History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 120

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 120

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When America became involved in the World war Colonel England was assigned to the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps in command of the First Training Brigade at Kelly Field, Texas, where he continued until May 17, 1918, when he was detailed to the Inspector General's Department in Washington, D. C. When relieved from further duty there he served as division inspector with the Ninth Regular Division at Camp Sheridan, Alabama, and at Camp Benning, Georgia, until he was again

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assigned to duty in the Philippine Islands, December 15, 1920. He has completed five tours of duty in the Philippines, this service bringing him up to January 9, 1924, when he returned to the United States to serve as lieutenant colonel of the Sixth United States Infantry, then stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, where he served from April 15, 1924, to July 1, 1926. Leaving there in July, 1926, he joined the Seventy-sixth Division, U. S. A., at Hartford, Connecticut, on the 10th of Sep- tember. He was appointed adjutant general of the Division and after the retirement of Colonel Charles Gerhardt in March, 1927, assumed the duties of acting chief of staff of the Seventy-sixth Division, U. S. A. He was promoted to colonel of infantry, U. S. Army, with rank from August 11, 1928, by the president of the United States.

On the 19th of April, 1913, Colonel England was married to Miss Dorothea Young, of New York city, a daughter of Mason and Louise (Hurlbut) Young, both of whom were born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1836 and 1837, respectively. Her father was descended from English and French ancestry, and her grandfather, Henry Young, was a drummer boy in the War of 1812. Her mother came of English, Dutch and Irish lineage. Sir William Denison, who helped settle Connecticut, mar- ried for his second wife Lady Ann Borrodel from Cork, Ireland, and their daughter married into the Hurlbut family. It is from that marriage that George Hurlbut, grandfather of Dorothea (Young) England, is descended. Her early childhood was passed in New London, Connecticut, and in New York city and in young girlhood she went to St. Augustine, Florida. In young womanhood, however, she returned to New York, where she remained until her marriage. Since settling in Hartford, Con- necticut, she has been actively interested in the Parent-Teacher Association and the Girl Scout movement and is captain of Troop 1 of West Hartford. By her marriage she has become the mother of three sons: George W., Jr., now a student at Manlius Military School, N. Y., Sanford P. and Frank Wesson England.

Colonel England is a member of the Society of Santiago de Cuba, of the Veteran Army of the Philippines, the Spanish War Veterans, Military Order of the Carabao, Philippine Island Society, and the Hartford Chapter of the Military Order of the World War. Practically his entire life has been given over to military activities and his efforts have proven an element in maintaining the high standard of service which in hours of emergency has proved the strength and effectiveness of the United States Army.

Colonel England holds commissions signed by every President since the first administration of Grover Cleveland.

SOLOMON KOHN

Solomon Kohn, a prominent representative of the extensive tobacco growing and packing interests of New England, is secretary of The Hartman Tobacco Company of Hartford, with offices at 231 State street. A native of New York city, he was born September 17, 1890, and is a son of Ignatz and Theresa (Hartman) Kohn, who were natives of Austria but came to America about 1878, settling in New York city, where the mother still resides. The father, who engaged in the manufacture of cigars in New York, is now deceased.

Solomon Kohn was educated in the public schools of the metropolis and after put- ting aside his textbooks was employed by a battery company of New York, coming to Hartford in 1911. Here he entered the employ of his uncles, Adolph and Samuel Hartman, who were engaged in the tobacco business. While with them he picked up his knowledge of the business, continuing with his uncles for about three years. He next engaged in the tobacco business on his own account in 1914 and six months later he was joined by his brother, Jerome Kohn, who became a member of the firm. They were equal partners in the business, which was conducted under the style of Sol Kohn & Company until March, 1928, when the firm was taken in with the reorganization of The Hartman Tobacco Company, of which Mr. Kohn now is secretary. They grow broad leaf, Havana seed and shade grown tobacco, and have a warehouse in Hatfield, Connecticut, at New Milford, Connecticut, and three in Hartford. They have won a notable and well deserved success in connection with the tobacco trade and their busi- ness is now one of substantial and gratifying proportions. In 1928, Mr. Kohn and his brother Jerome purchased the controlling interest in M. Marsh & Son, Inc.,

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of Wheeling, West Virginia, which was established in 1840. This concern conducts the oldest and largest stogie factory in the country and the interest of Solomon and Jerome Kohn therein is entirely separate from their connection with The Hartman Tobacco Company.

On the 23d of June, 1919, Mr. Kohn was united in marriage to Miss Delphine Lyon, of Hartford, a daughter of Bernhard and Celia Lyon. They are the parents of two sons, Bernhard Lyon and Jerry Charles. The family home is at No. 820 Prospect avenue. Mr. Kohn has membership in the I. O. B. A., of New York city. He is a director of the Tumble Brook Country Club and his social activities have won for him many friends. He is a member of the board of the Tobacco Trade Association and is truly a self-made man, deserving all the credit and praise which that term implies. Starting out in the business world with limited educational advantages and with no capital, he has developed a business of great importance, advancing step by step along the lines of orderly progression until his position, commercially and financially, is an enviable one.

GEORGE E. BULKLEY

In Connecticut there have been developed some of the strongest and largest in- surance corporations of the entire country and it is in this field of business that George E. Bulkley has won a position of leadership, being now vice president of the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company of Hartford. He is a native of the Empire state. Born at North Granville, New York, November 4, 1873, he is a son of George L. and Mary (Salisbury) Bulkley. The father was originally from Con- necticut. After some years spent in New York they took up their abode in Hartford in 1880. The son George was at that time less than eight years of age and there- fore he may be practically called a lifelong resident of this city. After completing a public and high school course in Hartford he entered Yale and was graduated with the class of 1896, at which time the Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred upon him. Throughout his entire business career he has never dissipated his energies but has concentrated his efforts along a single line and has mastered its problems with nota- ble thoroughness and efficiency. His initial connection with the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company began in a clerical capacity, but gradually he worked his way upward, gaining the confidence of his employers through his thoroughness and adaptability. In 1905 he was made actuary and so continued for a period of four years, when in 1909 he was elected secretary of the company, occupying that office until 1912, when he was made vice president. He has since given his attention to his executive duties and his labors have been a far-reaching and important element in the continued growth and development of the corporation.

On the 10th of October, 1900, Mr. Bulkley was married to Miss Juliette H. Lawrence, a daughter of Charles H. and Juliette (Fisher) Lawrence, of Hartford. They have become parents of a daughter and a son, Juliette H. and Lawrence. In the social circles of the city they occupy an enviable position and as a club man Mr. Bulkley is widely known, having membership in the Hartford, Hartford Golf and Twentieth Century Clubs. His political views are in accord with the principles of the republican party. Along the line of his chosen life work he has membership in the Actuarial Society of America and among his colleagues and contemporaries in the field of insurance he is now accorded leadership.

JAMES LIPPINCOTT GOODWIN

James Lippincott Goodwin, a Hartford capitalist with professional interests as a consulting forestry engineer, was born October 10, 1881, in New York city, a son of James Junius and Josephine Sarah (Lippincott) Goodwin. The father, who departed this life June 23, 1915, is mentioned at length on another page of this work. In Cutler's school in the eastern metropolis James L. Goodwin began his education, which he continued in the Groton School at Groton, Massachusetts, and next entered Yale University, in which he won his Bachelor of Arts degree on his graduation with

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the class of 1905. In 1910 he was graduated from the Yale Forestry School with the M. F. degree, after which he turned his attention to forestry engineering and surveying, practicing independently for a time, while later he was connected with Walter K. Wildes of New York from 1910 until 1911. In the following year he returned to Hartford and was field secretary for the city park commission, so serving until October 1, 1912, when he became connected with E. M. Brown and E. E. Pettee in organizing a company known as the James L. Goodwin Associates, their activities including landscape architecture, landscape gardening and forestry work. In 1917 the firm was dissolved.

During the World war Mr. Goodwin was a member of the Connecticut State Guard, serving as a private in 1917-18, and since that time he has followed his pro- fession of consulting forestry engineer in Connecticut, surveying timber lands, esti- mating and laying plans for reforestation. He is the secretary of the Talcott Moun- tain Forest Park Protective Association, which is formed of landowners in the Talcott and Farmington valleys and which has a membership of seventy, owning sixteen thousand acres of land in those districts. They cooperate with the state in protecting the land from forest fires. While his invested interests do not make it necessary for Mr. Goodwin to engage actively in business, he is nevertheless much interested in the question of forest preservation and of reforestation and is now a director of the Connecticut Forestry Association.

Mr. Goodwin married Miss Dorothy Wendell Davis, a daughter of Frederick W. and Mary (Taintor) Davis, of this city. Mr. Goodwin's political views are in accord with the principles of the republican party. He is a well known club man, having wide connection of this character in various sections of the country. He belongs to the Hartford Golf Club, the University Club of Hartford, the University Club of New York, the Yale Club of New York, the Yale Club of Hartford, the Country Club of Farmington, the Mid Pines Country Club at Pinehurst, North Carolina, and the Amston Game Club of Amston, Connecticut. He belongs to that class of men of wealth whose activities and interests are of a constructive character, who finds pleasure in progress and who hesitates not to endorse those interests which are far- reaching in their scope and their benefit to the commonwealth.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF DEXTER

At Windsor Locks, Connecticut, in 1767, Seth Dexter having in view the timbered hills and growing community erected a sawmill. A sawmill is still in daily opera- tion on the Dexter property, but it does not claim to be the original pioneer plank producer.

A second Seth Dexter succeeded the first, and expended the sawmill into a grist mill. The grist mill is still doing the daily grind, and Seth the second was followed by his son, Charles H. Dexter. Like his father he believed in expansion. Down in the basement of the grist mill Charles H. did some experimenting in the manufacture of paper. For pulp he used manila rope. It took a person with some pull to tear that paper! That was in 1835. The paper making was so successful that in 1840 a frame building was erected across the canal from the grist mill; and in this building the present business was begun. The firm was christened C. H. Dexter & Co. It was in 1867 when C. H. Dexter took into the business his son, Edwin D. Dexter, and his son-in-law, Herbert R. Coffin (I). The company then became C. H. Dexter & Sons. C. H. Dexter died in 1869 and under the same name Edwin D. Dexter & Herbert R. Coffin (I) continued the manufacture of paper that built a lasting reputation. The original mill was destroyed by fire, but a new mill was erected in 1875 which formed the nucleus of the present extensive plant.

Edwin D. Dexter passed away in 1886 and the business devolved upon Mr. Coffin who assumed full ownership of the property trade and trademarks. Mr. Coffin greatly increased the size and capacity of the mills, and began the manufacture of high grade tissues and various paper specialties.

Mr. Coffin's death occurred in 1901, and his sons, Arthur D. Coffin and Herbert R. Coffin continued the business maintaining the old firm name.

Expanding business found the Dexter Mills inadequate to take care of the many different lines, so a paper mill at Suffield was purchased and operated until a

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(Photograph by John Haley)

HERBERT R. COFFIN, (I)

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short time ago, when the development of a large water-power project made it neces- sary to flood the site of No. 2 mill. In the meantime the No. 1 mill was re-equipped with new and improved machines which greatly increased the capacity-in fact the last of the year 1928, the last piece of the old machinery will have been discarded and replaced by a modern machine.

C. H. Dexter & Sons became an incorporated organization in 1914 with Arthur D. Coffin, president, treasurer and general manager; Herbert R. Coffin, vice president; Charles H. Coye, secretary. The present officers are: Arthur D. Coffin, president, treasurer and general manager; Herbert R. Coffin, vice president; Herbert A. Win- gate, secretary; Hubert H. Griswold, assistant secretary; Dexter D. Coffin, assistant treasurer and assistant general manager.

HERBERT RAYMOND COFFIN (I)

Among those of a previous generation who have contributed in notable measure to the material development and substantial growth of Windsor Locks is numbered Herbert Raymond Coffin, (I) paper manufacturer, whose entire life was passed in New England and who always adhered to the highest standards of business enter- prise. A native of New Hampshire, he was born at Rindge, August 6, 1840, a son of George S. and Sarah (Scovill) Coffin. His father possessed a spirit of initiative, that was manifest in the fact that he was the first man to scour wool in America. He engaged in that line of business in Vermont, New Hampshire and ultimately at Windsor Locks, becoming the founder of the family in this place. He was descended from distinguished ancestry, the progenitor of the family in the new world having been Tristan Coffin. To this family belonged Isaac Coffin, of the British navy, who in 1826 visited the island of Nantucket, which was the site of the first settlement of the Coffins in the new world, and there established a school in memory of the family at a cost of ten thousand dollars.

During his youthful days Herbert R. Coffin, Sr., pursued his studies in the public schools of Ludlow, Vermont, and in the Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, Connecticut, while subsequently he returned to the Green Mountain state and ma- triculated in the Conference Academy at West Poultney, Vermont. He was a youth of fifteen years when his grandfather Coffin failed in business, and at that time the family home was established in Boston, where for seven years Herbert R. Coffin was on India Wharf. When twenty-two years of age he came to Windsor Locks and entered business in association with his father, George S. Coffin, under the firm style of Herbert R. Coffin & Company. Later he made different connections, the wool scouring business being sold to E. N. Kellogg and Austin Dunham. It was in 1867 that he was admitted to a partnership in the paper manufacturing business that had been established by his father-in-law, C. H. Dexter, at which time the firm of C. H. Dexter & Sons was organized. Two years later the founder of the business passed away, the enterprise continuing in the possession of his son, Edwin D. Dexter, and Herbert R. Coffin. By the death of Edwin D. Dexter in 1886, Mr. Coffin became sole proprietor and so continued until his death July 8, 1907. Herbert. R. Coffin was a strong and resourceful business man and contributed in notable measure to the growth and expansion of the enterprise that had come under his immediate control. His cooperation was also sought in other fields and constituted a valuable asset in the successful conduct of every enterprise with which he became associated. He was a director of the Connecticut River Banking Company of Hartford, also of the Medlicott Company, knit goods manufacturers, the Connecticut River Water Com- pany and the Windsor Locks & Warehouse Point Bridge Company, of which he was also vice president. His opinions always carried weight in commercial councils and his judgment was notably sound.

In 1866 Mr. Coffin was married to Mrs. Julia Sargent Haskell, nee Dexter, the widow of Thomas Haskell and a daughter of C. H. Dexter. They became the parents of three sons and a daughter: Arthur Dexter; Clarence, who died in in- fancy; Herbert R. (II); and Grace Pierson, who married Charles R. Cooley, Jr., and is now deceased. It was through his marriage that Mr. Coffin became one of the "sons" of C. H. Dexter & Sons and such was his respect for the founder of the business that he made no change in the firm name, nor have his sons, save the

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addition of the word "incorporated." Always a resident of New England, he adhered loyally to the civic standards of this section of the country and cooperated in all measures that he deemed beneficial to the community at large. He voted with the republican party and for many years he was a deacon in the Congregational church, contributing liberally to its support and doing all in his power to further its work. He was honored throughout the long period of his residence in Windsor Locks, where he passed away July 8, 1901.

ARTHUR DEXTER COFFIN

Arthur D. Coffin, president, treasurer and general manager of C. H. Dexter & Sons, Inc., of Windsor Locks, has throughout his business career been identified with paper manufacturing. It is true that he entered upon a business already established, but in enlarging, developing and directing this enterprise many a man of less resolute spirit and of more limited ability would have failed. He has met present-day busi- ness conditions with a resolute spirit, manifesting at all times a keen insight that has recognized the opportunities and possibilities before him. Thus under his guid- ance steady progress has been made along lines that have made the paper manufac- turing business of C. H. Dexter & Sons, Inc., one of the most important manufac- turing concerns of this section of the state and one of the foremost paper manu- facturing industries of Connecticut.

He was born in Windsor Locks, April 25, 1868, his parents being Herbert R. and Julia Sargent (Dexter) Coffin, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work. In the maternal line he is a representative of the Dexter family that was established in Windsor, Hartford county, in 1767, Arthur D. Coffin being a representative of the sixth generation of the family in Connecticut.

In the acquirement of his education Arthur D. Coffin attended private schools in Windsor Locks, the Hartford Public High School and Phillips Academy at And- over, Massachusetts, and when his school days were ended he entered the employ of C. H. Dexter & Sons, his father at that time being sole owner of the business. The "House of Dexter," like the family, has long been representative of the business activity of this section. Seth Dexter many years ago began operations at Windsor Locks by erecting a sawmill on the banks of the Connecticut river and later, under Seth Dexter (II), the sawmill was expanded into a grist mill, which has been con- tinuously operated to the present time. Charles H. Dexter, the maternal grand- father of Arthur D. Coffin and the third of the pioneer line, being a man of pro- gressive ideas, began experiments in paper making in the basement of the grist mill, using manila rope for pulp. This was in 1835. His early efforts were so successful that in 1847 he erected a frame building across the canal from the grist mill and this constituted the nucleus of the present plant, which in the early days was operated under the style of C. H. Dexter & Company. In 1867 a reorganization was effected when C. H. Dexter admitted his son, Edwin D., and his son-in-law, Herbert R. Coffin, to a partnership, this relation being maintained until the death of C. H. Dexter in 1869. The two surviving partners operated the paper mills and built up a splendid reputation for high-grade products. That all days were not equally bright and that the career of the house was not without obstacles and diffi- culties is indicated in the fact that in 1875 their mills were destroyed by fire. With characteristic energy, however, they began the construction of a new plant, which was soon in operation, and the trade continued to grow and develop. The death of Edwin D. Dexter occurred in 1886, at which time Herbert R. Coffin became sole owner and manager, although continuing the conduct of the business under the old firm name of C. H. Dexter & Sons. Additions were built to the mill to meet the growing demand of the trade, and never throughout the period of its existence has the house lowered its standards of excellence in output and reliability in business transactions. Herbert R. Coffin remained at the head of the company until his death in 1901, when his sons, Arthur D. and Herbert R., assumed active management and have since continued in the manufacture of paper. After the death of Herbert R. Coffin, Sr., the business was carried on under a partnership relation between himself and his brother Herbert until 1914, when they incorporated and the present style of C. H. Dexter & Sons, Inc., was assumed. Arthur D. Coffin has continuously

(Photograph by F. M. Johnson) ARTHUR D. COFFIN

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served as president, with Herbert R. Coffin as vice president. The Dexter plant is also frequently spoken of as the "Star Mills," owing to the fact that the company has the exclusive right to use the star trademark on paper. Identified with the business as an employe since early manhood, Arthur D. Coffin is familiar with every phase of the trade from the initial point of securing supplies to the sale of the completed product. Moreover, Mr. Coffin has shown the modern spirit in his care of employes and thought as to their welfare. The offices are sanitary and attractive in every particular, are supplied with the latest conveniences and the machinery of the plant is thoroughly modern in every particular. There are five shower baths in the factory for the use of employes, who are carrying on their tasks under excel- lent working conditions. Associated in the conduct of the business with Arthur D. Coffin, who is the president, treasurer and general manager, are his brother, Herbert R. Coffin, who is vice president and who is mentioned elsewhere in this work; Herbert A. Wingate, secretary; Dexter D. Coffin, assistant treasurer and assistant general manager, of further mention; H. H. Griswold, assistant secretary; and L. P. Broad- hurst, E. A. Baker and John Leishman, superintendent, these three being also on the board of directors. Aside from his activity in directing the interests of C. H. Dexter & Sons, Inc., Mr. Coffin is a director of the Medlicott Company of Windsor Locks, the Windsor Locks Trust & Safe Deposit Company and a director of the Open Shop Conference of Connecticut, Inc.

On the 25th of April, 1894, at Suffield, Connecticut, Mr. Coffin was united in marriage to Miss Cora Loomis Drake, a daughter of William B. and Jennie D. (Loomis) Drake. Mr. and Mrs. Coffin became parents of two sons, but the elder died in infancy. The younger, Dexter Drake, is associated with his father in busi- ness. Mrs. Coffin is a member of the Congregational church and takes an active part in its work. Mr. Coffin gives his political allegiance to the republican party and fraternally he is a York and Scottish Rite Mason. He has membership with the Sons of the American Revolution, which indicates the long connection of his ancestry with American history, and his social nature finds expression in his identification with the Nayasset Club of Springfield, Massachusetts, the Hartford Yacht Club, the Keeney Park Riding Club and the Hartford Club. He belongs to the Manufac- turers Association of Hartford county and after serving as vice president was elected in 1928 to the presidency of the organization and is so serving. To know Arthur D. Coffin is to esteem and respect him. His life story is as an open book to his fellow townsmen, among whom he has always lived, and the sterling worth of his character is manifest in the honored name as well as in the success which he has won and in the unqualified regard that is uniformly accorded him.

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 120

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