USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v.2 > Part 27
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Mr. Billings in the main, has given his life to the development of the business of drop forging. His first invention, by which so much was accomplished in the Remington works, was the beginning of a long series of improving and origi- nal inventions, and in the great plant re- cently dedicated at Hartford the various
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processes by which bars of iron, steel, bronze or copper are transformed into pieces of irregular size and shape are seen i11 all the perfection of human ingenuity. The wonderful machines, hammers and processes are many of them the children of his own brain, and were the Billings' patents and processes removed from the earth drop forging would revert to one of the crude arts. One instance only will serve to illustrate his point and to show how the keen and alert mind of Mr. Bil- lings enabled him to increase the scope of his business, to aid other inventors, and to give to the world a greatly improved product. One day in 1886, Mr. Billings, while passing through the Edison Electric Works, noted the then existing method of making commutator bars. These are "L" shaped pieces of copper set at an angle to each other. Horizontal bars, thin and wedge like, separated by some non-con- ducting substance, were placed side by side around the shaft of the dynamo and bound firmly together. Electricity was generated by the friction of metallic brushes revolving at high speed against the edges of the bars. These bars were then made in two pieces united with pins and solder, but as the current was partly broken, resistance was increased and a maximum of efficiency could not be ob- tained. Mr. Billings quickly saw an op- portunity for improvement and on his return to Hartford at once addressed him- self to perfect a method by which a better commutator bar could be produced and sold to the Edison Company for a lower price than they were paying for an inferior bar. He perfected dies and processes, and within three weeks shipped the Edison Company an invoice of bars forged in a single piece from pure copper having a homogenous molecular structure through- out, and of the greatest possible density. He had not only produced a more efficient
bar for the purpose, but had also reduced the cost, facts which so appealed to the large electrical companies that they gen- erally adopted them. But that is only a single instance of the methods by which Mr. Billings brought his plant to the po- sition of the greatest of all drop forging establishments. This highly specialized plant produces a myriad of articles which go to every part of the globe. Many of these are incomprehensible to the layman, but a catalogued list includes a complete line of drop forged wrenches, ratchet drills, lathe dogs, clamps. combination pliers, vises, sewing machine shuttles, thumb screws, pistol frames and barrels, machinist's hammers, solid eye bolts, magazine screw drivers, and many parts of machines beyond power of computa- tion. In later years the business has been developed in the line of manufacturing forging machinery, including drop ham- mers, trimming presses, and die making machines. Many of the foregoing were Mr. Billings' own invention and it was his superior inventive genius in devising machines for special service in his own plant which gave him such an advantage in the manufacture of drop forged pro- ducts, and placed the Billings & Spencer plant in the proud position as the greatest, as it was the first commercial drop forg- ing company in the world. The company was incorporated in 1872, and it is inter- esting to note that its first extensive con- tract was for the manufacture of dies, furnished by the Pratt & Whitney Com- pany, as part of a general contract for the equipment of arsenals in Germany. Mr. Billings, president, and for so many years the dominant spirit, is yet president of the company and potent in its councils, but for some time has been retired from active participation in its affairs. From its be- ginning he made it the great interest of his life and it may be truly said that he
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loved his business. A hard worker, deter- mined and persistent, he never gave up until he accomplished whatever purpose he had in view. Both he and his company have risen from a humble beginning and it is with no little satisfaction that he re- views his long and honorable life, and con- templates the eminence of the company he formed which is perhaps but yet in its infancy, the tangible expression of a fun- damental idea born in the brain of a mas- ter.
The original home of the company, part of a wooden building occupied by the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Com- pany, was bought, rebuilt and added to in 1899 until it had a frontage of five hun- dred and forty feet on Lawrence street, three hundred and forty feet on Broad street and two hundred and twenty-five on Russ street. That was the company's home for many years, and in its planning and designing the comfort, health and efficiency of employees received most careful attention. In January, 1916, the company removed to an entirely new home on the corner of Park and Laurel streets, having bought what was once the plant of the Columbia Motor Vehicle Company, and with the aid of efficient engineers overhauled it from top to bottom, made several additions, making a plant in which detail of construction, the placing of machines, routing of work and each other matter is arranged to pro- mote the greatest efficiency. A new boiler plant and a steel shed was built and a part of the original group of build- ings has been practically rebuilt into a large forge shop to house the drop forging department. With these additions, the plant as a whole has been arranged to provide for an uninterrupted flow of ma- terial from steel shed to shipping room. Wonderful is the steel shed with a capac- ity of five thousand tons, the boiler plant, the trimming, die sinking, grinding and
polishing departments, but the forge shop or drop forging department is the heart of the plant. This is a building 80x446 feet free from posts, the roof twenty-one feet to the under side of the chord, being self supporting. There, the great Niles cranes lift the heavier parts, and the great bat- tery of hammers forge parts weighing from one-half an ounce to two hundred and fifteen pounds, and every device tend- ing to perfect efficiency in manufacturing, ventilation, sanitation and heating are employed, and above all, "Safety First" rules. The arrangement of offices, with its varied departments, is planned with the same objects in view and in all the ex- perience of over forty years in business has enabled Billings & Spencer to make its new plant a notable addition to New England's large industrial establishments.
Mr. Billings, great as a mechanical en- gineer, expert and inventor, has fully demonstrated his executive ability in his management of the company's affairs. He is a keen observer of men and things, is a good judge of human nature, and as he has trod every step of the path from apprenticeship to president, he can appre- ciate the small irritations that are in- evitable in any large body of workmen. He was and is eminently great and fair in his dealings with his men, keeping in close personal touch with them, ever hold- ing their confidence and esteem. Until 1912 the company employed no salesmen, yet always kept their plant running on full time. Selling agencies were then established in nearly every large city, and business has now trebled. In the summer of 1915 they became, by invitation, a member of the Rice Leaders of the World Association, membership in this exclu- sive association being "Honor, Quality, Strength and Service." His interests out- side Billings & Spencer grew with the years, and he is yet officially identified with a number of Hartford's important
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industrial corporations. As president of the State Savings Bank, and trustee of the Hartford Trust Company, he com- mands the respect of the financial world. He is also president of the C. E. Billings Manufacturing Company. On October 2, 1895. he was elected president of the American Society of Mechanical Engi- neers to fill out the unexpired term of E. F. C. Davis, and when his term expired he was elected an honorary member in perpetuity, and to membership of the Honorable Council of the society. In younger years he was a member of the First Regiment, Connecticut National Guard, and has always taken an active part in public affairs. Although never seeking office, he has never been unmind- ful of his obligations as a citizen, and has borne his share of the administration of municipal affairs. He served as council- man and alderman from the Third Ward, was president of the Board of Fire Com- missioners twelve years, and gave to the performance of his duties the same care- ful intelligent interest as to his private affairs. In fact, at times, he has postponed private business in order that no detail of work connected with his official duties might suffer.
In the Masonic order he has attained the highest honor his. brethren of the United States could confer, the thirty- third degree. Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, is an honorary member of the Su- preme Council of the Order, and is a mem- ber of the Royal Order of Scotland. He is a past grand commander of the Grand Commandery of Connecticut, Knights Templar, and as a man is as highly esteemed personally as he has been hon- ored officially. He is a member of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, the Home Market Club of Boston, the Ameri- can Protective Tariff League and the Hartford Club.
Mr. Billings married (first) January 5, 1857, Frances M. Heywood, daughter of William Heywood. of Cornish, New Hampshire, who died in 1872. He mar- ried (second) September 9, 1874, Eva C. Holt, daughter of L. H. Holt, of Hart- ford. Children of first marriage: I. Charles H., born July 13, 1861, died in infancy. 2. Frederic Church, born in Utica, New York, October 21, 1864 ; educated in Hart- ford public schools, served an apprentice- ship with Pratt & Whitney, and since then has been closely affiliated with his father in the management of the Billings & Spen- cer Company ; he was made superintend- ent about 1888, later vice-president, and has since held the dual offices and carries the heavier burden of management since his father's partial retirement ; he is a di- rector of the City Bank & Trust Com- pany, director of the Canadian Foundries and Forges Company, organized to manu- facture Billings & Spencer's products in Canada, is connected with the C. E. Bil- lings Manufacturing Company ; member of St. John's Lodge, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons; the Hartford Golf. Hart- ford Country and Hartford Yacht clubs, East Hadden Fish and Game clubs; he married Mary E. Parker, daughter of Rev. Edwin Pond Parker. and has a daughter, Frances. 3. Harry E., born December 23, 1868, died young. Children of second marriage : 4. Mary E., born October 22, 1877; married William B. Green, of New York. now manager of the advertising de- partment of the Billings & Spencer Com- pany. 5. Lucius H., born June 26, 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Billings are members of the Hartford Congregational Church.
INGALLS, Phineas Henry, M. D., Physician, Gynaecologist.
Dr. Phineas Henry Ingalls, of Hartford, needs no introduction to contemporaneous
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readers of this work. His reputation as a gynaecologist extends far beyond the con- fines of Connecticut. The prominent con- nection which Dr. Ingalls has for many years maintained with the National Guard has also made his name familiar to the laity of his home State.
The Ingalls family is one of the oldest in America, and first appears in England in 1080, it being recorded in "Domesday Book" that in that year Baron Ingald was a tenant of King William at Rersbi and Elvestone, Leicestershire. He came from Normandy, but his connection with the American branch of the family has not yet been traced. It has been supposed that the name of Ingalls is of Scandina- vian origin, and means "By the power of Thor." During the ninth century Scan- dinavian pirates often descended upon the east coast of Great Britain and in later years many of them settled there, espe- cially in Lincolnshire. Ingalls, like most other surnames, was and still is spelled in various ways, particularly in England.
(I) Henry Ingalls, the earliest known progenitor of the American branch of the family, was born, probably, about 1480, and made his will in 1555. He married and had a son, Robert.
(II) Robert Ingalls, son of Henry In- galls, married and had a son, Edmund.
(III) Edmund Ingalls, son of Robert Ingalls, was born about 1598, in Shirbeck, Lincolnshire, and was one of the com- pany which, in 1628, under the leadership of Governor John Endicott, founded the town of Salem, Massachusetts. The fol- lowing year, in association with his brother, Francis Ingalls, and four others, Edmund Ingalls helped to establish a set- tlement at Lynn. He was one of the prominent citizens of his day and there is abundant testimony to his good character, despite the fact that he was once fined for "bringing home sticks in both his arms
on the Sabbath day." In March, 1648, while traveling on horseback to Boston, he was drowned in the river Saugus, the accident being due to a defective bridge. His wife Ann, whom he married in Eng- land, survived him. His will was probated November 16, 1648, his estate being ap- praised at one hundred and thirty-five pounds.
(IV) Henry (2) Ingalls, son of Ed- mund and Ann Ingalls, was born in 1627, in Shirbeck, Lincolnshire, and was an in- fant when brought by his parents to New England. He became the owner of land in Ipswich, the sale being recorded in 1652, and he was one of the first settlers of Andover, Massachusetts, purchasing his land from the Indians. In 1673 Henry Ingalls was made a freeman and became active in town affairs, holding various offices. He married, July 6, 1653, Mary, daughter of John and Ann Osgood, of Andover, who died in December, 1686. The death of Henry Ingalls occurred Feb- ruary 8, 1719.
(V) Henry (3) Ingalls, son of Henry (2) and Mary (Osgood) Ingalls, was born December 8, 1656, in Andover, and mar- ried, June 6, 1688, Abigail, born January 16, 1669, daughter of John, Jr., and Mary (Webster) Emery. Henry Ingalls died in Andover, February 8, 1699, and his widow survived him more than half a century, passing away July 12, 1756.
(VI) Francis Ingalls, son of Henry (3) and Abigail (Emery) Ingalls, was born December 20, 1694, in Andover, and mar- ried (first) November 19, 1719, Lydia, daughter of James and Hannah (Abbott) Ingalls. Her death occurred April 29, 1743. The will of Francis Ingalls was probated February 26, 1759.
(VII) Francis (2) Ingalls, son of Fran- cis (I) and Lydia (Ingalls) Ingalls, was born January 26, 1731, in Andover, and married, November 12, 1754, Eunice Jen-
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nings. Francis Ingalls died in Andover, April 3, 1795, and his widow died May 23, 1799.
(VIII) Phineas Ingalls, son of Francis (2) and Eunice (Jennings) Ingalls, was born November 14, 1758, in Andover, and was a soldier of the Revolution, partici- pating in the battle of Bunker Hill and in 1776 seeing service in Albany. He mar- ried, October 22, 1783, Elizabeth, who was born November 19, 1764, daughter of Jacob Stevens. The latter years of Phin- eas Ingalls' life were spent in Bridgton, Maine, and it was there he died, January 5, 1844. His widow, the faithful compan- ion of sixty years, passed away July 19. 1858.
(IX) Dr. Phineas (2) Ingalls, son of Phineas (1) and Elizabeth (Stevens) In- galls, was born December 22, 1797, in Bridgton, Maine, and practiced medicine at Gorham, Maine. He married, March 19, 1845, Ruth Huston, born July 11, 1815, at Gorham, daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Mosher) Elder, and a descendant of Jo- sias Cook, who came in the "Mayflower." Of their children the only one who grew to maturity was Phineas Henry, men- tioned below. Dr. Ingalls continued in active practice until his death, which oc- curred at Gorham, February 24, 1858.
(X) Dr. Phineas Henry Ingalls, son of Phineas (2) and Ruth Huston (Elder) Ingalls, was born April 8, 1856, at Gor- ham, Maine, and was prepared for college in the public schools of his native town and in those of Portland. In 1877 he graduated at Bowdoin College with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and in 1885 his alma mater conferred upon him that of Master of Arts. His preceptors in the study of medicine were Drs. S. H. Tewks- bury and Charles W. Bray-that is to say, his preceptors in a preliminary course of reading. Later he attended two courses of lectures at the Maine Medical School,
after which he entered the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons of New York City, graduating from that institution in 1880. Immediately thereafter Dr. Ingalls was appointed to the position of house surgeon in the Woman's Hospital, in New York City, and it was while holding this posi- tion that he decided to make surgery his life-work. In pursuance of this resolution he returned to Portland in November, 1881, and in the following March opened an office in Hartford, where he has since resided. Ile has always made a specialty of gynaecology, in which he has achieved from the beginning notable success. He is now generally recognized as the fore- most gynaecologist in Connecticut. In 1884 Dr. Ingalls was appointed visiting gynaecologist of the Hartford Hospital, and he is now chairman of its medical and surgical staff. In 1889 he was appointed medical examiner for the Ætna Life In- surance Company. Dr. Ingalls is fre- quently called in consultation to places situated at a distance from Hartford.
In the midst of an unusually active pro- fessional career, Dr. Ingalls has found time to keep in close touch with municipal affairs and to render valuable service as a public official. He was appointed by Mayor Brainard a member of the Board of Police Commissioners, and he also served as chairman of the building com- mittee having in charge the erection of the new police station. It was largely through Dr. Ingalls' activities in this po- sition that the present excellent structure was secured.
For a number of years Dr. Ingalls ren- dered efficient service in the Connecticut National Guard. In 1883 he was ap- pointed assistant surgeon of the First Connecticut Regiment, in 1885 he was commissioned adjutant and in 1890 he served as brigade inspector on the staff of General Watson. In 1892 the pressure of
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his growing practice made it necessary for him to resign. Dr. Ingalls now holds the position of surgeon-general on the staff of Governor Holcomb.
Among the professional organizations in which Dr. Ingalls is enrolled are the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is president, di- rector and trustee of the Hartford Medi- cal Society and the only Connecticut member of the American Gynaecological Society, the membership of which is limited to one hundred specialists. He also belongs to the Alumni Association of the Woman's Hospital of New York City.
Despite the multitude of imperative de- mands upon his time and attention Dr. Ingalls' pen has not been idle. Among the many able papers which he has con- tributed to professional publications we may mention the following: "Non-Surgi- cal Treatment of Anteflexion," published in the "New York Medical Journal," March 27, 1886; "Damages of Parturition and Their Repair," read before the Connecti- cut Medical Society, 1886; "Uterine Can- cer," Connecticut Medical Society, 1889; "Sloughing Fibroid of the Uterus," Amer- ican Gynaecological Society, 1891; "Suc- cessful Case of Caesarean Section," "Amer- ican Journal of Obstetrics," August, 1892.
By right of ancestry Dr. Ingalls is en- rolled in the Sons of the American Revo- lution and the Society of Colonial Wars. He belongs to the Hartford Club, the Country Club, the Church Club of Con- necticut and the Delta Kappa Epsilon fra- ternity. For many years he has been an active member of Christ Protestant Epis- copal Church of Hartford.
Dr. Ingalls married, May 13. 1885, Mary Helen Beach, born July 12, 1861, in Hart- ford, daughter of Joseph Watson and Jo- sephine E. (Coffing) Beach. Mr. Beach, as a member of the firm of Beach & Com-
pany, importers of colors and dyestuffs, was in his day one of the leading business men of Hartford. He was president of the Weed Sewing Machine Company, be- ing also officially connected with several other important manufacturing concerns.
Dr. Ingalls' success is the fruit not only of close study and keen observation, but also of that combination of methods, char- acter and conduct which, in any profes- sion, seldom fails to secure speedy and lasting recognition.
BEACH, Charles Coffing, M. D., Physician, Hospital Official.
Dr. Charles Coffing Beach, who has now been practicing for thirty years in his na- tive city of Hartford, is a representative of a family of ancient Colonial record. Through different lines of ancestry Dr. Beach traces his descent from men who helped to make the history of New Eng- land from the earliest period of her ex- istence.
(I) Thomas Beach, founder of the Hartford branch of the family, was among the recorded founders of the New Haven Colony, as were also his brothers, Rich- ard and John. On March 7, 1647, Thomas Beach took the oath of fidelity in New Haven, later removing to Milford. He is said to have lived for a time in Walling- ford, but it is known that he returned to Milford before his death. He married, March 1, 1654, Sarah, daughter of Richard and Mary Platt. Thomas Beach died in 1662 and his widow passed away in 1698.
(II) John Beach, son of Thomas and Sarah (Platt) Beach, was born October 19. 1655, in Milford, Connecticut, and in 1674 went to Wallingford with the chil- dren of John Beach, of Stratford. He was known as John Beach, Jr., to distinguish him from his cousin of the same name. In December, 1677, he married Mary
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. The death of John Beacli oc- curred in 1709.
(III) John Beach, son of John and Mary Beach, was born October 15, 1690, in Wallingford, Connecticut, and in 1729 became one of the founders of the town of Goshen, Connecticut. In 1739 he built, in what is now East Goshen, one of the largest houses in the town, and there, in November, 1740, the Rev. Mr. Heaton, the first minister of Goshen, was ordained. John Beach married (second) Mary, born in 1695, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Baldwin) Royce, who died October 27, 1767. John Beach passed away May 9, 1775.
(IV) Adnah Beach, son of John and Mary (Royce) Beach, was born January II, 1718, and was by trade a tanner. He represented his town in the General As- sembly. Adnah Beach married, June 9, 1741, Hannah, daughter of John and Sarah (Ball) Miles, granddaughter of John and Elizabeth (Harriman) Miles and of John Harriman, of New Haven, and great- granddaughter of Richard Miles, who took the oath of fidelity in New Haven, in 1657. Hannah (Miles) Beach passed away December 6, 1775, aged fifty-five years, and her husband, Adnah Beach, died March 10, 1783.
(V) Ebenezer Beach, son of Adnah and Hannah (Miles) Beach, was born May 30, 1766, and at the time of his mar- riage appears to have been in business as a goldsmith and clockmaker, in Hartford, having as an associate his brother Miles. Later Ebenezer Beach removed to Litch- field, where he engaged in the same busi- ness by himself. He married, in Hart- ford, Lucy Steele, whose ancestral record is appended to this biography, and who died April 7, 1801, surviving her husband, whose death occurred May 3, 1793.
(VI) George Beach, son of Ebenezer and Lucy (Steele) Beach, was born No-
vember 29, 1788, in Litchfield, Connec- ticut, and after the death of his mother probably lived until 1806 with his Grand- father Steele. He began his business ca- reer as a clerk for John Pierce, a West In- dian merchant of Hartford, and lived for a time, as was frequently the custom in those days, with the family of his em- ployer. A few years later Mr. Beach be- came a partner in the business under the firm name of Pierce & Beach. The trade of the firm was ruined by the War of 1812 and Mr. Pierce left the city, Mr. Beach remaining to close the business. Upon the organization of the Phoenix Bank of Hartford, in 1814, Mr. Beach was elected cashier, a position which he con- tinued to hold until September 6, 1837, when he was elected president, remain- ing at the head of the institution until his last illness and resigning on April 5, 1860. In 1836 Mr. Beach became a partner in the firm of Phelps, Beach & Company, formerly Hungerford, Phelps & Beach. When Mr. Phelps retired in 1839 the firm became Beach & Company, George Beach becoming head of the house.
When General Lafayette visited Hart- ford, about 1825, it was Mr. Beach's duty as captain of the Governor's Foot Guard, to meet the honored guest, and, with his company, to escort him to a raised platform in front of the Phoenix Bank where the leception was held.
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