's cause. He was a man of the highest personal character, strong intel- lectually, ready in debate and a clear thinker.
Rev. Thomas J. Bradstreet married Amanda Thomas, a woman of great per- sonal charm and grace, noble in her char- acter, exerting a strong influence for good. She was a daughter of Seth Thomas, who began the manufacture of clocks in the town of Plymouth, now Hancock Station, Connecticut, in 1806, and in 1813 organ- ized the Seth Thomas Clock Company under the joint stock laws of the State of Connecticut, and located in the place now Thomaston. By act of Legislature, in 1875, the town of Plymouth was di- vided, the western portion set off as a new town, and in honor of Seth Thomas and the great industrial plant he had created was named Thomaston. Rev. Thomas J. and Amanda Bradstreet were the parents of four sons and a daughter, Mary Amanda, who became the wife of Joseph R. French, of New Haven. The sons became prominent in business, in public life, in law, in agriculture and in medicine. Thomas Dudley Bradstreet as veteran manufacturer, Assemblyman, State Senator and State comptroller ; Al- bert Porter Bradstreet as lawyer, judge and Legislator ; George Parker Bradstreet as farmer, dairyman and merchant; Ed- ward Thomas Bradstreet as a practicing physician of Meriden, Connecticut.
(VII) Albert Porter Bradstreet, son of the Rev. Thomas J. and Amanda (Thom- as) Bradstreet, was born at Plymouth, now Thomaston, Litchfield county, Con- necticut, June 9, 1846. There he attended the public schools and high school, and under private tutors prepared for admis- sion to Yale College in 1867, whence he
was graduated A. B., class of "71." Hav- ing decided upon the profession of law, he entered Columbia University Law De- partment, and there completed his course in 1873 and received the LL. B. degree. He chose Thomaston as the location in which to begin practice, having, how- ever, spent a few months in the law offices of Webster & O'Neill at Waterbury. He continued in successful practice at Thom- aston until 1879, when he was elected deputy judge of the District Court sitting in Waterbury. In 1883 he was elected judge of the same court, was reelected in 1887 and again in 1893, serving until 1897. He was also judge of probate for the Thomaston district from 1882 until 1890. At the expiration of his term as district judge in 1897, Judge Bradstreet resumed his profession, practicing with honor and success in State and Federal courts.
Judge Bradstreet early affiliated with the Republican party, became an active worker and has since been one of the strong men and leading spirits of his party. Two years after beginning prac- tice in Thomaston, he was elected town clerk and held that office continuously until 1891. In 1877-78 he represented Thomaston in the State Assembly, serv- ing on the committee on cities and bor- oughs. In 1881-82 he served as State Senator from the Sixteenth Senatorial District, filling a place on the committee of insurance, as chairman the first year and being chairman of the committee on judiciary the second year. The purely judicial offices to which Judge Bradstreet was elected have been previously noted.
He is of social, genial nature and en- joys the society of his friends, and has for many years been affiliated with clubs in the cities to which business or profes- sional engagements often called him. He is an ex-president of the Thomaston Club,
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a member of the Yale Club of New York, the Alpha Delta fraternity of Yale. In religious faith he is a Congregationalist.
Judge Bradstreet married at Thomas- ton, March 4, 1875. Mary J. Parker. daughter of Edwin P. and Martha (Lee) Parker, both of whom lived and died at Thomaston.
Fortunate indeed is the community whose sons rear such worthy monuments to perpetuate her memory as the lives of the Rev. Thomas Jefferson Bradstreet and his sons ; and happy is the man whose sons so worthily emulate the virtues of their father ; nor is the commercial great- ness arising from the genius and energy of their forefather, Seth Thomas. of greater value to Thomaston than the life records of his descendants herein re- corded. He brought to Thomaston the energy and thrift of his Scotch parents ; the Bradstreets brought to New Eng- land the culture and genius for public service of Governor Simon Bradstreet and his accomplished wife, Ann (Dudley) Bradstreet, and in Connecticut they united to form one of the strong families of this Commonwealth, a family of which Judge Albert Porter Bradstreet is a repre- sentative.
JUDD, George Edwards, Enterprising Citizen.
We are always duly interested and properly impressed by the success won by unusual talents and powers out of the common; it appeals to a very funda- mental trait in all of us, the account of the exploits of others more gifted than ourselves ; we find it vastly entertaining to read of some coup which we feel utterly beyond the reach of our own humble abil- ities, we are delighted at hearing a re- port of how St. George disposed of the dragon. But it may be questioned if such matters are of as really vital interest to
us, certainly they are not so important. as that other class of record which de- scribes how worth has won its way up- wards, through doubts and difficulties, from humble beginnings to a recognized place in the regard of men, and trusted to no power but its own indomitable cour- age and indefatigable patience for the result. It is in the latter kind rather than the former that a lesson is contained for the rest of us, and it is a story not un- common in this western land of ours. Like many of the other common things of life, however, it is perennially inspir- ing and with each repetition, each re- appearance under new circumstances we feel a reawakened sympathy, a renewed wonderment regarding the forces and traits of character that have thus tri- umphed over obstacles and difficulties, and a strengthened determination to emu- late them. Such an example we may find in the life of George Edwards Judd, of Waterbury, Connecticut, who, by sheer perseverance and hard work, gradually forced his way upward from the position he held as humble bookkeeper to one of influence and control in the financial and industrial world.
Born December 1, 1858, at New Haven. Connecticut, George Edwards Judd was the second of the nine children of William Brace and Elvira (Edwards) Judd, both of good old New England stock, the father having been born at Bethlehem and the mother at Roxbury, both in Connecticut. The Mr. Judd of this sketch lived in the city of his birth until he had reached the age of sixteen years. so that all his childish associations are with New Haven, and it was there that he gained his education, attending the excellent public schools and notably the Webster High School for that purpose. After completing his studies at this institution. Mr. Judd went to Middle- town, Connecticut, and there secured a position in the Middletown Green Houses.
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remaining there for upwards of eighteen manufacture of metal goods ever since. He founded the Judd and Puffer Insur- ance Agency, in 1881, and does a large business in this connection. months. He then came on to Waterbury, in which place he has since made his home and which has been the scene of his business career and is the site of the vari- There are other sides besides that of business to the activities of Mr. Judd and he is a participant in many aspects of the city's life. His great knowledge of finan- cial and business conditions being well recognized by his fellow citizens, he was chosen as a member of the bureau of as- sessment and served in that department most efficiently and to the satisfaction of the whole community. He is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the New Eng- land Society of New York and of the Waterbury and Country clubs of Water- bury. Mr. Judd is actively connected with church affairs in Waterbury. He is a Congregationalist and a member of the Second Church of that denomination in Waterbury. He is a liberal supporter of the charitable work undertaken by the congregation and has been clerk of the ecclesiastical society for the past twenty years. ous enterprises founded by him. A year after his coming to Waterbury, his father followed him there and engaged in a con- tracting and building business until his death in the year 1900. In the mean- while Mr. Judd, Jr., had secured a posi- tion as a bookkeeper with the Burcey Chemical Company, a prosperous concern of the city, it being an ambition of his to familiarize himself with business con- ditions and methods with a view to fitting himself for a larger career. He was well advised in this purpose and the training he received for the next few years could scarcely have been bettered. He remained about one year with the Burcey Company and then went temporarily to the Nauga- tuck Railroad Company, where he was given the position of cashier in the freight office of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, where he remained an- other year. He then took a clerical posi- tion as bookkeeper in the Waterbury Na- On July 18, 1898, Mr. Judd was united in marriage with Nina Cowles, a native of Oakville, Connecticut, and a daughter of Samuel Henry and Mary Jane (Coley) Cowles, both of whom are deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Judd have been born two children as follows: Stuart Edwards, born October 10, 1901, and now a student in the McTurnan private school of Water- bury where he is preparing himself for Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Connecticut ; and Eloise Elizabeth, born June 4, 1905, attending St. Margaret's School for Girls. tional Bank. This was the beginning of an association with this institution that lasted over a period of twenty-eight years, in which he gradually rose to the position of receiving teller, and became thoroughly familiar with every detail of the banking business. He then severed his connec- tion with the National Bank and became associated with the West Side Savings Bank of Waterbury, of which he is at present secretary and treasurer. But Mr. Judd's talents are scarcely given their full play even in so responsible a position as this. He is the possessor of a remarkable HOWE, Daniel Robinson, organizing ability, and this has found its expression in the Mattatuck Manufactur- Financier. ing Company of Waterbury which he A twentieth century representative of one of the ancient and honorable New established about 1898 and which has done a most flourishing business in the England families, Mr. Howe in his own
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right has won position among Hartford's financial leaders and public spirited citi- zens. He is a descendant in the eighth American generation of Abraham Howe, who came to Massachusetts from Eng- land, settling first at Watertown where he is named as a proprietor. He then moved to Marlborough, which town for several generations was the family seat. He is first of record in Marlborough, Massachusetts, in 1660, and there he died, June 30, 1695. He married, May 6, 1657. Hannah Ward, who died November 3, 1717, daughter of William Ward, ances- tor of General Artemas Ward of Revolu- tionary fame.
(Il) From Abraham Howe descent is traced through his son, Captain Daniel Howe, born 1658, died April 13, 1718, a large landowner in both Marlborough and Lancaster.
(III) His son, Jonathan Howe, Jr. (so called to distinguish him from another Jona- than Howe), was born April 23, 1695, died July 25, 1738. He married Sarah Hop- good. a descendant of Shadrach Hopgood, of Sudbury, Massachusetts.
(IV) Their son, Solomon Howe, born December 11, 1718, died October 13, 1762. He was a farmer of Marlborough until about 1738 when he moved to Mansfield, Connecticut. He married, about 1738, Mary Howe, born in Marlborough, No- vember 18, 1719, died November 16, 1792.
(V) Their son, Daniel Howe, born at Marlborough, Massachusetts, June 13, 1740, died at Mansfield, Connecticut, De- cember 8, 1807. He married, August 26, 1761, Bridget Smith, who died March 20, 1815, aged seventy-one years.
(VI) Their son, Edmund Howe, born at Mansfield, Connecticut, April 25, 1780, died December 10. 1834. He was a farmer and merchant. He married, March 3. 1807, Eunice Grant, born 1781, died Octo- ber 12, 1844. a descendant in the sixth
generation of Matthew Grant, of the Gen- eral Ulysses S. Grant family.
(VII) Their son, Edmund Grant Howe, father of Daniel Robinson Howe, was born at Mansfield, Connecticut, Novem- ber 8, 1807, died April 23, 1872. He be- gan business life with his father, later became a dry goods merchant, trading under his own name. In 1829 he located in Hartford, and in 1831 established the dry goods firm of Pratt, Howe & Com- pany, a firm that was abundantly success- ful until its dissolution in 1857. Junius S. Morgan, father of the late J. Pierpont Morgan, was Mr. Howe's partner for fifteen years while engaged in the dry goods business. After the dissolution of Pratt. Howe & Company, Mr. Howe went to New York City where for three years he was a partner in the banking firm of Ketchum, Howe & Company. In 1860 he returned to Hartford and became a mem- ber of the banking house of Howe, Mather & Company, continuing senior member until his death twenty-three years later. He was one of the organizers of the Hart- ford Carpet Company, and of the Green- woods Company for manufacturing cotton goods. He was the first president of the City Bank of Hartford, serving from 1851 until 1857, and from 1866 until 1872 was president of the Exchange Bank. He served the Connecticut Mutual Life In- surance Company as vice-president, the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- road Company as director, the Hartford and Wethersfield Horse Railroad Com- pany as its first president.
Mr. Howe held the rank of captain in the State militia, and while never an aspirant to political honors he served one term in the General Assembly, discharg- ing the duties of that office with the same conscientious care and thoroughness that distinguished him in his personal busi- ness affairs. He was a man of unusually
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fine business ability, forceful, farsighted, progressive and well balanced. His in- tegrity was undisputed, and he was held in the highest respect and esteem by all who knew him. He was one of the lead- ing business men of his day, and widely known both within and without his State.
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