USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v.2 > Part 43
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50
SUMNER, Frank Chester, Financier, Public Official.
The name of Sumner is a well known one in the history of the United States. The Massachusetts and Connecticut branches of this famous old family have furnished long lines of patriots, diplomats and statesmen. In Revolutionary times they fought to win the independence of our country, and in the Civil War gave their services to preserve the Union which their fathers had fought to establish. In times of peace they have been leaders in the van of the nation's progress in all fields of endeavor. Members of the family have been prominent and active in all the pro- fessions, in business and in finance. Frank Chester Sumner, treasurer of the Hartford Trust Company, is a worthy scion of this family in the ninth genera- tion. He was born in Canton, Connecti- cut, June 8, 1850, son of John Wesley and Mary (Gleason) Sumner.
(I) The Connecticut family of Sumners traces back to Roger Sumner, a husband- man of Bicester, Oxfordshire, England. On the second day of December, 1601, he married Joane Franklin. Roger Sumner died December 3, 1608.
(II) Their son, William Sumner, was born at Bicester in 1605. On November 22, 1625, he married Mary West. He set- tled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1636, but still continued to own land at Bicester
until the year 1650. He was made a free- man of the Colony on May 17, 1637, and became a selectman of Dorchester in the same year, acting in that capacity for twenty years. From 1663 to 1680 he was one of the feofees of the school land, and from 1663 to 1671 he was one of the com- missioners to try and issue small causes. In 1663 he was chosen clerk of the train band. He was deputy to the General Court in the years, 1658, 1666, 1670, 1672, 1678, 1681, 1683, 1686. His wife died at Dorchester, June 7, 1676, and his death occurred on December 9, 1688.
(III) Their son, William (2) Sumner, was born at Bicester, Oxfordshire, Eng- land, and came to America with his par- ents, in 1636. He settled in Dorchester where he married Elizabeth, daughter of Augustine Clement, of Dorchester. He was a mariner, and died in February, 1675. His widow died before 1687.
(IV) Their son, Clement Sumner, the ninth child in a family of ten, was born at Boston, Massachusetts, September 6, 1671. On May 18, 1698, he married Mar- garet Harris.
(V) Their son, Dr. William (3) Sum- ner, the first child in a family of seven, was born March 18, 1699. On October II, 1721, he married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Hunt, of Lebanon, Connecticut. In 1732 they were dismissed from the Second Church, Boston, to the church at Hebron, Connecticut. He was a physician and practiced his profession at Hebron until 1767, when he removed to Clare- mont. New Hampshire. There he died, March 4, 1778. His widow died April 2, 178I.
(VI) Their son, Reuben Sumner, the third of nine children, was born at Hebron, May 29, 1727. On March 6, 1754, he mar- ried Elizabeth Mack, of Hebron. She died there, August 10, 1805. He died April 2, 1807.
(VII) Their son, Rev. Henry Peterson
298
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Sumner, grandfather of the subject, was born June 10, 1773, the ninth child in a family of eleven children. On October II, 1796, he married Jerusha, daughter of Solomon Perrin, of Hebron. They had one daughter Jerusha, born January 22, 1798, who married David Porter. Mrs. Sumner died February 4. 1798, and on September II, 1798, Mr. Sumner married Mary S., daughter of Timothy Goslee, of Glastonbury. Rev. Sumner was a clergy- man of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was an itinerant preacher of the old school. He traveled his circuit on horse- back. fulfilling with no regard to his per- sonal desires the multifarious demands of his calling, in a time when roads were little more than poorly beaten paths, and the distance from settlement to settlement of very great length. He held religious services very often in the houses of church members. He was a prominent member of the conference. Rev. Sumner died Jan- vary 18, 1838, and his widow passed away at Bolton, August 9, 1875.
(VIII) Their son, John Wesley Sum- ner, father of the subject of this sketch, was the eighth of eleven children of the second marriage. He was born Septem- ber 16, 1812. He resided at Bolton, and represented that town in the General Assembly 1877 and 1878. On November 23, 1836, he married Mary, daughter of George Gleason, of Glastonbury. Their children : I. Henry Peterson, born Janu- ary 21. 1838, died August 29. 1873. 2. Mary Elizabeth, died in infancy. 3. George Gleason, born January 14. 1842 ; he became a well-known lawyer and an able orator ; he was a recognized leader in the Democratic party in Connecticut : he held various local offices in Hartford where he was mayor; he served in both branches of the Legislature and was elected lieutenant-governor in 1883; his death occurred September 8. 1906. 4.
Mary Ella, born April 24, 1848, the wife of Jabez L. White, of Bolton, died Octo- ber 6, 1876. 5. Frank Chester, mentioned below.
(IX) Frank Chester Summer received his early education in the public schools of Bolton and Hartford, and began his business career as messenger for the Hartford Trust Company on February 1, 1871. Mr. Sumner found banking and finance congenial to his tastes and he bent every effort to the mastering of its intricate details and phases, ambitious to achieve a position of prominence in that field. He learned every duty which de- volved upon himself and upon others, handling such work as came within the range of his responsibilities with intelli- gence and care. He was gradually ad- vanced to posts of increasing importance, until in 1886 he was made treasurer of the company and a member of the board of trustees, an honor and success which was achieved by no other means than his own unswerving persistency and devotion to duty, high ambition and indomitable will. The fortieth anniversary of his entering the employ of the Hartford Trust Com. pany was made the occasion of a celebra- tion, during which he was presented with a loving cup by the officials and employes with whom he is associated, and in whose estimations his place is deservedly high. Mr. Sumner is also a trustee of the Me- chanics' Savings Bank, and a director of the Gray Pay Telephone Stations Com- pany.
On June 17. 1896, Mr. Sumner married Mary L. Catlin, daughter of George S. Catlin, of Hartford.
Like his father and brother, Mr. Sumner has always taken a keen active interest in public affairs, and is a member of the Democratic party. He served as a mem- ber of the Board of Health from 1888 to 1900. In the spring of 1905 he became a
200
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
member of the City Water Board. He has also served in the Common Council. For many years Mr. Sumner devoted much time to educational matters as a member of the Brown school district committee. He has been a jury commis- sioner in Hartford since the time that the office was established. In 1905 he served as a member of the Connecticut-Massa- chusetts boundary commission, and since June, 1899, he has been a commissioner of the Connecticut river, bridge and high- way commission, under whose direction the magnificent bridge that crosses the river at Hartford was constructed. He has for years been deeply interested in prison reform and has been a director of the State Prison since 1893. For more than thirty years he has worked to im- prove conditions on the "East Side" of Hartford, bringing to bear upon his work every resource, mental and material, which he could command. All his activ- ities have been totally free from taint of self-seeking, and have sprung from purely altruistic motives. Despite the cynicism and unbelief which is universally rampant in regard to it, altruism rarely fails to gain recognition and the honor and re- spect which it deserves. Mr. Sumner's sacrifice of personal interests, comfort and convenience to his high ethical ideals, and his unswerving loyalty to his purpose have won for him the esteem of a very wide circle of steadfast friends, in every walk of life.
Mr. Sumner is a member of the Hart- ford Club, the Hartford Golf Club, the Farmington Country Club, and the City Club of Hartford. He is a director in the following institutions: Connecticut State Prison; the Connecticut Humane Society ; Peck, Stow & Wilcox Company ; Gray Pay Telephone Stations Company ; the Plimpton Manufacturing Company, the Farmington River Power Company, the
Hartford City Gas Light Company, the Hartford Free Dispensary, the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, the Hartford Hospital, and the Hartford Cedar Hill Cemetery.
FORD, George Russell, Business Man, Financier.
From the closing of the educational period of his life until the present, Mr. Ford has actively and energetically pur- sued a business career, and while he has been continuously connected with the meat and market business no one depart- ment of that business nor one settled location has claimed him. It is one of his characteristics to thoroughly under- stand any business in which he engages, thus when he became vice-president, sec- retary and general manager of the Hart- ford Market Company, his experience as a salesman and as manager for western packers had thoroughly prepared him with an expert knowledge of meat values, or in other words, how to buy as well as how to sell. With this advantage added to a keen interest in his business and an ambition to excel, he has built up a large and prosperous business for the company of which he is resident partner and gen- eral manager. There are many traits of character which go to make up this strong, young, twentieth century busi- tiess man who finds his greatest pleasure in his work, the most prominent, perhaps, his tenacity of purpose and his self-re- liance. Active mentally and physically, with a rigid code of business ethics, hon- orable and just in all his relations, he combines with these sterling qualities a tact and diplomacy which rounds out an exceedingly strong personality. He is a son of Franklin Riley and Adaline B. (Blackman) Ford, his father a large owner of farm lands, now residing in North Woodbury, Connecticut.
300
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
George Russell Ford was born in Wood- bury, Litchfield county, Connecticut. July 1, 1873. He there attended the public school and Parker Academy. He com- pleted his studies at Yale Business Col- lege, New Haven, then at once began his business career. His first position was with the wholesale meat house, Lilley & Swift, of Waterbury, Connecticut, with whom he remained as salesman three years. He thought so well of the busi- ness that he purchased a quarter interest in the Waterbury Beef & Provision Com- pany, soon afterward increasing his hold- ings to a one-half interest. For three years he was in business for himself, then deciding to engage in the wholesale butter, cheese and egg business, he sold his in- terest in the Waterbury Beef & Provision Company. His plans miscarried through failure to secure a desirable location, and he left the city, not, however, having an object in view. While in business he had sold beef on consignment from the Cud- ahy Packing Company, and at the request of the western district manager of the company Mr. Ford went to Omaha for a conference. He greatly desired that they sanction the purchase of the business of the company's consignees in New Haven, the Lee & Hoyt Company, but they in- sisted that Mr. Ford become manager of the Cudahy branch house in Bridgeport, Connecticut, an offer he finally accepted.
On assuming the management of the Cudahy branch in Bridgeport, Mr. Ford found it one of the most unpopular whole- sale beef houses in that city and conse- quently with the smallest volume of trade. It was his mission to restore the company to the position it rightly deserved, and to that task he addressed himself with all his energy, tact and ability. Four years were spent in the Cudahy service in Bridge- port, when he surrendered his position as manager the branch was the most popular
in the city and was transacting the great- est volume of business, a complete rever- sal of conditions. His Bridgeport experi- ence terminated his connection with the wholesale beef business, his next offer coming from Mackenzie Brothers, who proposed that in association with them he choose any location and establish a retail meat and provision business. Their proposition was accepted and Hartford was chosen as the location. The out- growth was the Hartford Market Com- pany, of which Mr. Ford is vice-president. secretary and general manager. The loca- tion in Hartford had been previously occupied by an unsuccessful firm in the same line of business, which made the starting harder, but that handicap was quickly overcome and by prudent buying and efficient management in every depart- ment, the company has advanced to the enviable position it occupies as the largest retail market business in the city. In 1915, they purchased the property at the southwest corner of Mulberry and Main streets, which gave them greater facilities for handling their business and two years later doubled the capacity of their store. Mr. Ford is not only a master buyer and salesman, but a capable manager with a faculty for organization, systematic oper- ation, and the ability to secure the loyal cooperation of his employes.
The demands of the Hartford Market Company have by no means exhausted the capacity of this virile young man with whom business is both work and play. He is president of the Windsor Trust Com- pany, which he assisted in organizing : a director of the City Bank & Trust Com- pany, which he aided in organizing: a director of the Morris Plan Bank: direc- tor of the East Hartford Trust Company : and vice-president of the Sage-Allen Company, which he aided in reorganizing. Keen in judgment, he embarks in no en-
30I
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
terprise until convinced of its value, but when once committed he masters its every detail. This same keen analysis is applied to human nature, and when he gives a man his friendship he is his loyal supporter. Shrewd and careful, though self-confident, he keeps within his limita- tions for work, consequently brings to every task the physical and mental force to meet its demands with credit to him- self. As an employer he is just, exacting and rendering that which is due.
Essentially a business man, Mr. Ford recognizes that there are other obliga- tions, and by no means has he yielded to the sordid side of life, but in fraternity and social order mingles with and enjoys the society of his fellowmen. He is a member of King Solomon Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Washington Com- mandery, Knights Templar ; Sphinx Tem- ple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and in Connecticut Consistory holds thirty-two degrees of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He is a member of Christ Congre- gational Church, of Windsor, and in political preference a Republican. Mr. Ford is the owner of several hundred acres of land at Windsor, Connecticut, which is under a high state of cultivation, and from which he derives considerable pleasure, spending the summer months thereon.
Mr. Ford married, June 20, 1900, Alice Dillon, daughter of Thomas H. and Anna Dillon, of Nashua, New Hampshire. They are the parents of a son, Theodore Frank- lin, and three daughters, Ruth Wood- bridge, Helen Nettleton and Rachel Sax- ton Ford.
GREGORY, Ira and James B., Well Known Business Men.
In 1829 Ira Gregory, then a young man, came to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and in
1847 founded a retail coal business on the site now occupied by the depot of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- road and there continued until his death. He was succeeded by his son, James B. Gregory, who in course of time admitted his two sons to the business which on January 1, 1914, was incorporated. Sev- enty years have intervened since the busi- ness was founded and during that period it has never been out of the Gregory name or management. The original Gregory of this branch was Judah Gregory, born in England, who came with early Connecti- cut settlers, and his was one of the first eight families to settle in now Danbury. A descendant of Judah Gregory also pur- chased land in the Middle River district prior to the Revolution and there descend- ants yet reside, the Gregory homestead a choice farming property.
Ira Gregory, who brought the name to Bridgeport, was a son of Caleb Gregory, and both were born in the town of Dan- bury. He was a man of business ability, but from 1829, the date of his coming to Bridgeport, he was an employee of David L. Mills for a period of several years. From the spring of 1838 until 1843 he was in the grocery business on Water street. In 1843 he started in the coal business for himself as a retail coal dealer, continuing in the same business and at the same loca- tion until his death in 1883. He married Maria Gregory, daughter of Colonel Ira Gregory, of Danbury, Connecticut.
James B. Gregory, son of Ira and Maria (Gregory) Gregory, was born in Bridge- port, Connecticut, April 6, 1845. After completing courses of study in the public schools and Day's private school on Courtland street, in 1861 he entered his father's employ, continuing two years. In 1863 he went to New York City, there re- maining six years an employee of the Harnden Express Company. In 1868 he returned to Bridgeport, reëntering his
302
La linguary
THE NEW YORK PT THEDARY
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
father's employ and continuing his as- sistant in the coal business until the death of Ira Gregory in 1883, when he succeeded to the ownership and sole control of the business founded thirty-six years earlier. In 1891 the offices of the firm were moved to No. 300 Stratford avenue, and in 1894 to the present location, No. 262, on the same avenue. After conducting the busi- ness under the firm name of Ira Gregory & Company for over thirty years, Mr. Gregory admitted his sons, James B. (2) and Charles N., and incorporated as Ira Gregory & Company, Incorporated. The business is a large and prosperous one, ably managed by the son and grandsons of the founder. Genial and kindly, Mr. Gregory enjoys the company of his friends and is a most hospitable host, but has no club or society connections, his home be- ing the great center of attraction for him. He is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, is interested in all good works and in public affairs but has no liking for public office. In politics he is a Demo- crat.
Mr. Gregory married, in 1881, Ella D. Bassett, born in the State of Tennessee. They are the parents of two sons: I. James B. (2), born September 24. 1882; educated in Bridgeport, Connecticut ; now associated with the coal company as vice- president ; he married Mary Isabel Rus- sell, of Bridgeport, Connecticut. 2. Charles N., born February 7, 1887 ; edu- cated in Bridgeport, Connecticut ; now in business with his father and brother; he married Ellen Louise Cooper, of Bridge- port, Connecticut.
FULLER, Edward Arthur,
Business Man, Public Official.
Edward Arthur Fuller, president and treasurer of the E. A. Fuller Tobacco Company of Hartford, comes of ancient
New England lineage, representing on his father's side the Fullers and through his mother tracing descent from the Grangers, both families having been identified with Suffield, Connecticut, since the Colonial period of our history. Mr. Fuller has for many years held the office of first select- man and for two terms represented his district in the General Assembly.
(1) John Fuller, founder of the Ameri- can branch of the family, was born in England, and when about fifteen years of age came to America, May 4. 1635. on the ship "Abigail." Ile was accompanied by his brother William who was then about twenty-five years old. John Fuller settled in Ipswich and in 1663 was town surveyor, holding the office of commis- sioner in 1664. He was a landowner. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Emerson, who in 1638 came to America and settled in Ipswich. The death of John Fuller occurred June 4. 1666.
(II) Joseph Fuller, son of John and Elizabeth (Emerson) Fuller, was born in 1658, and was by trade a carpenter. In 1676, in the Falls fight, he served as ser- geant of militia in Captain Turner's com- pany. In March, 1693, the selectmen of Ipswich set off a lot to him which he sold to his brother Nathaniel. Joseph Fuller married, in October, 1686, Mary, born October 31, 1653, daughter of Isaiah and Mercy (Thompson) Wood. On August 22, 1731, Joseph Fuller died in Ipswich, his wife having already passed away. It is interesting to note that it was in Joseph Fuller's lifetime that the family first be- came connected with Suffield, the son of the immigrant purchasing, in 1606, from Samuel Bush his Suffield proprietor's grant.
(III) Joseph (2) Fuller, son of Joseph (1) and Mary (Wood) Fuller, was born August 13, 1690, at Ipswich, and received his portion of his father's estate by deed
303
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
dated November 12, 1714, and recorded at Springfield, Massachusetts. He mar- ried, September 8, 1715, Bathsheba, daugh- ter of John Hanchett. Joseph Fuller died March 7, 1764, at Suffield, Connecticut, where he appears to have resided many years.
(IV) Joseph (3) Fuller, son of Joseph (2) and Bathsheba (Hanchett) Fuller, was born August 25, 1726, in Suffield, Connecticut, and married, on March II, 1762, Rebecca Norton.
(V) Apollos Fuller, son of Joseph (3) and Rebecca (Norton) Fuller, was born May 29, 1772, in Suffield, and married, December 5, 1793, Rebecca Smith. Mr. Fuller died October 6, 1847, and his widow passed away January 25, 1862, at the advanced age of eighty-nine.
(VI) William Fuller, son of Apollos and Rebecca (Smith) Fuller, was born November 1, 1796, in Suffield, and mar- ried, November 25. 1823, Emily Granger, whose ancestral record is appended to this biography, and their children were: William Henry, born November 19, 1825, married Sarah Adaline Hare, and died in 1890; Catherine, died in 1840, aged seven months; and Edward Arthur, mentioned below. Mrs. Fuller died December 22, 1856, and Mr. Fuller married (second) Maria Hathaway Fuller, widow of his brother Gamaliel. William Fuller died in Suffield, November 17, 1874.
(VII) Edward Arthur Fuller, son of William and Emily (Granger) Fuller, was born August 22, 1842, in Suffield, Connecticut. He grew up on the home farm, receiving his education in the pub- lic schools and at the Connecticut Liter- ary Institute in his native town. While Mr. Fuller was still a youth and before he had entered definitely upon an inde- pendent career the course of his life was temporarily diverted by the outbreak of the Civil War. Like so many other young
men of his generation he responded promptly to the call to arms, enlisting in 1862 in Company G, Twenty-second Regi- ment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, serving as first sergeant. He enlisted for nine months and during the earlier por- tion of that period his regiment was em- ployed in the defense of Washington, be- ing afterward transferred to the Army of the James. At the close of his term of enlistment Mr. Fuller received an honor- able discharge. In 1880 Mr. Fuller came to Hartford, where he was employed for three years by his cousin, Arthur G. Pomeroy. Upon the death of Mr. Pom- eroy, in 1883 Mr. Fuller took over the business in association with his nephew, William F. Fuller, the firm name being E. A. and W. F. Fuller. The partner- ship was maintained until the business was incorporated under its present name. Mr. Fuller has made a specialty of raising tobacco, and on April 1, 1915, he organ- ized the E. A. Fuller Tobacco Company, of which he has ever since been president and treasurer. The time and attention of Mr. Fuller are also given to the discharge of the duties involved in the presidency of the Connecticut Tobacco Corporation. This is an immense concern, the largest of its kind in New England, having plan- tations at Granby, East Granby, Windsor and East Hartford. At the Connecticut fairs held in 1908 and 1909, its product received first awards. Mr. Fuller is a director of the National Exchange Bank of Hartford.
In politics Mr. Fuller has always been identified with the Republican party and has taken a keen and active interest in all that concerned the public welfare. Since 1904 he has served as first selectman of Suffield. In 1907 he was chosen to repre- sent his district in the General Assembly and in 1909 received the tribute of a re- election, serving continuously until 19II.
304
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
During his first term he was a member of several committees, including the com- mittee on insurance, of which he was chairman. In his second term he was a member of the committee on appropri- ations. Mr. Fuller's entire record as a legislator was creditable to himself and satisfactory to his constituents. Those movements and measures which promise to promote the general prosperity and well-being have always received from Mr. Fuller substantial aid and influential en- couragement. Since 1900 he has served as one of the directors of the Connecticut State Prison. The first connection of Mr. Fuller with the Grand Army of the Re- public was as a member of Robert O. Tyler Post, but upon the establishment of J. H. Converse Post, at Windsor Locks, he transferred his membership to that organization. He affiliates with Apollo Lodge, No. 59, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, of Suffield, and with Sphinx Temple, Mystic Shrine, and Connecticut Consis- tory of Washington, Connecticut. He be- longs to the Army and Navy Club of Hartford and the Hartford Club. He and his wife are members of the Second Bap- tist Church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.