USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > History of Bridgeport and vicinity > Part 4
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JUDGE MORRIS BEACH BEARDSLEY.
Judge Morris Beach Beardsley, senior member of the law firm of Beardsley & Beardsley and who has been with the Bridgeport bar since 1872, was born in Trumbull, Fairfield county, Connecticut, August 13, 1849, a son of Samuel G. and Mary (Beach) Beardsley and a de- scendant of one of the oldest families of Fairfield county. His ancestry in the paternal line is traced to William Beardsley, who settled at Stratford, Connecticut. in 1639. Another direct ancestor was Samuel Gregory, who with Samnel Beardsley were two of the nine original members of the First Church of Christ, now the First Congregational church of Bridgeport.
The son of a prosperous farmer. Judge Beardsley was accorded liberal educational oppor- tunities. He prepared for Yale in Stratford Academy and afterward won his Bachelor of Arts degree at Yale in 1870 He spent the succeeding year as a student in the law school of Columbia University of New York and then entered the law office of William K. Seeley and following his admission to the bar entered upon active practice in 1872 in Bridgeport. becoming junior member of the firm of Seeley & Beardsley, which partnership continued until Mr. Beardsley was elected city clerk. Through the intervening period of forty-six years he has been an active and well known member of the profession in this city and has not only figured prominently in connection with the work of the courts but has also been
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called upon to fill various public offices of honor and trust. In 1873 he was chosen city clerk and continued in that position for four years, at the end of which time he was elected judge of the probate court of Bridgeport and continued in that capacity for sixteen years, retiring in 1893, in which year he was elected to represent the city in the state legislature. He has a comprehensive knowledge of probate law and his work in connection with the office of probate judge was highly satisfactory to the public in general.
In June, 1873, Judge Beardsley was united in marriage to Miss Lucy J. Fayerweather, and they became the parents of one son and two daughters: Major Samuel F. Beardsley, who is associated with his father in the practice of law; Lucy M., the wife of Emile C. Coming, of New Orleans, Louisiana; and Amelia L.
Judge and Mrs. Beardsley are members of the Congregational church and guide their lives by its teachings. Politically he has ever been a democrat and has kept foremost in the activities and councils of the party in the state. In 1894 he was the candidate of his party for lieutenant governor, and in 1916 he headed the ticket as candidate for governor but was defeated when Hughes carried the state for the republican party. Judge Beardsley has served for six years as a member of the public library board and at the same time as a member of the board of education. At the present time he is a member of the board of park com- missioners. Fraternally he is a Mason and exemplifies in his life the spirit of the craft. He holds membership in the Society of Colonial Wars, in which he has been governor, and he is also a very prominent and active member of the Sons of the American Revolution and at one time was president general of the national society. A residence of forty-six years in Bridgeport has made bim widely known, and the sterling traits of his character have placed him in the front rank among those men with whom association means expansion and elevation.
EDWARD PAYSON BULLARD.
A great business establishment successfully conducted may remain as a monument to the enterprise, power and ability of the individual, but there is something even more worth while than this and although less tangible, a monument just as truly and surely. It is the love which one entertains for an individual who has gone, causing his memory to be cherished, his ideals to be honored and his example to be emulated. There were manifest in the career of Edward Payson Bullard those characteristics which made him a man among men-a leader not only in business but in those good works which live on "in the lives of those made better by their presence." A native of Massachusetts, Mr. Bullard was born at Uxbridge, August 18, 1841, a son of Luther and Hannah (Dudley) Bullard, representatives of old European families founded in the new world in the early part of the seventeenth century. He was early left an orphan, his mother's death occurring when he was but three years of age, while his father passed away when the son was but seven years old. In the family were seven children, Julia Ann, Catherine, John, Charles, George, Elias and Edward Payson.
The last named remained under the care of his sisters until he reached the age of fourteen and then went to live with Deacon Whiting in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In his seventeenth year he returned to his native town and soon secured a position in the Whitinsville Machine Works at Whitinsville, Massachusetts. When he had finished his apprenticeship he obtained a position in Colt's Armory at Hartford, Connecticut. there remaining until the latter part of 1863, after which he was employed as a machinist by Pratt & Whitney until April, 1864. He then entered business on his own account as a partner in the firm of Bullard & Prest, general machinists, and when in March, 1865, they were joined by William Parsons the firm style of Bullard, Prest & Parsons was assumed. Early in the following year Mr. Prest withdrew and the firm then became Bullard & Parsons. The company manufactured vertical drill presses, one of which is now in use at the
EDWARD P BULLARD
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Bullard Works. They also manufactured pumps. The financial depression of 1868 and lack of capital caused trouble for the firm and when a reorganization was effected they removed to Bristol, Connecticut, where they purchased property and conducted the business for a year. On the expiration of that period the firm dissolved and Mr. Bullard secured the position of superintendent of a large machine shop at Athens, Georgia, but the bitterness of feeling attendant upon the Civil war remained and led him to resign his position. He then removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he engaged in dealing in second hand machinery. His first sale was of a large number of Lincoln milling machines which he found in an abandoned Confederate arsenal in Georgia. He afterward connected himself with the Cincinnati branch of Post & Company, organizing their machine tool department, and early in 1872 he went to Columbus, Ohio, to assume the position of general superintendent of the Gill Car Works and after the plant was closed down in 1874 he was superintendent of the Cooper Engine Works at Mount Vernon, Ohio. His next step was to embark in the machinery business on his own account in New York city in 1875, the firm of Allis-Bullard & Company being organized a year later. Following the withdrawal of Mr. Allis in 1877 the Bullard Machine Company was formed and so continued until 1880, when Mr. Bullard became sole proprietor and carried on the business under his own name.
In 1880, recognizing the demand for a high grade lathe, he came to Bridgeport and arranged with A. D. Laws to manufacture lathes of his design, Mr. Bullard taking the entire output of the plant. Owing to unsatisfactory conditions of the business Mr. Bullard took over the plant the same year and reorganized its interests under the name of the Bridgeport Machine Tool Works, of which he was sole owner, and thus was established an enterprise which has grown into one of the most important productive concerns of the city. In 1883 he designed his first vertical boring and turning mill, a single head, belt feed machine, having a capacity of thirty-seven inches. This was afterward sold to George A. Young. of Brooklyn, New York. In 1889 Mr. Bullard discontinued his New York connections owing to the growth of the Bridgeport plant, which now demanded his entire time and attention. In 1894 the Bridgeport Machine Tool Works was incorporated under the name of the Bullard Machine Tool Company, a close corporation, the stock being owned by Mr. Bullard and his sons. At the memorial services which were held following his death the Rev. Arthur F. Skeele in speaking of his business experiences said: "Early in his business life he passed through the common experience of bankruptcy; yet with undaunted courage he wrested success out of failure; and it is known to some, that as his fortunes mended, he lived for years with the strictest economy, refusing to enlarge his business until he had repaid his entire indebtedness, one hundred cents on the dollar. Perhaps a mistaken policy from a financial standpoint, as he himself allowed, it is yet a clear, strong voice in favor of the highest integrity. In the conduct of a large manufacturing business, and in dealing with a great body of men in his employ, he achieved the rare success of winning the esteem confidence and even the love of them; together they labored in the true spirit of cooperation for the success of the company, in which all alike took pride. In this spirit of mutual respect they were able to adjust all differences and thus to contribute a notable illustration to the amicable settlement of the problem of capital and labor. What more impressive testimony to this well nigh ideal relationship could there be than the presence here today of this splendid body of men, four hundred of the skilled workmen of the factory. He being dead is yet speaking through hundreds of witnesses."
The home life of Mr. Bullard was largely ideal. He was married on the 11th of January. 1864, to Miss Alice Martha Camp, a daughter of Dr. Joseph and Lucy (Brewster) Camp, of Bristol, Connecticut. They became the parents of two daughters and five sons: .Jessie Augusta, born October 20, 1866; Dudley Brewster, born June 13, 1869; Edward Payson, .Jr .. born July 10. 1872; Stanley Hale, born July 4, 1877; Harold Camp, horn August 14, 1879; .Joseph William Camp. born July 22, 1882; and Alice Margery, born August 14, 1885.
The estimate of his character is perhaps best given in the opinions of those who were
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closely associated with him. Following his demise, which occurred December 22, 1906, one who knew bim well wrote of him: "Though Mr. Bullard was a hard worker-had his full share of nervous energy and did not spare himself-he yet got much enjoyment out of life chiefly because he was a practical philosopher and able to apply his philosophy to his daily work. His life was governed by certain principles-those of a Christian gentleman-which unerringly guided his commercial as well as his domestie and spiritual life. Though a keen and energetie business man, he prized his honor above everything. As he trusted others, he expected others to trust him. Among his papers were a number of clippings, a quotation from one of them reading: 'There is nothing to our mind so broad-spoken of the inherent uprightness of man, or so strongly illustrative of our native dependence upon the integrity of our fellows as the confidence with which the honest buyer enters into a commercial trans- action with a merchant of probity and repute. It is the sincere tribute that intelligence pays to integrity; it is the most valuable portion of a merchant's possessions.' Mr. Bul- lard did his own thinking and was never afraid to take an advance step because no others had taken it. Though possessed of great ability as a business man and good judgment as a designer of machine tools, he was unassuming, quiet in manner, always courteous and mindful of the rights of others, well read and intelligent about matters in general, as well as business affairs, and thoroughly to be relied upon. He traveled much in Europe in the interest of his foreign trade and had many friends there, and in whatsoever country he traveled or sojourned he was always the quiet, unpretentious, thorough gentleman he was at home. He took an active interest in church work wherever located, giving personal help, in the church and Sabbath school, as well as financial aid. He was deacon and elder in the church societies he attended in the eities of the west where he resided, also in the Reformed Dutch church in Belleville, New Jersey, and the First Presbyterian church in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was interested in the Law and Order League and his aid was appreciated by many charitable institutions. He carried out in his life the command of our Lord, 'But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand docth.' And his life was complete. He had attained success in the best ways, had rounded out his career, had well nigh completed the allotted term of human life. It is pleasant to think of his reaching the summit of a long, steep hill, to shift the mass of affairs to younger shoulders, and enjoy a leisurely autumn of haleyon days."
JULIUS W. KNOWLTON.
In a review of the lives of those who have been active as public officials of Bridgeport and of the state, there is perhaps no resident of the city whose official record covers a longer period than that of Colonel Julius W. Knowlton, and there is none who has been more faultless in honor. fearless in eonduet and stainless in reputation. He has ever made the faithful and capable discharge of his duties his first interest, whether as postmaster, as member of the general assembly or in his present position as a member of the board of assessors. He dates his residence in Bridgeport sinee 1848, having heen absent from the city for only a limited time during all the intervening years to the present. He is now approaching the seventy- ninth milestone on life's journey. his birth having occurred in Southbridge, Worcester county, Massa- chusetts, November 28, 1838, his parents being William S. and Miriam (Dresser) Knowlton, both of whom were natives of Massachusetts, the former born September 28, 1810. and the latter on the 6th day of May, 1817. The ancestral history of the family in America dates back to 1632, when the first representative of the line came from England to the new world. In 1847 Mrs. Miriam Knowlton was called to her final rest, her death occurring on the 4th of March, when her son Julius was a little lad of but eight years. The father survived for a third of a century, passing away March 22, 1880.
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Mr. Knowlton obtained his education in public and private schools of Bridgeport. and in his studies specialized on mathematics and civil engineering. He started out in the business world on his own account in 1860 as a retail coal merchant, but following the outbreak of the Civil war, feeling that his duty to his country was paramount to all else, he sacrificed his business interests and enlisted on the 15th of June, 1862, becoming a private of Company A, Fourteenth Connectient Volunteer Infantry. On the organization of the regiment, he was made commissary sergeant and subsequently he became acting brigade commissary of the brigade commanded by General Dwight Morris, colonel of the Fourteenth Regiment. He dis- played remarkable executive ability, indicated the night of the battle of Antietam, when with the utmost dispatch he pushed his provision train to the front and was the first to provide his brigade with supplies. He was afterward commissioned second lieutenant of Company C, which he commanded at the battle of Gettysburg, and on the third day of the memorable engagement there he was wounded. For eleven days he lay in the field hospital and was then transferred to Baltimore, from which point he was sent home. He returned to the front the following January, but was still physically unqualified for arduous field service; and on the 29th of March, 1864, he was honorably discharged on account of physical disability. He continued to aid by doing service for his country, however, and when Lee surrendered was a clerk in the office of the provost marshal of Bridgeport.
When the war was over. Mr. Knowlton accepted a position in the Adams Express office at Bridgeport, there remaining until October, 1866, when he became the owner of a fourth interest in the Bridgeport Standard, and upon the organization of the business as a stock company in the following January he was appointed secretary, treasurer and business manager, occupying that position for seven years. He resigned, however, in March, 1873, to accept the superintendeney of the Moore Car Wheel Company of Jersey City, New Jersey, a large concern which was conducting an extensive business until the memorable "Black Friday" of 1873, when it suffered financial disaster.
In the meantime, Mr. Knowlton had taken an active part in politics and public affairs, and while manager of the Bridgeport Standard, he served for two terms in the general assembly from Stratford. During the same period he was also appointed to a position on the staff of Governor Marshall Jewell, with the rank of colonel. Following the expiration of Governor Jewell's second term as governor in 1873 he was appointed postmaster general in the cabinet of President Grant. and on the 15th of October of that year he called Mr. Knowlton to the position of superintendent of the dead letter office at Washington, D. C. Affairs there were in bad condition, the work of the office being fourteen months in arrears, Mr. Knowlton assumed charge and immediately worked out plans to care for the long overdue business of the office and placed the management upon a businesslike basis. This he accomplished in three months. He was then appointed by Postmaster General Jewell in the position of chief clerk of the postoffice department at Washington and in the fall of 1875, President Grant appointed him postmaster of Bridgeport. He assumed his office on the 1st of November, 1875, and served continuously during the remainder of President Grant's term, and also during the administra- tions of Presidents Haycs, Garfield and Arthur. When Grover Cleveland took over the reins of government, Mr. Knowlton was supplanted by a democrat, but when Benjamin Harrison became president, he was recalled to the office, in which he continued to serve until December 31, 1893, so that his incumbeney covered almost sixteen years in all, while over his record there fell no shadow of wrong nor suspicion of evil. On the 1st of June, 1898. he was called to office as a member of the city board of assessors, and with the exception of a few months, has served continuously in that position. Throughout the long period of his office holding. he has always been ready and willing to help others, which is one of the chief secrets of his popularity and success. He cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and has never deviated in his loyalty to the republican party through all the intervening period.
On the 17th of December, 1866, Mr. Knowlton married Miss Jane Elizabeth Fairchild, of Newtown, Connecticut, and on the 17th of December, 1916. they celebrated their golden wedding.
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Mr. Knowlton is well known in various fraternal and club relations. He is a Knight Templar Mason and Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and on the 19th of September, 1893, the honorary thirty-third degree was conferred upon him in recognition of the splendid service which he has done for the order. He has held many official positions, including that of grand commander of the Grand Commandery of Connecticut. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and has been assistant adjutant general of Connecticut, and member of the National Council of Administration. He is also a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. In 1907 he was for the forty-first consecutive year elected secretary of the Society of the Fourteenth Connecticut Regiment, and in 1893, 1894 and 1909 was president of this society. Through his labors this society has to-day a full set of printed reports of the annual meetings of the organization. He is also president of the Army and Navy Club of the State of Connecticut, of which, for a quarter of a century, he served as secretary. His religious belief is that of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Colonel Knowlton deserves indeed high commendation for a life well spent, a life devoted to public service. His strong principles, and his upright course have brought him the merited regard of all with whom he has come in contact and today he is one of Bridgeport's most honored citizens.
EDMUND SUMMERS HAWLEY.
Edmund S. Hawley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, June 15, 1813. His life was intimately connected with the early commercial and financial expansion of Bridgeport, and he himself was one of the prominent figures of his time.
The Hawley family is one of the oldest families in Bridgeport and traces its lineage through the early English settlers of New England. In 1629 Joseph Hawley came to this country from Derbyshire. England, and settled in Stratford, Connecticut.
Edmund S. Hawley was a son of Captain Wilson Hawley and Charity (Summers) Hawley. His father, Captain Wilson Hawley, was for many years engaged in the West Indies trade and as a member of the firm of Abijah Hawley & Company carried on an extensive coastwise trade in grain and lumber along the Atlantic seaboard. The firm of Abijah Hawley & Company operated a store and wharf on Water street, south of State street, near the site later occupied by the grain elevator of John Hurd.
About the time that he reached his majority, Edmund S. Hawley went to Catskill, New York, where he was engaged in business for about six years. During his stay at Catskill he was elected a director of the Catskill Bank, in which capacity he continued until his return to Bridgeport in 1840. Upon returning to Bridgeport, Mr. Hawley entered the dry goods and clothing business and opened the first ready-made clothing store in the city.
Mr. Hawley in 1849 became interested in the California trade and made extensive shipments of merchandise to the Pacific coast during the period following the gold discoveries in the west. At this time he was associated with Sherwood Sterling, Thomas C. Wordin, his father-in-law, and Munson Hawley. During these years Mr. Hawley acquired extensive holdings of real estate within the present city limits.
In 1852 Edmund S. Hawley was appointed a director of the Bridgeport Bank and served as such until 1859, when he became president of the Farmers Bank, now the First-Bridgeport National Bank. As president Mr. Hawley directed the policies of the bank for thirty-three years.
Mr. Hawley had been selected as one of the trustees of the Bridgeport Savings Bank in 1851, and in 1870 he was elected vice president of that bank. In 1875 he became president of the Bridgeport Savings Bank. He was connected with this bank as trustee, vice president and president for over forty years. In 1859, at the time he accepted the presidency of the Farmers Bank, Mr. Hawley had disposed of his commercial interests in order that his
ES Hawley
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energies might be concentrated upon the increasing duties arising out of his connection with the two banks.
In 1842 Edmund S. Hawley married Lucy S., daughter of Thomas C. Wordin. Mr. and Mrs. Hawley had two children, a son, Charles W., and a daughter, Mary W., both of whom still reside in Bridgeport.
Always a man of progressive intelligence and physical vigor, Edmund S. Hawley contributed much to the upbuilding of his city and maintained au active interest in business, in banking and finance until his death in his eighty-first year. He died February 10, 1894, at the height of his success, loved and admired by a large circle of friends, and meriting the honor and respect of all those who knew him.
EBENEZER S. PHILLIPS.
Ebenezer S. Phillips, for fifty-five years a resident of Bridgeport is at the head and owner of the transfer business operating under the name of J. H. Luddington & Company. He was born in Vermont in the town of Strafford, Orange county, 1842, and on attaining his majority removed from the Green Mountain state to Bridgeport, where he has since remained. For five years he was associated with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company and afterward became a lumber salesman for S. C. Nickerson, who owned and controlled a wholesale and retail business. Mr. Phillips remained in that connection for nine years and afterward spent seven years as a lumber salesman with Hawley & Beacher. He was next connected with the Wheeler & Howe Company in the counting department for nine years or more, after which he turned his attention to the business of hauling and trucking, purchasing a half interest in the J. H. Luddington & Company. A quarter of a century ago he bought out Mr. Luddington. The business has been established for more than thirty years and he still retains the old firm name although he now owns the business. At one time he had for a partner, Nelson Freshour. He is engaged in trucking, forwarding, etc., and his equipment permits the handling of heavy machinery. He employs fifteen people and gives his entire attention to the business. The company has built its own stables on Berkshire avenue and the business has grown rapidly and substantially, becoming one of the important undertakings of this character in Bridgeport.
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