History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 116

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 116

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Lawrence W. Case, son of A. Wells Case and Raymond S. Case, son of A. Willard . Case, were admitted to the firm in the early '90s, the former becoming president of Case Brothers upon the death of his father in 1908, the latter having previously taken the management of the mill of the Case Manufacturing Company of Unionville.

Albert L. Crowell and Joseph N. Viot, sons-in-law of A. Willard Case, have also been in the business for many years, the former now being secretary and treasurer of Case Brothers, Inc., and Case & Marshall, Inc., the latter having been treasurer and manager of Case & Marshall, Inc., and the A. Willard Case Company until his death in 1927.

Raymond S. Case was president of the Case Manufacturing Company and Case & Marshall, Inc., until his death in 1928, and was succeeded by Lawrence W. Case as president of Case & Marshall, Inc.

A. Wells Case was intensely interested in the natural beauty of Highland Park and for years devoted much thought and effort in developing it. He constructed winding roads through the woods on the mountain side, which, with the stone bridges and walls that he built, added much to the attractiveness of the park.

A. Willard Case died in 1925, at the age of eighty-five years, shortly after the completion of the South Manchester Methodist Episcopal church edifice, for the con- struction of which he was largely responsible.

He continued to be an active factor in the several companies until his death.

LAWRENCE WELLS CASE

Lawrence Wells Case, president of Case Brothers, Inc., paper manufacturers of Manchester, has been identified with the business continuously since 1892, and his familiarity with every phase thereof, combined with his enterprising spirit, has con- tributed to its further success and development. Other business enterprises, too, profit by his sound judgment and he is a well known figure among the captains of industry in Hartford county. He was born in Manchester, Connecticut, July 5, 1871, and is a son of Alfred Wells and Caroline E. (Jenney) Case.

Lawrence W. Case, pursued his early education in the public schools and after- ward attended Wilbraham Academy and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his liberal training well qualifying him for the duties and responsibilities of later life. In 1892 he returned to Manchester and entered Case Brothers mills, then con- ducted by his father and the latter's brother, Albert Willard Case. Lawrence W. Case was at that time a young man of twenty-one. He bent every energy toward the mastery of the business, with which he acquainted himself in principle and detail, increasing his efficiency with the passing years. His father passed away in 1908 and it was then that Mr. Case succeeded to the presidency. In addition to his other activities Mr. Case is serving as president of Case & Marshall, Inc., and also as a director of the Manchester Trust Company. In all business affairs he readily dis- criminates between the essential and the non-essential and quickly utilizes the former with the result that he continually advances toward his objective.

Mr. Case has also carried out another enterprise which was instituted by his father, who in 1903 began the construction of a four-hundred acre park on the slope of Birch mountain. With great appreciation for the natural beauty of that section, he began to develop its advantages with the purpose of rendering them more easily accessible to the public. He laid out the western slope of the park, built winding forest roads and bridges and eventually completed a road to the summit, which o'er-

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tops the Connecticut river nine hundred feet, affording a magnificent view of the valley. Following the death of the father in 1908, Lawrence W. Case at once con- tinued the work of park improvement, which he completed on the eastern slope of the mountain in 1909. One of the most beautiful features of Highland Park is the cascade known as Wyllys falls, which plunges sixty-five feet down a rocky slope into a wooded glen. Highland Park is indeed one of the beauty spots of New England and its beauty has been put within the reach of the public through the efforts of A. Wells and Lawrence W. Case, whose civic spirit took tangible expression in the devel- opment of this property. The park contains mineral springs and there is an attractive community club house which is also used as a branch of the Hartford County Young Men's Christian Association. From the time when the swelling buds first open in the early spring until late autumn the park is the resort of many visitors, and then . when the glorious fall coloring fades it becomes a scene of almost fairy beauty when clothed with winter snows. In the midst of all this beauty stands the extensive plant of Case Brothers, Inc., affording the one hundred employes ideal conditions amid which to perform their tasks.

Mr. Case was united in marriage September 18, 1918, to Miss Florence M. Reid, daughter of David J. and Agnes (Cornett) Reid, of Gananoque, Ontario, Canada. To Mr. and Mrs. Case have been born three children: Lawrence W., Jr., who died at the age of three months; Dorothy Agnes; and Alfred Wells (II). The parents are active in the Methodist church, of which Mr. Case is a trustee, and was chairman of the building committee during the construction of the present edifice. His name is on the membership rolls of the Hartford Club, the Hartford Golf Club, the Man- chester Country Club and the Kiwanis Club of Manchester. Mr. Case largely con- centrates his efforts and attention upon his business affairs and has ever held to the straightforward policy instituted upon the establishment of the business, while he has enlarged his activities in accordance with the commercial and industrial development of the twentieth century.

AUBREY L. MADDOCK

An enterprising realtor, Aubrey L. Maddock has done much to exploit the re- sources, attractions and advantages of Greater Hartford, proving his loyalty to the greater city by word and deed, and has also won prominence in other walks of life. He is widely known as an expert publicity man and his patriotic activities and work in behalf of disabled veterans are also deserving of special mention. He was born in Willimantic, Connecticut, October 19, 1890, and is a son of Alonzo and Evelyn (Baker) Maddock, also natives of this state. In the maternal line he is descended from the Comstock and Strickland families, early settlers of Montville and Colchester, Connecticut.

Mr. Maddock was educated in Westerly, Rhode Island, graduating from high school in 1909, and entered the field of journalism as a reporter for the New Britain Herald. In 1913 he became connected with the Hartford Courant, doing reportorial work for a year, and was then made assistant city editor. The duties of assistant managing editor were added in 1914 and he measured up in full to their requirements, continuing with the paper until May 28, 1917. In 1916 he directed the state-wide publicity cam- paign of the republican state central committee and in 1917 he was made director of publicity of the Connecticut military census. In April, 1917, he organized the publicity department of the Connecticut committee on food supply and on May 28, 1917, at the request of R. M. Bissell, chairman of the Connecticut State Council of Defense, he was given leave of absence from "The Courant" to assist the publicity committee of the council, becoming secretary of the committee. He organized and was director of the division of press cooperation, securing special representatives commissioned by the governor on practically every newspaper in the state, and later was a representative in Connecticut of the Committee on Public Information, receiving one dollar per month for his services. Mr. Maddock was elected secretary of the Con- necticut Chamber of Commerce, the work of which he combined with that of the Council of Defense, and became a member of the council's committee on industrial rela- tions by virtue of membership on the executive committee of the Chamber of Com- merce. Thus he spent more than a year in publicity work, cooperating closely with

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LAWRENCE W. CASE

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employment service, Liberty Loan organization and other similar efforts. In addition to originating newspaper publicity and being responsible for the Connecticut Bulletin, circulated throughout the State Council of Defense organization, his duties included the preparation of posters, booklets and other publicity devices setting forth America's war aims and upholding morale in the state. In 1918 he was asked by Captain G. B. Perkins, chief of the military morale section, connected with the office of the chief of staff, to file an application for a commission in that section, in compliance with the recommendation of the Council of National Defense. This he did but subsequently withdrew his application, having accepted the commission of second lieutenant in the production department of the air service.

After the World war Mr. Maddock became associated with the Travelers Insurance Company, of which he was an agency assistant for five years, and in May, 1924, opened a real estate office in Hartford. In the intervening period he has negotiated many important transfers of property, becoming recognized as an expert valuator, and his business has assumed large proportions. His advice in regard to realty invest- ments is sound and practical and his honesty is well known. In June, 1928, in com- petition with representatives from all of the principal cities of the United States, who were chosen to extol their respective communities in five-minute speeches before the National Association of Real Estate Boards, whose convention was held in Louis- ville, Kentucky, Mr. Maddock won first place in the contest and was awarded a silver cup. His victory was a great honor for Hartford and at a meeting of the court of common council held June 25, 1928, the following resolutions were passed and approved:

"RESOLVED that the board of aldermen of the city of Hartford hereby extends its congratulations and the congratulations of the city of Hartford to Aubrey L. Maddock of the Hartford Real Estate Board, who, on June 21, 1928, at the annual convention of the National Association of Real Estate Boards at Louisville, Kentucky, brought credit to Hartford and to himself when he earned first place in a nation-wide 'home town speaking contest' in a speech extolling the beauties and virtues of our city.

"RESOLVED FURTHER that the clerk be instructed to secure a copy of Mr. Maddock's prize-winning speech and that it be spread upon the minutes of this board. "RESOLVED FURTHER that copies of this resolution be transmitted by the clerk to Mr. Maddock and to the Hartford Real Estate Board."

Following is a copy of this notable address, entitled, "The Best Town in the World-Hartford, Connecticut."

"I come to you from Connecticut-land of steady habits-birthplaces of constitu- tional government-where the wheels of industry hum a tune sweet to the ears of capital and labor alike-and where the melting pot is a reality and not a dream.

"Three hundred years of crowded history, of constant progress and of brilliant achievement combine to make Hartford, Connecticut, the best town in the world. Her climate is healthful and invigorating. Her homes are homes of peace and hap- piness. She lacks the ugly areas of poverty and want which mar so many of our cities. In every direction her broad avenues lead to sweet countryside, the suburban acres which are rapidly being peopled with thrifty, happy home-owners.

"Hartford knows no hard times. Why! Because her enormous insurance industry, embracing forty companies with assets of one and one-half billions of dollars, pours into Hartford an annual premium income of six hundred millions and stabilizes the barometer of her prosperity.

"Hartford knows neither strikes nor labor difficulties. Her four hundred industrial establishments employ thirty thousand, mostly skilled mechanics, and produce annually one hundred million dollars' worth of products of merit, built up to a standard and not down to a price. Industry is encouraged in Hartford, and its expansion is steady and sound.

"The resources of Hartford banks aggregate three hundred millions of dollars. Is it surprising under these conditions that retail business flourishes in Hartford, with some of the finest department stores on the Atlantic seaboard ?

"In Hartford are the state capitol, the state library, the heart of the state govern- ment. The Morgan Memorial Museum houses art treasures of priceless worth. Hart- ford's schools are modern, her fire and police departments trained and efficient, her government clean and honest. Rose lovers the world over visit Hartford to see her famous rose gardens. Brainard field is one of America's pioneer municipal airports.

"Come with me in your imagination to the Travelers tower, the home of radio station WTIC, the tallest building in New England, and look out upon a wonderful

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sight. Twenty-six expanses of verdant fields and tree-clad hillsides reveal a park system of twenty-two hundred acres. 'Close at hand on all sides splendid buildings, a big-city skyline, the thriving business section of a hustling community, the trading center of a half million men and women. Here, there and yonder church spires point heavenward their evidence of a devout people. To the east, the silver strand of the Connecticut river, crossed by one of the finest stone bridges in the world. To the west, where sky and forest meet, the beautiful Talcott mountain range. Between the two-the glorious picture that is Hartford.

"Go north, go south-go east, go west-seek God-given beauty of setting and inan-made evidence of progress and culture-choose what city you will on the basis of those values which really count in the lives of men and of generations-and you must agree with me that the fairest community on which God's sunshine smiles is that three-centuries old New England city of happiness and contentment and oppor- tunity-Hartford, Connecticut."

On June 14, 1916, Mr. Maddock was united in marriage to Miss Marion Elizabeth Moore, of Hartford. Mr. Maddock joined the Connecticut National Guard after the war and while serving on the staff of the 169th Infantry was regimental intelligence officer. He is a member of the Military Order of Foreign Wars, a member of Hayes- Velhage Post, No. 96, American Legion, and also belongs to the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, the Hartford Real Estate Board, the Hartford Club and the Middletown Yacht Club.

In 1922 the members of Hartford Chapter, No. 1, Disabled American Veterans of the World War, decided to establish a summer camp for disabled ex-service men and appointed a board of trustees. Mr. Maddock was selected as its secretary and raised the necessary funds. He was made director of the camp, taking care of about two hundred men, and under his direction additional money was raised and three buildings were erected for the camp, which is located on the state military reservation at Niantic. Since it was started, five camps have been held, of which he has been director, and he is still acting as secretary of the board of trustees of the camp fund, to whose interests he is devoted. He is a "stand-by" member of the Disabled Veterans' organ- ization. A young man of patriotic impulses and high ideals, Mr. Maddock has directed his efforts into those channels through which flows the greatest and most permanent good to the largest number, and his career has been conspicuously useful, while at the same time he has achieved individual prosperity.

J. KELL BRANDON

For almost two decades J. Kell Brandon has been identified with the Ensign- Bickford Company of Simsbury, Connecticut, of which he is the secretary and a director. His business course has been marked by steady advancement since he started out for himself on the completion of his education. He was born in Celina, Ohio, March 28, 1880, a son of John Riley and Hannah F. Brandon, who were also natives of the Buckeye state, the father born in Celina, December 24, 1850, while the mother was born in Cincinnati, November 29, 1852. Her parents were natives of Germany, while the grandfather of J. Kell Brandon in the paternal line was born in England.

In the acquirement of his education J. Kell Brandon attended the grammar grades of the Chicago (Ill.), public schools from 1891 until 1895, when he was grad- uated from the eighth grade, and afterward attended high school in Albion, Michigan, graduating with the class of 1898. He next entered Kenyon College at Gambier, Ohio, and won the Ph. B. degree at his graduation in 1902, becoming a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity during his college days. Thus well equipped for life's practical and responsible duties, he turned his attention to the coal brokerage and coal mining business at Columbus, Ohio, remaining active in that field from 1902 until 1907. In the latter year he went to Denver, Colorado, and was connected with the National Fuse & Powder Company of that city until 1910, which year witnessed his arrival in Connecticut. Through the intervening period he has been associated with the Ensign- Bickford Company of Simsbury and as secretary and a member of the board of directors has contributed in substantial measure to the steady development and expansion of the business. In the fuse manufacturing field this firm has the highest rating and its success is attributable in no small measure to the capability and enter-

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prise of Mr. Brandon, who has had long experience in this field, which he entered in 1907. He gives most careful study to business situations, recognizes and utilizes the opportunities that are before him and the results accomplished are most satisfactory.

Mr. Brandon is identified with the Episcopal church and with the Masonic fra- ternity-associations which indicate much concerning the rules that govern his life and direct his activities. He is also a prominent figure in club circles, having mem- bership in the Hartford University Club, the Hartford Golf Club, the Wampanoag Country Club, the Fishers Island Club of Fishers Island, New York, and the Mountain Lake Club of Lake Wales, Florida. During his residence in Simsbury he has become widely known and gained many warm friends who speak of him in terms of high regard.

WILLIAM ROBERT FALKIN

William Robert Falkin, for about a quarter of a century identified with the Rossia Insurance Company of America at Hartford, was born in New York city, February 23, 1888, and is a son of Joseph and Ethel (Ronkin) Falkin of New York city, where they still reside.

William R. Falkin, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, pursued his education in the public schools of America's metropolis and after his textbooks were put aside secured a position with a New York Stock Exchange house, with which he remained for about a year. In 1904 he became associated with the Rossia Insurance Company of America at Hartford. This company had just been organized and its business was in the formative stages of development. Mr. Falkin was at that time a youth of fifteen years and he has remained continuously with the com- pany, covering a period of about twenty-five years, being the oldest employe in point of continuance of service. With the passing years he has been advanced to positions of greater responsibility. Thus it is that he is well known as a highly valued repre- sentative of the Rossia Insurance Company.

On the 10th of March, 1920, Mr. Falkin was married to Miss T. Jane Aldridge, of Hartford, and they are the parents of three children: Ruth Elizabeth, born July 19, 1921; William Robert, Jr., born December 5, 1923; and Janice Aldridge, born November 22, 1925. The family resides at 354 Fern street, in West Hartford.

There is another chapter in the life record of Mr. Falkin well worthy of mention. He is a veteran of the World war, having joined the service June 22, 1918, at Camp Meade, Maryland. He was attached to the Thirty-sixth Company of the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Depot Brigade and subsequently was transferred to other companies. On the 9th of September, 1918, he was appointed a corporal and was made a sergeant on the 1st of October following. He was on active duty in the training of recruits for overseas service and was honorably discharged May 14, 1919. In all matters of citizenship Mr. Falkin manifests a spirit of loyalty that finds expression in his support of plans and measures for the general good.

ARTHUR B. GOODRICH

For nearly a quarter of a century Arthur B. Goodrich has been a notable figure in manufacturing circles of Glastonbury, successfully controlling the operations of a large paper mill, and he also has other business interests of importance. Commercial affairs, however, constitute but one phase of his life, his activities in the field of public service having been equally resultant and beneficial. He was born March 8, 1873, in Glastonbury, a son of Patrick Henry and Helen ( Wells) Goodrich. His father was born in Portland, Connecticut, and settled in Glastonbury in 1869. At first he was a dealer in groceries and in 1894 he organized and incorporated the Riverside Paper Manufacturing Company, of which he was elected president, remaining at its head until his death in 1900. A business man of high standing, he materially influenced the industrial growth of this section of the state. His political support was given to the republican party and for two terms he was a member of the Connecticut legis- lature, serving in sessions of 1885 and 1897.

Arthur B. Goodrich obtained a public school education and attended Mount Hermon

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School at Mount Hermon, Massachusetts, one of the big preparatory schools of the country, for four years, graduating there in 1894. He entered Amherst College in the fall but was only able to complete his freshman year when the illness of his father called him into business in 1895, when a young man of twenty-two. His keen mind enabled him to readily grasp the technicalities of the industry and he advanced through the various departments, becoming treasurer of the company in 1900. Since 1904 he has filled the offices of president and treasurer and during this period the firm has made notable progress. Adapting old methods to new conditions, he maintains a high degree of efficiency in the operation of the plant and has never deviated from the policy of honorable dealing instituted by his father. The firm makes binder boards for book covers and markets its products in New York, Philadelphia and other large cities. The plant is thoroughly modern and furnishes work to a large number of employes. In 1898 Mr. Goodrich became a coal dealer, selling on a retail basis, and his business has grown steadily in the intervening period. He has been a director of the Glastonbury Bank & Trust Company since its organization.

On October 12, 1905, in Glastonbury, Mr. Goodrich was married to Miss Agnes Black, by whom he has five children: Evarts H., a junior at Wesleyan University; Helen E., a high school graduate; Alice, who is a high school student; and Eunice and Robert, grammar school pupils. Mr. and Mrs. Goodrich are members of the First Congregational church and in politics he is a republican. In 1915 he was chosen a member of the general assembly of Connecticut and gave deep thought to all measures brought before the house. For several years he was town auditor and was chairman of the republican town committee for three terms of two years each. Since July, 1902, he has been treasurer of the Glastonbury Free Academy and exerts his efforts as readily for the general good as for his own aggrandizement. In 1920 he became master of Daskam Lodge, No. 86, F. & A. M., and his wife is connected with Good Intent Chapter of the Eastern Star, of which she was matron in 1925. They are Congregationalists in religious faith and Mr. Goodrich is also a member of the Manu- facturers Association of Connecticut, Putnam Phalanx and the Sons of Veterans, of Hartford. He has been the recipient of many trusts and his course has at all times marked him as a citizen of worth.

GEORGE CLINTON FAIRCHILD WILLIAMS, M. D.

Doctor George Clinton Fairchild Williams, a Hartford capitalist, was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, February 26, 1857, his parents being Doctor William Cook and Lucinda (Fairchild) Williams.

Following in his father's professional footsteps, George C. F. Williams, after graduating at the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, with honors in mathematics and classics, and being admitted to the scientific department of Yale University in the class of 1878, took up the study of medicine. He was a member of the class of 1878 in the Yale Medical School, but graduated from the medical department of New York University, with the class honor and honors in scholarship, in February, 1878. He practiced medicine in Cheshire, and represented the town in the Connecticut legislature, house of representatives, for the session of 1880-81, as a republican. Afterward he engaged in hospital work in New York, and thence removed to Hart- ford to enter business in 1887. Here he has since resided.

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 116

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