USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v.2 > Part 4
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Bronson B Tuttle
THE NEW YORK PULLIC LID. ARY
ARTOP. L 0% TILDEN ICH
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
lands, and with Mr. Gregson was one of the first owners of land in East Haven, Connecticut. His land there was bounded by a line running from the old ferry (where the new bridge over the Quinnipi- ack now stands) eastward to a spring where issues the small stream called Tut- tle's brook, thence south to Gregson's land at Solitary Cove, thence west to a point on the New Haven harbor near chemical works and Fort Hale, thence north along the harbor to the point of be- ginning. It included Tuttles hill. In 1659 he became the owner of land at North Haven. The greater portion of his extensive property holdings he sold or conveyed to his children before his death. He was one of the most prominent and influential citizens in the colony at New Haven, and held public office for several years. He was interested in the attempted settlement of a colony from New Haven on the banks of the Delaware ; this failed, however, through the hostility of the Dutch in New Netherlands. In New Haven he was commissioner to decide on an equivalent to those who received in- ferior meadow lands in the first allotment. He was fence viewer in 1644; road com- missioner, 1646; commissioner to settle the differences as to the boundary be- tween New Haven in 1669, and to fix the bounds of New Haven, Milford, Branford and Wallingford in 1672. He was often a juror and arbitrator ; and was constable in 1666. He died early in June, 1673, and the inventory of his estate is dated June 6, of the same year. His wife Elizabeth died December 30, 1684, aged seventy- two years. For several years previous to her death she had been residing with her son Nathaniel, who presented her will. The inventory of her estate is dated Feb- ruary 3, 1685. Her gravestone was re- moved with others in 1821, from the Old Green to the Grove Street Cemetery, and
now stands in a row placed along the north wall of the cemetery.
(II) Jonathan Tuttle, son of William and Elizabeth Tuttle, was baptized in Charlestown, Massachusetts, July 8, 1637, and was the first child of the founder who was born in America. About the year 1670 he began a settlement on the out- skirts of New Haven, on what is now the southern part of the town of North Haven. He also built a bridge over the Quinnipi- ack river, which was long known as Tut- tle's bridge. He was granted permission by the General Court to collect toll here, and also to take compensation for the re- freshment of travellers. He died intes- tate, and his estate was administered by Simon Tuttle. He married Rebecca Bell, daughter of Lieutenant Francis Bell, one of the pioneer settlers of Stamford. She was born in August. 1643, and died May 2, 1676.
(III) William Tuttle, son of Jonathan and Rebecca (Bell) Tuttle, was born May 25, 1673, and died in 1727. He married Mary Abernatha, born March 27, 1679-80, daughter of William Abernatha, of Wall- ingford. He received a deed of forty acres of land from his father about 1696. His will was proved on November 6, 1727, and the inventory of his estate amounted to nine hundred and thirty-eight pounds, a large estate for the time.
(IV) Ezekiel Tuttle, son of William and Mary (Abernatha) Tuttle, was born about 1705. He was a large landholder, and a farmer in North Haven. He mar- ried (first) April 21, 1729, Susannah Mer- riman, born July 20, 1709, a descendant of Captain Nathaniel Merriman, and daugh- ter of John and Elizabeth (Peck) Merri- man. Ezekiel Tuttle married (second) January 16, 1760, Sarah Rexford, of New Haven.
(V) Reuben Tuttle, son of Ezekiel and Susannah (Merriman) Tuttle, was born
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
March 3, 1739, at North Haven, Connec- ticut. He removed later in life to New Haven, and resided there. He married, January 20, 1766, Hannah Tyler, of Bran- ford, Connecticut, who died September I, 1783. In March, 1803, administration of the estate of Reuben Tuttle was granted to his son Obed.
(VI) Obed Tuttle, son of Reuben and Hannah (Tyler) Tuttle, was born at North Haven, Connecticut, June 26, 1776, and upon reaching his majority removed to Prospect, where he engaged in farming and blacksmithing, manufacturing scythes and axes. He died at Prospect, January 12, 1856. Obed Tuttle married Lucretia Clark, of West Haven. She died August 19, 1862.
(VII) Eben Clark Tuttle, son of Obed and Lucretia (Clark) Tuttle, was born at Prospect, Connecticut, April 27, 1806. He remained at home until he reached the age of twenty years when he went to Straitville, Connecticut, and secured em- ployment at manufacturing forks. Three years later he returned to Prospect, and shortly afterwards invented the modern "goose-neck" hoe, which wholly supplant- ed the old form then in use, and brought him constant demands for the manufac- tured article. He set up a shop and be- gan the making of hoes. The output of this first factory amounted to only twen- ty-five hoes a day. The demand for the invention was so great that the business increased very rapidly and in 1846 Mr. Tuttle removed to Union City, where he opened a small shop. Some years later the business was incorporated, with Eben Clark Tuttle as president. The firm also manufactured forks. In 1856 Mr. Tuttle resigned his position as president of this firm, and formed the E. C. Tuttle Manu- facturing Company, building a factory near the railroad station at Union City. This was destroyed by fire in 1858. Two
years later, in 1860, he went to Oshawa, Canada, and there established a large plant, which became one of the most im- portant of its kind in the country. He returned to the United States in 1864, and organized a company under the name of the E. C. Tuttle Manufacturing Com- pany, now the Auburn Manufacturing Company. In 1868 he returned to Can- ada, and established the Welland Vale Works, in which venture he lost his for- tune. He died in Union City, Connecti- cut, December 3, 1873. He married (first) April 27, 1829, Temperance Beecher, daughter of Hezekiah Beecher. She died October 3, 1863. He married (second) Charlotte Bentz. The children of Mr. Tuttle and his first wife were: I. Juliette Augusta, born August 16, 1832, died Sep- tember 23, 1835. 2. Bronson Beecher, mentioned below. 3. Adelbert C., born March 19, 1847; married, June 13, 1872, Margaret Carlisle, of St. Catherines, Can- ada. It was said of Eben Clark Tuttle at the time of his death :
His reputation as a manufacturer was almost world-wide, and when the history of the manu- facturing founders of the Naugatuck Valley shall be written, his name will be among the foremost. He lived to see the business he commenced in a small way grow to almost gigantic proportions, and the little hamlet of Union City, which when he went there, contained scarce half a dozen houses, by his enterprise became one of the first manufacturing villages of the Naugatuck Valley.
(VIII) Bronson Beecher Tuttle, son of Eben Clark and Temperance (Beecher) Tuttle, was born in Prospect, Connecti- cut, December 28, 1835. He was edu- cated in the public and private schools of Connecticut, completing his studies in the Naugatuck High School. After being graduated from the latter he entered his father's factory and mastered the busi- ness both in entirety and in detail. This business formed the nucleus of what be-
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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
OP. LENOX NE IDATIONS
Hubert, Choun
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
came the large Tuttle interests in many parts of the country. In 1857 the prin- cipal business was the manufacture of hoes, rakes and small agricultural imple- ments, etc. At this time the malleable iron department was only a side issue to the rest of the plant. In 1858 the entire plant was destroyed by fire, and in the rebuilding of the plant, the entire man- agement and conduct of the malleable iron industry was turned over to Bron- son Beecher Tuttle and John H. Whitte- more by the Tuttle Hoe Manufacturing Company. In this venture the two men were highly successful, and continued as partners until 1894, when a stock com- pany was formed. Bronson Beecher Tut- tle gradually attained a position in the business and industrial world which equalled that of his father. He became president of the Pratt Manufacturing Company of No. 71 Broadway, New York City, makers of railway tracks supplies. Mr. Tuttle was a dominant figure in the financial world. He was connected with the Naugatuck National Bank and the Savings Bank in official capacities. He was also greatly interested in Chicago real estate.
Mr. Tuttle was a Republican in politi- cal affiliation, and served one term, in the State Legislature.
He married, October 12, 1859, Mary A. Wilcox, daughter of Rodney B. and Rachel Montgomery (Green) Wilcox, of Madison, Connecticut. She was born October 3, 1836. Mrs. Tuttle resides in Naugatuck. Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle had one son: Howard Beecher Tuttle. Bron- son Beecher Tuttle died in Middlebury, Connecticut, September 12, 1903. The following epitome of his life and char- acter gives more concisely and clearly than could any other effort an adequate description of the man and what he meant to the community, who knew and loved him well :
The heredity and early environment of Mr. Tuttle were evident in mature years, habits of industry and integrity being implanted in the formative age. In those days people read less, but they thought more. The life was simple, but strong and sweet, and his love for this form of life never deserted him. He had ever a sin- cere sympathy with the toiler, but never patron- izing pity just because he toiled. He learned to work better than he learned to play. His innate, rare, practical mechanical ability he developed out into large, long lines. He achieved success not by accident, but by constant application of effort and by the continued practice of thrift. His attainment, and it was high, did not separate him in spirit from the humblest humanity if it were honorable. Rather reserved, so that you might not have suspected the true and tender sentiment which was strong within. He took life seriously, but beneath the surface was a nature keenly appreciative and often expressive of happiest wit and healthiest humor. No man had a better belief in genuine godliness. There was a firm faith at the foundation of his worthy works. No man loved the Sabbath and the sanctuary more than he. His generosity was of the scriptural sort, of not letting one hand know what the other did. He was cautious even to extreme conservatism. He was a man of posi- tive convictions. He was not quick to convince. He could discerningly detect shams and he spared them not in sharp, sound judgment. He despised any reference to himself for his wealth and asked to be weighed only for his worth. He was absolutely loyal as a friend. He was a wholesome example as a father. He was fond and faithful as a husband. He was fine as a citizen. We are thankful for the thoughtful kindness of her who has bestowed this building, and it will not so much serve to make us remem- ber him whose name appeareth herein, but he whose name it beareth will help us always to remember the building .- Taken from the address of the Rev. Sherrod Soule, delivered on Novem- ber 2, 1907, at the dedication service of the Tut- tle Memorial Chapel at Grove Cemetery, the gift of Mrs. Tuttle.
HART, Hubert Chauncey,
Manufacturer, Inventor.
Hubert Chauncey Hart, well known manufacturer of Hartford, and president of the Ætna Safety Appliance and Hard- ware Company, is a member of the famous
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
and distinguished family of Harts of Con- necticut, which traces its ancestry directly back to Deacon Stephen Hart, of pre- Revolutionary fame. He is the son of Chauncey and Sarah Jane (Hooper) Hart, and was born in the town of Farmington, Connecticut, on April 14, 1844. He re- sided in Farmington until he reached the age of seven years, when his father re- moved from, Farmington to Unionville, Connecticut. Here he started a factory for the manufacture of steel traps and edge tools. He was noted for the manu- facture of the best grade of edge tools in the market, and was the first man in the United States to patent and manufacture steel game traps, and solid steel garden rakes. This industry has grown enor- mously since the time when he founded it, and is now one of the great industries of the country. The value and excellence of the work produced by his factories can be adequately gauged by the fact that his carpenter's chisels, manufactured fifty years, are now in use by carpenters of to- day. The principle on which he founded his business, and which was largely the cause of his success, was to manufacture the best grade of product that could pos- sibly be made, and to use in his factories only the highest quality of steel obtain- able.
His son, Hubert Chauncey Hart, re- ceived his early education in the elemen- tary schools of Unionville, after which he attended the high school. At the age of seventeen years he left school, and en- tered his father's factory, as foreman, and here gained invaluable practical experi- ence, which later in life proved an im- portant factor in his business. He was of an observant and inventive turn of mind, and directed all his energies to becoming thoroughly acquainted with the inner- most workings of the shop. He studied factory conditions with the eye of an efficiency expert, and paid special atten-
tion to the reducing of costs, the lessen- ing of the working force, and the maxi- mum amount of work accomplished by each man working under ordinary condi- tions. His intention was to produce a large amount of goods with as few men as possible, and at the age of eighteen his father gave him a contract for the manu- facture of trap parts; it was of this de- partment of the factory that he was fore- man. The contract called for the manu- facture and assembling of parts at a price which an older contractor rejected be- cause of his inability to draw any profit from it. After receiving the contract, Mr. Hart immediately began work on the in- vention of new ways of manufacturing to be applied to the making of traps: At the end of six months' time he had invented means of turning out trap parts, which doubled the output, while employing the same number of workmen as had before been necessary for the work. Manufac- turing on this basis, he made so enormous a profit that of his own free will he re- duced the price of the making of traps one-half.
At the age of nineteen years, Mr. Hart endeavored to enlist for service in the Civil War, but was rejected. He pur- chased his father's business when he reached the age of twenty-five years, and carried it on successfully until the year 1876, when he invented a carpenter's bit brace. This invention he sold to the P. & F. Corbin Company of New Britain, Con- necticut, and accepted a position with that company at a salary of eighteen hun- dred dollars a year. He remained with P. & F. Corbin until 1880, when he sold out his invention and removed to Union- ville, where he started a cutlery business. He received a contract from the Meriden Britannia Company of Meriden, Connecti- cut, for the manufacture of two hundred thousand dozen solid steel knives blanks. He started work with twelve men, and
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
within two years his business increased so rapidly that he employed one hundred and fifty men. He continued the manu- facture of solid steel knives and forks for the Meriden Britannia Company for twen- ty-five years and held their trade, by the recognized and uniform excellence of his work, against all competitors. In 1890 his company sold out to the Upson Nut Com- pany, Mr. Hart, however, continued with the company until 1894, when the factory was destroyed by fire. He then retired from active business, and devoted his en- tire time to his inventions, the next of which was a machine for the manufacture of washers from wire. This was a great success, and he patented it in the United States and several foreign countries, afterward building four machines and organizing a company for the manufac- ture of the same, having a capital stock of $300,000, of which he held $150,000 worth for his patents. In 1895 the com- pany leased their plant to the Spencer Wire Company of Worcester, Massachu- setts, on a royalty plan. Mr. Hart's son. Edison W. Hart was superintendent of the factory for two years, after which time he was promoted to the general managership. The Spencer Wire Com- pany built up a very large business, and the royalties paid to the American Wire Washer Company, the one originally formed by Hubert Chauncey Hart, were at the rate of twenty-five thousand dol- lars a year. The company is now turn- ing out spring washers for automobiles at the rate of one hundred millions a year. Mr. Hart's invention is the only machine in the world to turn out these goods anto- matically.
In 1907 Mr. Hart invented a new scheme for the manufacture of table knives and forks, and formed a new com- pany for that purpose, under the firm name of H. C. Hart Manufacturing Com- pany. The business has been enormously
successful and they have sold to date six millions of their product. At the present time the company is behind on its orders to the amount of over two hundred thousand. Mr. Hart has taken out over one hundred patents and his inventions are employing thousands of men in the United States. His latest invention is a machine for the finishing of table knives and forks that will do the work of ten men. This he proposes to lease out to all cutlery manufacturers, and expects to de- rive profits from it to the extent of several thousands of dollars yearly in royalties.
Mr. Hart is president of the H. C. Hart Manufacturing Company ; of the Mutual Plate Glass Company ; vice-president of the World Gas Engine Company ; presi- dent of the American Wire Washer Com- pany : and president of the Ætna Safety Appliance and Hardware Company. This last-named corporation has a capital stock of $500,000, and manufactures Mr. Hart's solderless couplings for automobiles, cable gripping connections, safety couplings for machinery shafting, Wright's hot and cold water faucets, William Legate's Pep- o-Gas for increasing the power and sav- ing of gasoline in automobiles and in- creasing the mileage of the same, and hundreds of other products.
At the age of nineteen years, Mr. Hart married Evaline Moses, the daughter of Orin Moses, of Burlington, Connecticut. Although now seventy-two years of age he is still actively engaged in business, and during the last year has patented sev- eral inventions, among which are two of great importance, the cable grip and solderless coupling patented on May 25, 1915. Mr. Hart is as active and as fully possessed of his faculties and inventive genius as he was at fifty years of age.
It has already been stated that Mr. Hart is a lineal descendant of the famous Deacon Stephen Hart. The following is a bare outline of the line of descent.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
(I) Stephen Hart, the immigrant an- cestor of the family, was born in Brain- tree, County Essex, England. He came to American soil about 1632, and settled in Cambridge, where he was made a pro- prietor, May 14, 1634. In 1635 he dis- posed of his Cambridge property and re- moved to Hartford, a member of that famous band, which was led into Connec- ticut in 1636 by the Rev. Thomas Hooker. He and several others on a hunting ex- pedition discovered the Farmington River Valley, which was then inhabited by a powerful Indian tribe, the Tunxis. The settlers made a bargain with the Indians, and some of them settled there. Stephen Hart became one of the original pro- prietors of Tunxis, as he had also been one of the original proprietors of Hartford. It is said that the settlement of Hartford was named after Deacon Stephen Hart, in commemoration of his discovery of a ford over the Connecticut river. It was originally called Hart's Ford, which name for the sake of euphony and convenience was later changed into Hartford. The settlement at Tunxis later became known as Farmington, which it has remained to the present time. Stephen Hart was deputy to the General Court in 1647, and for fifteen sessions, with one exception. In 1653 he was commissioner for the town of Farmington to aid in impressing men for the army. He was chosen first deacon of the church there, and was one of the seven pillars of the church. His first mar- riage occurred in England, and the name of his wife is not known. He was mar- ried a second time to Margaret, widow of Arthur Smith. He died in March, 1682- 83. She survived him and died in 1693.
(II) Stephen (2) Hart, son of Deacon Stephen (1) Hart, was born at Braintree, County Essex, England, and located at Farmington, east of the meeting house, and opposite the house of the Rev.
Thomas Hooker. He was made a free- man in the year 1654, and he died in 1689.
(III) Sergeant Thomas Hart, son of Stephen (2) Hart, was born at Farming- ton in 1666. He married, December 18, 1689, Eliza, daughter of John and Mary (Hawkins) Judd. He was a large land- holder, and held the military rank of ser- geant. He died March 28, 1728. His widow died March 18, 1743.
(IV) Stephen (3) Hart, son of Ser- geant Thomas Hart, was born in Farm- ington, Connecticut, and resided there all his life. He married Eunice Munson.
(V) David Hart, son of Stephen (3) and Eunice (Munson) Hart, was born in Farmington, and married Elizabeth Por- ter, of that place.
(VI) Asa Hart, son of David and Eliz- abeth (Porter) Hart, was born in Farm- ington, and was a prominent citizen of that place.
(VII) Zena Hart, son of Asa Hart, was born in Farmington, and resided there until his death. He married Rachael Lewis, of Kensington.
(VIII) Chauncey Hart, son of Zena and Rachael (Lewis) Hart, was born Au- gust 26, 1810. He was a founder by trade, and learned his trade from the noted founder of the Stanley Works, New Britain, Ira Stanley, Jr. He was a dea- con of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was married, in 1832, to Sarah Jane Hooper. As has already been stated he owned a factory for the manufacture of edge tools and steel traps. It was Chaun- cey Hart who received the contract from John Brown for the manufacture of pikes which were later used in John Brown's immemorial raid on the government arsenal at Harper's Ferry. John Brown came to Unionville, Connecticut, where Mr. Hart's factory was located in 1859, and contracted for the manufacture of
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
the pikes used at the insurrection at Har- per's Ferry. Brown's statement was that he wanted to use the goods for the pur- pose of arming the settlers on the border of Kansas, who were constantly subjected to danger from Indian Invasion. After the ill-fated storming of Harper's Ferry Mr. Hart was arrested for being in league with Brown, but was released on proving that he knew nothing of the ultimate use to which Brown intended to put the pikes. Chauncey Hart's sons were: I. George L., who died twenty years ago. His son, Charles Hart, is a foreman of a depart- ment of the Wheeler & Wilson factory at Bridgeport, Connecticut, and his son, John Hart, is superintendent of the forg- ing department of the International Sil- ver Company at Meriden, Connecticut. 2. Albert J., was a missionary worker in Boston at the time of his death. 3. San- ford J., died fifteen years ago, survived by four sons and one daughter. 4. Clin- ton, an artist. He is married and has one son, also an artist; and Herbert Hart, foreman of the forging department of the Wheeler & Wilson factory in Bridgeport ; and Samuel Hart, of Avon, Connecticut, a farmer ; and who is also a farmer. 5. Philip Z., died ten years ago, and is survived by a widow and one son. 6. Hubert Chauncey, mentioned below. Both Philip Z. and Albert J. Hart served in the Civil War as privates, in active service from the beginning of the war until the end, reënlisting when their terms expired. The daughters of Chauncey Hart: Sarah, who is married and the mother of three children ; Emma J., mar- ried James A. McDonald, of New Bruns- wick. They had one daughter, who mar- ried John Bernstein, buyer for a depart- ment store in New Haven, Connecticut. Mrs. Bernstein has two children; Nancy T., married Edwin Piper, who died several years ago. They were the parents of one son and two daughters, Myra and Ida
Jane. Myra Piper married Francis Bis- sell, of Bantam, Connecticut. He was a lawyer and died three years ago, survived by one daughter and one son. Ida Jane Piper married Frank Gilmore, who died ten years ago. He is survived by one son. Allie Gilmore, who is a foreman at the Automobile Company in Bridgeport, Con- necticut, and is married (he has one son and two daughters). Mrs. Gilmore owns a residence in Bridgeport, and lives with her son Allie. She is a dressmaker by trade.
(IX) Hubert Chauncey Hart, son of Chauncey and Sarah Jane (Hooper) Hart, is of the ninth generation in direct de- scent from Deacon Stephen Hart. The details of his life have been fully treated previously in the sketch. His children are: 1. Arthur Hart, M. D., specialist in the eye and ear in Hartford, Connecticut, with an office at the Hartford Bank Build- ing. 2. Carl Hart, M. D., physician and surgeon in New Britain, Connecticut. 3. Edison W. Hart, general manager of the Reliance Manufacturing Company of Mas- sillon, Ohio. 4. Ernest Hart, treasurer of the H. C. Hart Manufacturing Company of Hartford. 5. Willis O. Hart, secretary of the H. C. Hart Manufacturing Com- pany. He has also a daughter, Nellie M. Hart, two grandsons and a granddaugh- ter.
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