History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 10

Author: Burpee, Charles W. (Charles Winslow), b. 1859
Publication date: 1928
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1390

USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III > Part 10

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REMSEN BRINCKERHOFF OGILBY, B. D., LL. D., Litt. D.

Dr. Remsem Brinckerhoff Ogilby, president of Trinity College of Hartford since 1920, was born April 8, 1881, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, a son of Charles Fitz Randolph and Agnes (Brinckerhoff) Ogilby, of Briar Cliff, New York. Having mastered the elementary branches of learning, he continued his education in the Roxbury Latin School in Boston and then entered Harvard, which conferred upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1902 and the degree of Master of Arts in 1907. He spent two years at the General Theological Seminary in New York city and a third year at the Episcopal Theological School at Cambridge, where he won his B. D. degree in 1907. Some years prior to this time he had taken up the profession of teaching and from 1902 until 1904 was master at Groton School in Groton, Massa- chusetts, while the period between 1904 and 1907 was given over to the study of

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theology. In the latter year he became assistant at St. Stephen's church in Boston, where he continued until 1909, and from 1909 until 1918 was head master of Baguio School in the Philippine Islands, a boarding school for American boys. The latter year brought him appointment to the position of chaplain in the United States army. He served as chaplain at the military academy at West Point and later as chaplain at Debarkation Hospital No. 5 in New York city, for it was at this period that the World war soldiers were returning to America. In 1919-20 Dr. Ogilby was master at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and in the latter year came to Trinity College, where he has since remained as president of this institution, main- taining its high rank and standards and in fact promoting its efficiency through the introduction of new and improved methods. Wesleyan University of Middletown, Connecticut, conferred upon him the LL. D. degree and in 1923 he received the degree of Doctor of Literature from Columbia University.

On the 26th of August, 1919, Dr. Ogilby was married to Miss Lois Cunningham, a daughter of Frederick and Leila (Manley) Cunningham, of New York city, and their children are: Peter Brinckerhoff, born March 13, 1921; Lyman Cunningham, January 25, 1922; and Alexander, born January 13, 1928. Dr. Ogilby's interest in social activities is manifest through his connection with the Harvard Club of New York, the Century Club of New York and the University Club of Boston, while he also has membership in the University Club of Hartford and the Harvard Club of Connecticut.

JACOB LYMAN GREENE

The life record of such a man as Jacob Lyman Greene cannot fail to have in- spirational value to all who read this memoir. He was ever actuated by the highest sense of patriotic devotion to the country, while in business circles he made for himself a creditable and honorable place. His life was ever actuated by the highest principles of integrity and of public service. He was born in Waterford, Maine, August 9, 1837, his parents being Captain Jacob H. and Sarah W. (Frye) Greene, both of whom were representatives of old New England families, the mother tracing her ancestry back to Major General Joseph Frye, who served with distinction in the Revolutionary war.

Upon the old homestead farm Jacob L. Greene was reared, receiving the ed- ucational advantages afforded by the schools of the period, but actuated by a laud- able ambition he made the best possible use of his school training and of home study, so that eventually he was qualified to pass the entrance examinations required in the law department of the University of Michigan. He had practiced for about two years when the country became involved in civil war and he put aside all profes- sional and personal interests to respond to the country's call for service, joining Company G of the Seventh Michigan Infantry, of which he was commissioned first lieutenant on the 22d of August, 1861. Without even pausing to visit his parents in the old New England home he went to the front, serving until honorably dis- charged January 28, 1862. On the 14th of July, 1863, he again joined the army and was commissioned a captain of the Sixth Michigan Cavalry, while subsequently he was advanced to the rank of assistant adjutant general. He was taken prisoner in one of the many engagements in which he took part and was confined in Libby and other prisons until receiving his exchange in the latter part of 1864, while on the 13th of March, 1865, he was brevetted lieutenant colonel "for distinguished gallantry at the battle of Trevilian Station, and faithful and meritorious services during the war." He was afterward on duty under General George A. Custer in Virginia, with whom he subsequently served as chief of staff in Louisiana and Texas until hon- orably discharged March 20, 1866.

With his return to the north Colonel Greene located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where his brother, Dr. William Warren Greene, was actively associated with the Berkshire Life Insurance Company, with which the Colonel secured a position. His capability was soon manifest and he was made assistant secretary in the principal office of the company. He studied insurance with his characteristic thoroughness until he became a recognized authority on the subject. He wrote many articles on insurance and actuarial questions which appeared in the leading magazines of the

JACOB L. GREENE

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country and attracted the attention of the officials of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company of Hartford, who offered him a position as assistant secretary in the home office. Accepting this, Colonel Greene became a resident of Hartford in 1870 and in 1871 was elected secretary, while the year 1878 saw him advanced to the presidency, in which position he thereafter continued until his life's labors were ended in death. He held to the highest standards of insurance service, writing many articles which were of inspirational value to those who labored in that field. Moreover, he kept in touch with the trend of modern thought and progress along many other lines and was the author of many articles of widespread interest upon such subjects as "Bimetallism, or the Double Standard," "The Silver Question," "Our Currency Problems" and "What is 'A Sound Currency?'" He mastered these subjects with such thoroughness and presented his views with such clearness and force that they were widely copied throughout the country and received the endorse- ment of many of the ablest financiers of America.

Colonel Greene was married three times. To him and his first wife, who bore the maiden name of Malvina Wood, was born a daughter who is now Mrs. H. S. Richards of Rochester, New York. By his second wife, Mrs. Annette (Humphrey) Greene, he had a son, Jacob Humphrey Greene, who is secretary of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company. The third wife of Colonel Greene was in her maidenhood Caroline S. Barrows.

Colonel Greene died in Hartford, March 29, 1905, when he was in the sixty-eighth year of his age. He passed away in the Episcopal faith, of which he had long been an earnest and devout follower, attending many of the conventions of his church and otherwise contributing to its work and influence. He was a member of many industrial, financial, educational, scientific and benevolent organizations and was regarded as a valuable contributing factor to the success of each. He was particularly interested in Trinity College, serving as secretary of its board of trustees and furthering its welfare in many personal ways. Patriotism was ever one of his marked characteristics, manifest in his attitude toward public questions at all times as well as in his many public utterances. He was chosen as the speaker at the time of the Grant Memorial services in Hartford and delivered a most eloquent address on that occasion. He was the author of a work on "General William B. Franklin and the Battle of Fredericks- burg," published in 1890, and of "In Memoriam of General Franklin," in 1903. He belonged to the Century, Hartford Country and Hartford Golf Clubs and to the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Something of his high position is indicated in the fact that Yale University conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree in 1897 and Trinity College the Doctor of Laws degree in 1904. When he passed from this life the highest tributes of honor and respect were spoken by those who had been his associates and knew of the honorable and efficient life he had led and of his valuable service in promoting the material development, the patriotic progress and the intellectual and moral advancement of the people of Connecticut.

PHILIP H. LA FLEUR

Philip H. La Fleur, attorney at law, associated with the firm of Day, Berry & Reynolds at Hartford, was born in Middlebury, Vermont, May 1, 1894, and is a son of Ira H. and Josephine (Dudley) La Fleur, the father having been born at Pres- cott, Ontario, Canada, while the mother was born at East Middlebury, Vermont. The La Fleur family is of French lineage and the father is now well known as a lawyer of Middlebury, where he is also recognized as a prominent political leader, having repre- sented his district in both houses of the general assembly. He has likewise filled the position of village attorney and for fifteen years has capably served as chairman of the school board. His own education was acquired in Middlebury College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1894.

Philip H. La Fleur attended the Middlebury high school and is numbered among its alumni of 1913. He next entered Colgate University, in which he studied for two years. After leaving school he studied law in the office and under the direction of his father for two years, but his studies were interrupted by his enlistment for service in the World war in December, 1917, at which time he joined the aviation section of the

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Signal Corps and went to Kelly Field in Texas. He was afterward assigned to the bureau of aircraft production in Washington, D. C., and was discharged as a ser- geant, first-class, in June, 1919. Shortly after his return at the close of the war Mr. La Fleur came to Hartford in December, 1919, and was employed in the Hartford Rubber Works. This gave him a start and when opportunity permitted he entered the law office of Day & Berry, there continuing his law studies from July, 1921. He also attended the Hartford College of Law and was graduated in June, 1923. This was followed by his admission to the bar on the 15th of January, 1924, since which time he has engaged in active practice, meeting with satisfactory success, having at- tained a creditable position among the younger representatives of the Hartford bar.

On the 29th of June, 1925, Mr. La Fleur was united in marriage to Miss Anastasie Stella Goulet, of Webster, Massachusetts, and of French origin. She is a graduate of Hartford Hospital, is a registered nurse and has been very active in the Nurses' Alumni Association.

Mr. La Fleur is editor of the Associated French-American Republican Clubs, of Connecticut, and is vice president of the French-American Republican Club of Hart- ford. In June, 1928, he was elected governor of the State of Vermont Club in Hart- ford. He belongs also to the Hartford County Bar Association, and his interest centers in his profession, in which his labors, actuated by a laudable ambition, are bringing desired results.

FRANCIS A. PALLOTTI

As a member of the County, State and American Bar Associations Francis A. Pallotti has long enjoyed the unqualified respect and confidence of his brethren in the legal fraternity, while in the field of citizenship he has won an honored name and place for himself, as indicated in the fact that he is now serving for the third term as Connecticut's secretary of state. He is thus leaving the impress of his individual- ity and ability in large measure upon the history of the commonwealth and has done much to shape public thought and action. He was born in Hartford, August 21, 1886, his parents being Nicola and Marie Antonia (Demma) Pallotti, more extended mention of whom is made on another page of this work.

Francis A. Pallotti was educated in Hartford through attendance at the Brown school and the high school, with later a course in the Holy Cross Preparatory School at Worcester. He next entered the Holy Cross College and won his Bachelor of Arts degree on his graduation with the class of 1908. Attracted to the law, he became a law student at Yale and was graduated cum laude with the Bachelor of Laws degree in the class of 1911. He was elected president of his class, which was the largest ever graduated from Yale. The same year he was admitted to the bar of Hartford county and throughout the intervening period has continued in the active practice of the profession, although dividing his time with other important and far-reaching interests. In 1916 he acted as associate judge in the police court of Hartford and in February, 1917, was appointed to the office. He also served as vice president of the board of street commissioners and filled that office from 1913 until 1917, when he became judge of the city police court and served on the bench for four years, his decisions being characterized by strict fairness and impartiality. In January, 1923, he assumed the duties of secretary of state, to which office he was elected on the republican ticket, and is now serving for the third successive term in that important position. He has ever been an earnest follower of the republican party and has exerted wide influence in this connection. His activities, too, extend into the field of finance, for he is a director of the Riverside Trust Company and a trustee of the Dime Savings Bank.

On the 12th of April, 1915, Mr. Pallotti was united in marriage to Miss Mary Agnes Verdi, who was born in New Haven, a daughter of Domenico and Rose (Rug- giero) Verdi, of that city. They have become parents of two children: Nicholas, born December 11, 1916; and Rosemary, born March 23, 1918. The family are com- municants of the Catholic church and Mr. Pallotti belongs to Green Cross Council, No. 11, of the Knights of Columbus, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Young Italian American Association, Court Garibaldi of the Foresters of Amer-

(Photograph by The Johnstone Studio)

FRANCIS A. PALLOTTI

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ica, the City Club and the Ki Tau Kappa of the Yale Law School. His career is an illustration of the adaptability of the Italian race. Thoroughly American in the second generation, the family has largely furthered the welfare of Hartford and Francis A. Pallotti has made valuable contribution to the state in his advocacy of plans and measures that have directly benefitted the commonwealth. The value of his service finds acknowledgment at the polls and in the endorsement of many of the leading residents of the state, while his fellow members of the bar bear testimony to his superior ability in the profession which he chose as his life work.

COLONEL FRANCIS PARSONS

Colonel Francis Parsons, a lifelong resident of Hartford, has been throughout his business career closely associated with its legal, banking and cultural interests. He was born January 13, 1871, a son of John C. and Mary (McClellan) Parsons. The father, who was born in Hartford, June 3, 1832, was of English lineage and traced his ancestry in America back to "Cornet" Joseph Parsons, who settled in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1635, later moving to Northampton. The ancestral lines comes down through his son, Joseph Parsons (II), of Northampton, David Parsons, who was pastor of the churches at Malden and Leicester, Massachusetts, and his son, David Parsons (II), of Amherst, Massachusetts, who likewise devoted his life to the work of the ministry. He in turn was the father of the Rev. David Parsons (III), likewise of Amherst, who became the father of the Hon. Francis Parsons, of Hartford, judge of the county court of Hartford county and grandfather of Francis Parsons of this review. John C. Parsons, the son of Francis Parsons, Sr., married Mary McClellan, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, born May 31, 1844. She was of English and Scotch lineage and a daughter of Dr. Samuel McClellan, of Philadelphia, who was one of the founders and a member of the faculty of Jefferson Medical College. Dr. McClellan was a grandson of General Samuel McClellan, of Woodstock, Connecticut, who served in the Revolutionary war with the rank successively of major, lieutenant- colonel and colonel; following the victorious outcome of the Revolutionary war he served as brigadier-general in command of the Fifth Brigade of Connecticut militia. His wife was a descendant of Governor William Bradford, of Plymouth, Massa- chusetts. The McClellans were a Scotch family, the clan having its castle at Kirk- cudbright.

Francis Parsons acquired his early education in the district schools of Hartford and was graduated from the Hartford Public High School with the class of 1889. At Yale University he won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1893. After two years spent in newspaper work on the staff of the Hartford Courant, he began preparation for the bar as a student in the Yale School of Law, which conferred upon him the LL. B. degree in 1897. He received the Master of Arts degree in 1925 upon becoming a member of the Yale Corporation or Board of Trustees. Following his admission to the bar he practiced in Hartford until 1904, when he left the general practice of the law to become identified with the banking interests of the city as secretary of the Security Company, of which he was afterward made vice president. His legal work, however, was continued in connection with the trust department of that cor- poration and has never been given up. In 1923 this institution was consolidated with others under the name of the United States Security Trust Company, of which Mr. Parsons was successively vice president and vice chairman of the board of trustees. In 1927 the United States Security Trust Company was merged with the Hartford- Aetna National Bank, becoming the Hartford National Bank & Trust Company. He is now vice chairman of the board of directors of this corporation and one of the directors of the institution. He is likewise a trustee of the Society for Savings and a director of the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and of the Phoenix Insurance Company.

On June 22, 1897, at Brandon, Vermont, Mr. Parsons married Miss Elizabeth Alden Hutchins, a daughter of the late Major Robert A. Hutchins, of Concord, New Hampshire, and Georgiana Alden Hutchins. Her father was a son of Ephraim Hutchins, who was a son of Abel Hutchins, both of Concord, New Hampshire, and the latter was a son of Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon Hutchins, who was born in 1733 and served in the Revolutionary war, also, as member from Concord, in the Pro-

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vincial Congress. He was a son of William Hutchins, of Harvard, Massachusetts. The mother of Mrs. Parsons, Georgiana Alden (Jackson) Hutchins, was a direct descendant of John Alden, of Plymouth. Major Hutchins, the father of Mrs .. Parsons, who also was descended from John Alden, entered the Civil war as a member of the Seventh New York Regiment. Through successive promotions he became assistant adjutant-general on the staff of General O. B. Willcox. In the battle of the Wilder- ness he was severely wounded and never recovered from the effects of that injury. He died in Los Angeles, California, October 15, 1883. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Parsons are Mary, John C. and Elizabeth H., all living in Hartford.

Mr. Parsons has long been actively associated with many institutions of a public or semi-public character. His membership on the Board of Trustees, or Corporation, of Yale University has already been noted. He is also a trustee of the Wadsworth Atheneum and a trustee and the vice president of the Watkinson Library. He is likewise vice president and a director of the Hartford Public Library, of the American School for the Deaf and of other philanthropic institutions. He is identified with various Yale societies, including Psi Upsilon, Chi Delta Theta, or the Yale Literary Magazine, and Skull and Bones. For many years he has been a member of the Con- necticut Commission on Sculpture. In 1907-8 he served on the board of education of the city of Hartford and again from 1921 until 1924. From 1908 until 1918 he was a member of the board of park commissioners. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party and his military record covers service as assistant quartermaster-general of Connecticut from 1899 until 1901 with the rank of colonel. In 1911 he was one of the organizers of Troop B of the Fifth Militia Cavalry of Connecticut, in which he served until 1914. In the World war period, he was captain of Company B, First Regiment, Connecticut State Guard, in 1917-18, and served overseas with the American Red Cross with the rank of captain in 1918, in the position of director of the Bureau of Home Service for Great Britain. His religious connections are with the Congregational church, his membership being in the First Church of Christ in Hartford. He is a member of the Hartford Club, the Hartford Golf Club, the University Club of Hartford, the University Club of New York, the Connecticut Historical Society, the Acorn Club, the Graduates Club of New Haven and the Elizabethan Club of New Haven. Mr. Parsons has always been interested in local history and in 1922 published a book of essays entitled "The Friendly Club and Other Portraits," dealing with the group of post-Revolutionary literati known as the "Hartford Wits" and with other well known residents of his city in the past. Some pamphlets and magazine articles have appeared under his name. His library, by inheritance and by personal acquirement, is of exceptional value.

LOUIS RICHMOND CHENEY

No career illustrates more clearly the possibility for effective and far-reaching achievement than that of Louis Richmond Cheney. His interests are most varied in character and comprehensive in scope and in all of his activities the public has largely been the beneficiary, although his interests have likewise promoted his pri- vate fortunes and made him one of the notable figures in business and financial circles in Hartford. A native son of Connecticut, he was born at South Manchester, April 27, 1859, his parents being George Wells and Harriet Kingsbury (Richmond) Cheney. The name Cheney was one of the earliest surnames used in England and from that country came John Cheney, the founder of the family in America, in 1636. Successive generations have been active in the business and public life of New England and the father, George Wells Cheney, has long been known as a member of the firm of Cheney Brothers, silk manufacturers of South Manchester.

When he had passed through consecutive grades to the completion of his high school work in Hartford, Louis R. Cheney entered upon his business career in 1879 with the silk manufacturing concern at Manchester in which his father was inter- ested and later was employed at Cheney Brothers mills in Hartford. He also spent four years in the sales department of the firm in New York city and constantly his activities and interests have broadened in scope and importance until, aside from his association with Cheney Brothers, he is now a director of the Connecticut River Banking Company, the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Hartford Elec-

(Photograph by Campbell Studios)

LOUIS R. CHENEY

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tric Light Company, Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company and the Con- necticut Fire Insurance Company, vice president and director of the Automatic Refrigerating Company and a director of the Industrial Finance Corporation (New York). He is also a director of the National Surety Company (New York) and the Connecticut Fair Association, while he is serving as a trustee of the Hartford- Connecticut Trust Company and as president and director of the Hartford Morris Plan Bank. So important and extensive are his interests that his name is insep- arably associated with the history of growth and progress in the state along indus- trial, manufacturing and financial lines.

In early manhood Mr. Cheney established his own home through his marriage on the 16th of April, 1890, to Miss Mary Alice Robinson, a daughter of Lucius F. and Eliza (Trumbull) Robinson, the former now deceased. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Cheney is now Mrs. John T. Roberts, of Hartford.

From the period of early manhood Mr. Cheney has also been deeply interested in questions of public welfare and his influence has ever been on the side of progress, reform and improvement. He served both as councilman and alderman in Hartford for a period of five years and from 1905 until 1907 was colonel and quartermaster- general of Connecticut, while for seven years he was major commandant of the First Company, Governor's Foot Guard, his service covering the periods from 1898 to 1903 and from 1907 until 1909. Three years later he was again called to political office in his election to the mayoralty of Hartford and from 1915 until 1917 he par- ticipated in the deliberations of the state senate, where his record showed an abso- lute loyalty to the best interests of the commonwealth. In 1915-16 he occupied the presidency of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce and he has been officially identi- fied with various state institutions, serving as a director of the Connecticut Reforma- tory, of the American School at Hartford for the Deaf, the Connecticut Institute for the Blind and the Hartford Retreat for the Insane and also as a trustee of the Loomis Institute. Moreover, he is a director of the Connecticut River Bridge and Highway District. He is the president, a director and a member of the executive committee of the Hartford Hospital and also president of the Hartford Council, Boy Scouts of America. Patriotism has ever featured as an element in the activities of Mr. Cheney and he has membership in the Society of the Cincinnati and the Sons of the American Revolution as well as the Society of Colonial Wars, of which he was formerly governor, and the Military Order of Foreign Wars, which he has served as commander. He belongs to the Mayflower Society and the work of these different organizations has long been a matter of deep interest to him. In hours of relaxation he is seen at the Hartford, Hartford Golf and Republican clubs of Hart- ford, at the Country Club of Farmington, the Union League Club of New York and at various sportsmen's clubs in which he holds membership in Connecticut and beyond the boundaries of the state. Since 1917 he has served for several years as chairman of the Red Cross campaigns. The foregoing indicates most definitely that business has been but one phase in the life of Louis R. Cheney. Few men have so fully recog- nized the duties and responsibilities of citizenship or the obligations of man to his fellows. His labors have ameliorated the hard conditions of life for the unfortu- nate, have promoted the welfare and the interests of municipality and commonwealth, and in all things and at all times he has builded wisely and well.

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 10

Author: Burpee, Charles W. (Charles Winslow), b. 1859 Publication date: 1928 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Number of Pages: 1390

Author: Burpee, Charles W. (Charles Winslow), b. 1859
Publication date: 1928
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1390