USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > History of Bridgeport and vicinity > Part 5
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FRANK N. BENHAM.
After long connection with the financial interests of Bridgeport as a well known figure. in banking circles Frank N. Benham is now living retired. He is a representative of a family long connected with the history of this city, its development, upbuilding and improvement. His father, Junius N. Benham, was a twin brother of Julius H. Benham, and, entering husi- ness circles under the name of Benham Brothers on the 8th of July, 1838, they became actively and prominently connected with contracting and building operations in Bridgeport. They erected a number of the finest edifices of the city, including the South Congregational church and the Baptist and Presbyterian churches. They also built many of the finest business blocks of Bridgeport and added much to the architectural beauty and adornment of the city. Their operations as builders constituted the initial step toward their activity in the real estate field, in which they gradually concentrated their efforts. They purchased tracts of land which they developed, thereon engaging in speculative building. The business proved most prosperous, for the houses which they erected found a ready sale and they amassed a substantial fortune. In the public life of the city they were also keenly interested
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and were recognized leaders in the ranks of the republican party, their opinions carrying much weight in its local couneils. On the 18th of May, 1843, Junins N. Benham was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Aun Curtis, of Derby, Connecticut, a danghter of Captain Kneeland Curtis, and to them were born four children.
Frank N. Benham, a lifelong resident of Bridgeport, was born in Derby, Connectient, December 18, 1846, and during his active career occupied a prominent place in financial circles of his city and state. Ability brought him to the front in this connection and for many years he was cashier of the Bridgeport National Bank. He became associated with many other banking institutions and his judgment on all matters relating thereto was regarded as especially sound, for his discrimination is keen and his sagacity marked. At length he retired from business to enjoy the fruits of well directed activity.
Mr. Benham was united in marriage to Miss Annie Lord and they have had two children.
JOEL FARIST.
The story of the steel industry in Bridgeport would be incomplete were there failure to make prominent reference to Joel Farist, who was president of the Farist Steel Company. As a skilled mechanie his expert knowledge was sought in many connections and he was a director of many important institutions of Bridgeport. Sheffield, England. numbered him as a native son. He was born June 27, 1832, his parents being Joseph and Graed (Wolstenholn) Farist, the former a steel forger of Sheffield, England. The family came to America when Joel was but twelve years of age and almost immediately he began providing for his own support as a worker in a rolling mill in Kentucky, where the first American steel was manufactured in 1848. For several years he was employed as blacksmith and roller in rolling mills at Covington, Kentucky, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and at Jersey City, New Jersey, and was advanced step by step as he mastered the business in its various phases. He closely applied himself, for it was his ambition to work upward, and in 1856 he entered into partnership with two other workmen in leasing a portion of the steel plant of the Rockaway Manufacturing Company of Rockaway, New Jersey. There they carried on business for about six months, their efforts being attended with marked success, so that early in 1857 they took a three years' lease npon the Pompton rolling mill near Paterson, New Jersey, which they operated through the panie of 1857.
Mr. Farist's connection with the business development of Connecticut began in 1860, when he removed to Windsor Locks, where under the firm style of the Farist Steel Company he began the manufacture of east steel. During the Civil war his notable mechanical skill was utilized in the manufacture of gun barrel and bayonet steel for the United States government, and so valuable were his services in that direction that the United States made provision for a substitute for him in case he should be drafted. In 1872 the business was removed to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and established upon the site of the extensive plant later operated by the Farist Company. Here were secured facilities for the shipment of their manufactures by water direct on vessels at their dock in the harbor. Mr. Farist's associates when the company was founded were George Windsor, secretary, and John B. Windsor, treasurer. The continuous growth of the business led to the removal to Bridgeport. Within a short time this company became one of the leading concerns of the kind in Bridgeport and has maintained that position through all the intervening years. Mr. Farist remained through the greater part of this period the direeting spirit and the executive head of the business, bending his energies to administrative direction and at the same time keeping in close touch with the mechanical processes. The company manufactured all descriptions of steel, hammered or rolled. also spiral and elliptical car springs for steam and street cars. The growth of the business is indicated in the fact that the plant covered ten acres and
JOEL FARIST
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included a huge rolling mill, spring factory, gas house, melting shop, hammer shop, producing house and power house, the last named containing five large engines generating power to operate the plant. With the growth of the business agencies were established in Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco and New York city, and throughout all the period of its development Mr. Farist kept his hand closely upon the helm of his business, his practical knowledge resulting in expert skill that made him a leader in his line. After his death the company continued the business until February 16, 1916, when the plant was destroyed by fire and liquidation of the company's assets followed. His cooperation was also sought in other business connections and for twenty years he was a director of the Pequonnoek National Bank of Bridgeport and was also chief promoter and the first president of the Bridgeport Electric Light Company and the first president of the Bridgeport Crucible Company.
Mr. Farist was twice married. In 1855 he wedded Eliza Estelle and they had a daughter, now Mrs. Arthur E. Penfield. In 1867 Mr. Farist was united in marriage to Miss Martha Wood and they became the parents of two children: J. Windsor, who later was president of the Farist Steel Company; and Lulu E. While Mr. Farist won a notable position in the business world, he never allowed his extensive industrial interests to monopolize his time , and attention but remained ever a progressive and public-spirited citizen and throughout his life was actuated by broad humanitarian principles. He was vice president of the Bridge- port Hospital from the time of its organization until his death, which ocenrred on the 12th of November, 1904, and he was interested in educational matters, serving for nine years as a member of the Bridgeport board of education. He was a charter member of the Seaside Club and an active member of the Board of Trade from its inception. For many years he served as a trustee of the Washington Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was always a most generous supporter. He was honored and respected by all. not only because of his notable success but also for the straightforward business policy which he ever followed, combined with earnest work for civic betterment and right conditions in the labor world. He displayed notable power in managing men and in maintaining harmony among them. They recognized that he was ever considerate of their interests and rights and this attitude awakened their loyalty and regard. In a word, throughout his entire career he stood as a man among men, honored and respected by all.
FRANK MILLER.
Frank Miller, president of the City National Bank, ocenpies a foremost position in banking cireles of Bridgeport, while his varied and extensive interests in other lines have made him a valued and important factor in the financial, commercial and industrial growth of the city. He was born August 3, 1848, in Middletown, Connecticut, where his ancestors had settled nearly two hundred years before, being among the founders of that town, which was then called Mattabasset. Frank Miller is a son of Stephen Miller (III) and Lucretia (Fairchild) Miller and is a representative in the sixth generation of the descendants of Thomas Miller, who founded the family in Connecticut, the line being traced down through Thomas (II) and three Stephens. Thomas Miller, the progenitor, was the owner of a house and an acre and a half of ground at Rowley, Massachusetts, in 1643 and was "licensed to draw wine in 1647." Some time between 1651 and 1654 he removed to what is now Middletown, Connecticut, where his name appears on the town records March 10, 1654, according to a vote passed at a town meeting. The town was soon in need of a mill and in January, 1655, the selectmen and Thomas Miller signed an agreement whereby, the town granting certain aid, Mr. Miller engaged to build a mill adequate to grind the town's corn and have it in readiness by the 10th of December following. He became one of the prominent men of his community and his will, dated August 11, 1680. gave his age as "something above seventy years" and disposed
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of an estate of three hundred and seventy-six pounds and ten shillings. His second wife, whom he married June 6, 1666, was Sarah Nettleton, who died March 20, 1727, or 1728.
Thomas Miller (Il), their eldest son, was born in Middletown, Connecticut, May 6, 1667, and there died September 24, 1727. He succeeded to the milling business established by his father and carried it on for some time. On the 25th of December, 1696, he married his second wife, Mary Rowell. Their family included Stephen Miller, who was born March 5, 1699, in Middletown, and there passed away August 15, 1783. He was a farmer and always made his home in Middletown. On the 2d of July. 1730, he married Anna Goodrich, a daughter of Rich- ard and Hannah (Bulkeley) Goodrich. She was born in 1710 and died June 10, 1777. Their son, Stephen Miller (II), was born in Middletown, February 11, 1739, or 1740, and died July 21, 1822. He was an importer and shipowner, with a fleet of vessels in the West India trade. In those days the Connecticut river towns enjoyed an immense trade in rum, sugar, molasses and other products of the West Indies. Middletown was one of the most important towns of the state and the fifth port in the United States in point of volume of shipping. Stephen Miller (II) was one of the prominent business men of the place and during the War of 1812 lost sixteen of his vessels. He was married twice, his second wife, whom he wedded July 2, 1780, being Lucy Roberts, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Jones) Roberts. She was born in 1755 and died January 10, 1837.
Their son, Stephen Miller (III), father of Frank Miller of this review, was a native of Middletown and always resided there. He became an extensive farmer, also owned and operated a grist mill and engaged in the lumber business, while with other important com- mercial enterprises of that locality he was connected. When about sixty years of age he retired from active business but continued his residence in Middletown until called to the home beyond. His second wife, who bore the maiden name of Lucretia Fairchild, was a daughter of Elisha and Lucretia (Tryon) Fairchild. The Fairchilds were early settlers of Stratford, Connecticut, the family being represented there as early as 1650.
Frank Miller attended the schools of Middletown, where he was reared, and was also a student in the celebrated school there, Chase's Institute, which was conducted by Daniel H. Chase and was attended by boys from all over the country. In 1863, when a hoy of but fifteen years, he enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery and was on active duty with the Army of the Potomac under General U. S. Grant, serving until the close of the war and participating in a number of the hotly contested engagements. In the early '70s he established his home in Bridgeport and became a member of the firm of Miller & Strickland, engaged in the coal trade. He afterward purchased his partner's interest and the firm became Frank Miller & Company, under which caption they conducted an extensive business, but in 1907 Mr. Miller disposed of his interest to Archibald McNeil & Sons. He became active in other fields, including the lumber trade, in which con- nection he organized the Frank Miller Lumber Company and developed an immense business in lumber, sash and door manufacturing and wood turning. He has been president of this company since its organization and has been an active factor in the promotion of one of the foremost undertakings of the kind in the city. He became an active factor in banking ' circles when in 1889 he was elected a director of the City National Bank, of which ultimately be was made vice president, while in 1916, upon the death of E. E. Sanford, Mr. Miller became president of the bank and has since remained its executive head. The recognition of his sound judgment, his keen insight and his business enterprise have led to his cooperation being sought along various lines and he has become associated with a number of business enterprises of the most important character, contributing in large measure to the commercial development of the city and of other districts. He is now treasurer of the Lake Torpedo Boat Company of Bridgeport, is the president of the Citizens Coal Company of Waterbury and is also interested in a number of other industrial and financial concerns.
On the 25th of November, 1869, at Waterbury, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Emily Louisa Clinton, a native of Woodbridge, Connecticut, and a daughter of Ira D.
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and Mary A. (Lewis) Clinton. Mrs. Miller passed away in Bridgeport, October 4, 1907, and is survived by one of her three children, Stephen, who was born in New Britain, Connecticut, and is now a resident of San Francisco, California. On the 5th of November, 1908, at Bridge- port, Mr. Miller married Miss Anna Drew Hallock, a daughter of Henry E. and Mary Frances (Drew) Hallock. The father of Mrs. Miller was born on Long Island and came to Bridgeport as a young man, after which for many years he conducted business as a merchant tailor here. He was a son of William Henry Hallock and a descendant of Peter Hallock, who came from England and settled on Long Island early in the seventeenth century. The mother of Mrs. Miller was a daughter of Wheeler Drew and his wife, who in her maidenhood was a Miss Hurd. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are prominently known in social circles of Bridgeport, where the hospitality of the best homes is freely accorded them. They are members of St. John's Episcopal church and Mr. Miller maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades as a member of Elias Howe Post, No. 38, G. A. R. of which he is commander. He is also a Mason of high rank, belonging to Corinthian Lodge, F. & A. M .; Jerusalem Chapter, R. A. M .; Jerusalem Council, R. & S. M .; Hamilton Commandery, K. T .; the Consistory of the Scottish Rite; and Pyramid Temple of the Mystic Shrine.
In politics a democrat, he feels the interest of an active business man and progressive citizen in the questions and issues of the day but has never cared for political preferment. He has served as a member of the board of education and has been a member of the board of apportionment and taxation in Bridgeport. He stands for all that is progressive in community life and has cooperated in many well devised plans and measures for the general good. It is said that his charities are many but they are most quietly and unostentatiously given, many times known only to the recipients. He has been a successful business man, making wise use of his time, talents and opportunities, but not only organizations for profit but other institutions and concerns have benefited by the value of his judgment and his direction.
GEORGE MANSON EAMES.
George Manson Eames, works manager for The Singer Manufacturing Company of Bridgeport, is. a leader in the business circles of the city. His attitude toward public affairs is one of helpfulness and progressiveness and there is no one who has done more than he to stimulate effort to establish and develop public parks, a work in which bis father was equally interested and active. He is a son of Albert Eames and represents a distinguished old Massachusetts family dating back to an early period in the colonization of the new world, the name being a prominent one in connection with the history of Framingham, Massachu- setts. His great-grandfather and his great-great-grandfather fought side by side in the battles of Lexington and Concord, belonging to the band of Minute Men whose names will ever be honored in American history.
The same spirit of loyalty was manifest in Albert Eames, though it took on different form according to the needs and conditions of the age. He was especially interested in the park system of Bridgeport and for twenty years served as park commissioner, doing every- thing in his power to develop and beautify the parks of the city. At the time of his death he was actively interested in the work of Beardsley park, which was being developed under his supervision and which had been almost completed at the time of his demise. He was a stalwart republican in politics and his opinions carried weight in party councils. Again and again he was called upon for public service, filling the positions of alderman, selectman and member of the street and bridge as well as the park commissions. While he held to high ideals, his method of work was at all times practical, producing immediate and beneficial results. His life record compassed a period of seventy-eight years. He was born in South
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Framingham, Massachusetts, March 9, 1811, and on attaining his majority entered upon an apprenticeship to the gunmaker's trade at Springfield, that state. He afterward traveled through the south and west, working in government mints, and in 1846 at the factory of the Remington Brothers at Ilion, New York, he was engaged in making breech-loading carbines, manifesting superior skill in directing the assembling of weapons. At length he returned to Springfield and organized the American Machine Works for building cotton presses and heavy machinery, but the Civil war put an end to their business, as the sale of their products was largely in the south. In 1836 Mr. Eames removed to Bridgeport and entered the employ of the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company, first as maker of machinery and tools and afterward as a contractor. At the time of his death, which occurred December 14, 1889, he was president of the Bridgeport Horse Railroad Company. He belonged to Hampden Lodge, I. O. O. F., but never cared to figure prominently in club or social circles. In 1844 he was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Avery Ferre, a native of Munson, Massachusetts.
Their son, George M. Eames, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, January 19, 1859, but was reared in Bridgeport, where he attended the public schools, and when still a youth he entered the foundry of the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Company, in connection with which business he worked his way steadily upward through various departments. He was eventually elected to office and became vice president and general superintendent of the business, continuing as such until the company sold out to The Singer Manufacturing Com- pany, at which time he was made manager of the Bridgeport works and so continues. He knows every phase of the business.
Mr. Eames was united in marriage to Miss Helen Augusta Higby and their children are: Charlotte M., the wife of George W. Ellis; Helen, the wife of Noble E. Vincent; Martha, now deceased, a twin sister of Helen; William, who has also passed away; and George Manson, Jr.
While an active factor in business circles of Bridgeport, Mr. Eames has also contributed to public progress and improvement along other lines. He has done much to improve business conditions in general and is a member of the Bridgeport Board of Trade and also a member of the executive board of the Manufacturers' Association. For one term he was president of the Algonquin Club and has also been commodore of the Bridgeport Yacht Club, but his chief interest outside of business is in city parks and for sixteen years he has been on the park board of Bridgeport, of which he is the president. He realizes fully the necessity of developing the park area during this period of the city's rapid growth, knowing that breathing spaces must be provided especially in the congested factory districts and that playgrounds must feature in the city parks, thus giving outlet to the vital energy of the youth, statistics showing that where adequate space and opportunity are provided for the normal interests of the boy the tendency toward crime is practically annihilated. He recognizes, too, the effect of natural beauties as an uplift element in the lives of all and his efforts in behalf of the city park system have indeed been farreaching and beneficial.
FREDERICK HANFORD LYON.
No history of Bridgeport would be complete without extended mention of Frederick Hanford Lyon, today one of the most venerable citizens of Fairfield county. He was born September 21, 1827, on Main street in Bridgeport, which at that time was a street of fine residences and beautiful gardens, and has therefore almost reached the ninetieth milestone on life's journey. He is especially well preserved for one of his years and has maintained in affairs of the day the interest which is usually attributed to men of much younger years.
His father, Hanford Lyon, was born at Easton, Connecticut, in the Rock House district,
HANFORD LYON
ABIJAH HAWLEY
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and was a son of Nathaniel Webb Lyon. The family is noted for longevity and Nathaniel W. Lyon reached the notable old age of one hundred and one years. He bought the first ton of coal in Bridgeport. Hanford Lyon was the eighth in order of birth in a family of nine children and in his youthful days he worked on his father's farm through the summer months and attended the public schools in the winter seasons until he reached the age of fourteen, when he was apprenticed at Danbury, Connecticut, to the saddler's trade. He removed from Easton. Connecticut, to Bridgeport, where he engaged in the saddlery business, but later he became a very prominent factor in financial circles. He became a director of the Con- necticut Bank, a director and the president of the old Bridgeport Bank, a director of the Pequonnock Bank, the first president of the City Savings Bank, a director and president of the City Gas Light Company and was a valued representative of other important public and private interests. Although a self-educated man, his broad and active business experience developed in him capabilities and powers that would have enabled him to fill almost any position. Notwithstanding he was quiet and unassuming and did not seek publie ofliee or distinction. His early political allegiance was given to the old whig party and upon its dissolution he joined the ranks of the republican party, of which he was ever afterward a stalwart champion. During the Civil war he was a strong supporter of the Union cause. He served as a member of the common council of Bridgeport in the years 1837, 1842, 1844, 1845 and 1848 and during a portion of that time was alderman. In a word, he was a very public-spirited man, lending the weight of his aid and influence to every plan and project which he believed would prove of value and benefit to the com- munity. His life was actuated by the highest principles. He was a member of the First Congregational Society from early manhood and in 1858 united with the North church, in which he was held in the highest esteem. He passed away September 21, 1879, but left the impress of his individuality and ability for good upon the life of the community in many of its most progressive phases. He had married Hetty Ann Thompson, of Stratford, whose ancestors were among the early settlers of Stratford and the family homestead there is still well preserved. A fine four poster bed belonging to the Thompson family is now in the Connecticut room at Mount Vernon. Lieutenant William Thompson, an ancestor of Mrs. Lyon, served with distinction in the war of the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Lyon became the parents of two sons and three daughters: Frederick H .; Sarah, the wife of Edward R. Sanford, who at one time was a judge of New Haven; William T., who lived in San Francisco, California; Josephine, the wife of Henry T. Shelton, of Bridgeport; and Adelaide, deceased. Having lost his first wife, Hanford Lyon was married to Annie Frye and their children were: Edward, who married Jessie, daughter of Dr. Porter, and has now passed away; Frank, who wedded Ida Mitchell, of Brooklyn, New York, and is now living in Bridgeport; Charles G., who married but has departed this life; and Alice, the wife of General Thomas L. Watson.
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