History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 124

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 124

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

His son, Thomas Bingham (II), was born in Norwich, December 11, 1667, and succeeded his father as proprietor of the town. On the 17th of February, 1691-92, he married Hannah Backus, daughter of Lieutenant William Backus, and he died April 1, 1710.

His son, Nathaniel Bingham, was born in Norwich, Connecticut, June 30, 1704, and about 1724 married Margaret Safford who was born in November, 1700, a daughter of John and Deborah Safford. Nathaniel Bingham sold his house and fifty acres of land September 22, 1752, and purchased two hundred and fifty acres in three tracts at Mansfield, Connecticut, where he settled, passing away in 1756.

John Bingham, son of Nathaniel, was born at Norwich, Connecticut, April 1, 1727, and was married December 13, 1750, to Susanna Burnham, daughter of Benja- min and Mary (Kinsman) Burnham. She was born in Norwich, June 20, 1731, and died April 15, 1795, while John Bingham survived until December 20, 1804.

Their son, Captain John Bingham (II), was born at Norwich, February 2, 1756, and on the 19th of April, 1775, when a youth of nineteen, responded to the Lexington Alarm and became a soldier of the Revolution. His father deeded to him the home-

1337

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

stead at Lisbon, Connecticut, January 2, 1794. He was married December 10, 1778, to Talitha Waldo, who was born in Windham, August 5, 1760, and died April 5, 1852, having for many years survived her husband, who passed away March 6, 1835.

Ezra Bingham, son of Captain John Bingham and the grandfather of Edwin H. Bingham of this review, was born in Lisbon, Connecticut, October 13, 1797, and in early life went to Ohio but soon returned to the old homestead, which was given him by his father February 13, 1832. He was married in Mansfield, September 29, 1830, to Eliza Adams, who was there born April 23, 1805, a daughter of Dr. Jabez and Lucy Adams and a descendant in the seventh generation of John and Elinor (New- ton) Adams. She died December 12, 1879, at Orange, New Jersey. On the 1st of April, 1864, Ezra Bingham sold the homestead and moved to Hanover, where he passed away May 25, 1879. His wife was a granddaughter of Lydia Fitch, whose great-grandfather was Major William Bradford, son of Governor William Bradford, who landed from the Mayflower at Plymouth, and in the maternal line Eliza (Adams) Bingham was a descendant of Richard Warren, also of Mayflower fame, the line coming down through his son, Nathaniel Warren, Thomas and Alice (Warren) Gibbs, Abigail (Gibbs) Swift and Rowland Swift to Lucy Swift, the granddaughter of Rowland.

Edwin H. Bingham also traces his ancestry back to Rev. James Fitch, Robert Allyn, William Backus, Sr., William Backus, Jr., Thomas Bingham, John Gager, Thomas Leffingwell, Josiah Reed, Nehemiah Smith, Richard Bushnell, John Downs, Thomas Gates, Robert Roath, Josiah Rockwell, Josiah Standish, Richard Adams and Benjamin Burnham, who were among the founders of Norwich.

Henry Adams Bingham, son of Ezra Bingham, was born at Lisbon, July 13, 1833, and remained on the homestead with his father until August 11, 1862, when he enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company C, Eighteenth Connecticut Vol- unteer Infantry. He was taken prisoner at Winchester, Virginia, in June, 1863, and in the course of time was exchanged and returned to his regiment, serving in the campaigns in Virginia and Maryland. On the 14th of March, 1864, he was commis- sioned lieutenant of the Thirtieth Regiment of Connecticut Volunteer Colored Troops and on January 27, 1865, as lieutenant of the Thirty-first United States Colored Troops. He was on duty with his command in Kentucky and at Petersburg, Virginia, and at the close of the war was sent with his regiment to the Mexican border, where he served until May, 1865, being mustered out on the 7th of November of that year. In March, 1866, he returned to Lisbon and leased the homestead of Andrew Burn- ham. He was married November 7, 1860, to Nancy L. Standish, born May 12, 1842, a daughter of Thomas Fitch Standish and granddaughter of Amos Standish, the ancestral line being traced back through Amasa, Israel, Samuel and Captain Josiah to Captain Miles Standish, who came in the Mayflower. The wife of Amos Standish was Clarissa (Fitch) Standish, a descendant of Elder William Brewster, also one of the Mayflower passengers, the daughter of Elder Brewster becoming the wife of Samuel Fitch, who was born at Saybrook in April, 1665, and whose father was the famous minister, Rev. James Fitch. Henry Adams Bingham died August 30, 1866.

His son, Edwin Henry Bingham, was born on the old family homestead at Lisbon, Connecticut, May 30, 1862. He went to live with his grandparents in Hanover and there attended the public schools until 1876, when with his mother he removed to Hartford and continued his education in the Hartford high school, from which he was graduated in 1880. Almost immediately afterward he started out in the business world, securing the position of office boy with the Jewell Belting Company on March 14, 1881. For forty-six years he was continuously associated with this concern and his diligence and fidelity won him various promotions. For a number of years he was in charge of the tannery and in 1911 he was elected vice president of the com- pany, which for many years conducted a most extensive and profitable business but is now being liquidated.

On the 26th of October, 1899, Mr. Bingham was united in marriage to Miss Mary Elizabeth Goodwin, daughter of Charles S. and Mary Elizabeth (Lincoln) Good- win, her father having for many years been prominently identified with the business interests of Hartford as a merchant. He died March 23, 1898. Mrs. Bingham passed away in 1924 and two years later, on the 26th of June, 1926, Mr. Bingham married Bertha Elizabeth Swan, of Elmira, New York, daughter of Charles and Lucretia A. (Randall) Swan. The father died in 1902 and the mother in 1924.

1338

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

In his political views Mr. Bingham has ever been a stalwart republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he has membership in the Repub- lican Club of Hartford. His religious faith is indicated by the fact that he has long been a member in the South Congregational church, of which he has served as deacon, and to which Mrs. Bingham also belongs. He has membership in the Con- gregational Club of Hartford, likewise belongs to the Hartford Golf Club and his membership connection includes the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Connecticut, which has honored him with election to the position of governor. He is also a member of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, having joined October 20, 1891. Mrs. Bingham is a member of the American Association of University Women, the Ruth Wyllys Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Connecticut chapter of the national society, Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America, and a member of the Hartford Society of the Archaeo- logical Institute of America. She is a graduate of Elmira College with the degree of A. B., and before her marriage was a teacher of Latin in the National Cathedral School for Girls, of Washington, D. C. Fraternally Mr. Bingham is a Mason, belonging to Lafayette Lodge of Hartford. His life has ever been actuated by high and honorable principles and worthy motives.

CROWELL CLARINTON HALL, M. D.

With comprehensive collegiate training and with considerable previous experience, Dr. Crowell Clarinton Hall entered upon the practice of medicine in Hartford and through the intervening period has specialized in diseases of children, displaying marked skill in this field. An innate understanding of the child, combined with keen insight and deep sympathy, has constituted one of the strong basic elements of his success. Dr. Hall has always made his home in New England. He was born in Mon- son, Maine, November 22, 1884, his parents being Crowell Clarinton and Elizabeth (Dexter) Hall. The father was also a physician who practiced successfully in Monson for many years but in 1888 removed to Dover, Maine, where he was prominently known as a physician and surgeon until his death in 1914. He is yet survived by his widow, who still makes her home in Dover.

Dr. Crowell C. Hall was only in his fourth year when the family home was estab- lished in Dover, so that his early educational training was received in the public schools there, while later he attended Foxcroft Academy of that city. He next entered Bowdoin College at Brunswick, Maine, and was graduated in 1906 with the Bachelor of Arts degree. Attracted to the medical profession and with a desire to receive the most thorough training therefor, he matriculated in the medical department of Johns Hopkins University and was graduated in 1910. He had four months' special work at Hopkins and he served as interne in the Rhode Island Hospital at Providence, gain- ing that broad and valuable experience which can be acquired as rapidly in no other way as in hospital practice. With his return to Dover he became associated with his father and so continued until the latter's death, after which he practiced alone at that place until 1919, when he entered Harvard Medical College for postgraduate work in children's diseases. Following the completion of that course in 1920 he opened an office in Hartford, where he has since remained, limiting his practice to the treat- ment of children's diseases, in which field he has shown notable skill and attained outstanding success. His personality quickly wins the confidence of child patients and he has rendered valuable service in this branch of professional activity. He is physician in charge of the Newington Home for Crippled Children, and is visiting pediatrician to the Municipal Hospital, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Children's Village, and the Hartford Dispensary.

On the 27th of September, 1910, Dr. Hall married Miss Marjory Waite, who was born February 9, 1885, a daughter of Judge Byron S. and Ismene (Cramer) Waite, of Yonkers, New York. Their children, two in number, are: Elizabeth Cramer, born October 6, 1911; and Crowell Clarinton, Jr., born August 23, 1914.

Dr. Hall is a member of the University Club and the Rotary Club and fraternally is connected with the Masons. He has always been a stanch supporter of the republi- can party, but while he has never rendered political service to his country, he has given valuable military aid as an enlisted soldier of the World war, having been com-

1339

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

missioned June 17, 1918, as a first lieutenant of the Medical Corps of the United States Army. He was first stationed at Camp Greenleaf, in Georgia, and on Septem- ber 6, 1918, went overseas in command of a replacement unit, remaining in France and Germany until April 24, 1919, receiving his honorable discharge as first lieutenant on the 12th of May following. He belongs to the Hartford Medical Society, the Hart- ford County Medical Society, the Connecticut State Medical Society and the American Medical Association and thus keeps in touch with the advanced thought and purposes of the profession, while his ability is growing year by year as the result of his experi- ence and his wide reading. He is most careful in diagnosis, and actuated by the high- est purpose, he is rendering a service of untold value to the children who come under his professional care.

COLONEL JAMES LELAND HOWARD

Colonel James Leland Howard, vice president and a member of the board of The Travelers Insurance Company at Hartford, holds his place in public regard not only by reason of what he has accomplished in the field of business and finance but also by reason of the service which he rendered to his country in the World war and which brought to him the Croix de Guerre with Palm as well as the Distinguished Service Cross-the award of his own country. He was born in Hartford, March 21, 1878, and is a son of Frank L. and Julia (Cutler) Howard, of this city. He was educated in the grade and high schools and continued his studies in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, which conferred upon him the Ph. B. degree at his graduation with the class of 1898. He became connected with the actuarial de- partment of the Travelers Insurance Company and gradually advanced, becoming assistant secretary of the life department on the 9th of April, 1906, while on the 11th of January, 1911, he was made assistant secretary of the company. His election to the secretaryship followed on the 24th of January, 1912, and he was chosen vice president January 25, 1922. He continues in that executive position and in April, 1927, was elected a director of the three Travelers companies to succeed the late Judge Edward B. Bennett. His association with the corporation now covers three decades and his record of continuous advancement is the visible evidence of his ability.

A most interesting chapter in the life history of Colonel Howard has to do with his military record. While a senior at Yale-then a youth of but twenty years-he enlisted in the First Connecticut Field Artillery for service during the Spanish- American war and never since has his interest in military affairs abated, so that he has long been prominent in the Connecticut National Guard. When affairs seemed to be reaching a crisis in Mexico, Colonel Howard, then holding the rank of major, went to the border with the American troops, being on active duty at Nogales, Ari- zona, and at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. When the United States entered the World war, Colonel Howard was called into the federal service July 25, 1917, at Hartford, as major of the first separate squadron of the Connecticut cavalry, which squadron was reorganized in August, 1917, as the One Hundred and First Machine Gun Battalion, becoming a unit of the Twenty-sixth, known as the Yankee Division. With his troops he sailed for France on the 10th of October following and first went into action on the 15th of February, 1918. He participated in various important engagements in which the famous Yankee Division took part, including Seicheprey on the 20th of April, Foret d'Apremont in May, the second battle of the Marne in July, the reduction of the St. Mihiel salient, September 12 and 13, 1918, and in the engage- ment at Marcheville, September 26, 1918. He was wounded in the second battle of the Marne but as soon as possible returned to active duty, and it was after his exploit at "the affair at Marcheville," which had to do with the launching of the great American offensive at Verdun, in which Colonel Howard and his men were under terrific shell fire and in great personal danger that he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by his own country and the Croix de Guerre with Palm by the com- mander in chief of the French armies on the western front. The president of the French republic, by official decree, also appointed Colonel Howard Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur. It was in August, 1918, that he was assigned to duty as lieutenant colonel, division machine gun officer, of the Twenty-sixth Division, and on the 6th of

1340

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

November, 1918, was assigned to General Staff, A. E. F. He received his discharge from the service January 4, 1919, and is an honored member of the American Legion. He also belongs to the American Society of French Legion of Honor, is a member of the Spanish War Veterans and of the Military Order of Foreign Wars.

On the 13th of April, 1913, Colonel Howard married Mabel H. Hume, a daughter of Frank and Emma (Norris) Hume, of Washington, D. C. The only child of this marriage is James L., Jr., born January 24, 1918, when the father was defending America's interests in the World war. Colonel Howard has membership in the Hart- ford, Hartford Golf and University clubs, the Farmington Country Club, the Gradu- ates Club of New Haven, St. Anthony Club of New York, the Yale Club of New York and the Y. D. Club of Boston.

CHARLES GUILFORD WOODWARD

A well known figure among the insurance men of Hartford is Charles Guilford Woodward, now vice chairman of the finance committee of the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company. He was born December 15, 1876, in Hartford, the only son of P. Henry and Mary (Smith) Woodward. After attending the schools of Hart- ford he continued his education in Trinity College, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1898, and then became a student in Columbia University. His association with the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company dates from 1900, when he was made statistician, so continuing until May, 1911, when he was chosen financial secretary, filling the position until 1924, when he was elected to the vice presidency of the corporation and also was made vice chairman of the finance committee. He is also a trustee of the Bankers Trust Company, a director of the Hartford National Bank & Trust Company, a director of the Hartford Morris Plan Bank and trustee of the State Savings Bank. He likewise serves on the directorate of the Aetna Insurance Company, the World Fire & Marine Insurance Company, the Century Indemnity Company and the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company.

Mr. Woodward has always been a republican and in 1922 was a member of the New England Governors Railroad Advisory Commission, which was established to untangle the financial condition of the railroads in New England. Mr. Woodward did important service in this connection as the financial adviser through appointment of Governor Lake of Connecticut. His interest in his alma mater is indicated in his service as one of the trustees of Trinity College and he is a well known figure in the leading clubs of Hartford, in which city he has spent practically his entire life, his circle of friends here being almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance.

LEVI BENNETT COCHRAN, M. D.

Dr. Levi Bennett Cochran was born in Durhamville, Oneida county, New York, December 8, 1867. He is of Scotch-Irish ancestry.

Hugh Cochran, his great-grandfather, married Nancy Beatty, and lived at Wood- grange, near the city of Down Patrick, in the eastern part of County Down, Ireland.

His grandfather, Alexander Cochran, was born at Woodgrange, married Nancy Martin, and lived for several years at Dromara, then called Milltown Dromara, in County Down. With his wife and three children, Alexander Cochran emigrated from there to America in 1802, and settled at Ripley, Chautauqua county, New York, where Dr. Cochran's father, Andrew Cochran, was born.

Rev. Andrew Cochran was educated at Washington and Jefferson College and at Princeton Theological Seminary. He became pastor of a mission church at Durham- ville, New York, and later was pastor of the Presbyterian church at Oneida Castle, New York, for thirty years. In remembrance of him, this church is called the "Cochran Memorial Church." Rev. Andrew Cochran married Catharine More, daugh- ter of Robert L. More, who was a son of John T. More, and grandson of John More, of Moresville, now Grand Gorge, Delaware county, New York. They had six chil- dren, three of whom are now living: John M., of Oneida Castle, New York; Levi B .; and Katherine M., of Hartford, Connecticut.

1341

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

Dr. Levi Bennett Cochran received a high school education at Oneida, New York. He worked as a drug clerk for three years at Oneida and in Philadelphia and gradu- ated at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. Later he entered the medical depart- ment of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1893. He became house physician in the Cooper Hospital, Camden, New Jersey, resigning from there to accept a position as assistant physician at Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, and finally located in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1896. He has been physician to the Hartford Orphan Asylum, Wildwood Sanitarium and assistant visiting physician to the Hart- ford Hospital, and is now one of the visiting physicians on the staff of the Hartford Hospital, consulting physician to Mt. Sinai Hospital, a member of the City, County and State Medical societies and of the American Medical Association. He is a mem- ber of several clubs and of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church. In December, 1898, Dr. Cochran married Mary Louise Bronson, of Lowville, Lewis county, New York.

FRANK J. FLYNN

Frank J. Flynn, auditor of the Travelers Insurance, Travelers Indemnity and Travelers Fire Insurance Companies at Hartford, has been connected with the parent company of the Travelers group for twenty-three years. He was born in Hartford, November 29, 1885, and is a son of James F. and Hannah (Finnigan) Flynn, the father a native of New Britain, while the mother was born in Hartford. His grandfather, Thomas Flynn, located in Hartford county about 1830 and here spent his remaining days, carrying on business as a mason contractor. The father, James F. Flynn, continued in the same line of business in Hartford, where he passed away in 1923. The mother is still living in Hartford.

Frank J. Flynn was educated in St. Peters parochial school and in the Hartford high school, from which he was graduated in the class of 1904. He immediately entered the Hartford Life Insurance Company, where he spent a year, and in 1905 he resigned to accept a position in the ticket department of the Travelers Insurance Company. There he remained until September, 1912, when he was transferred to the auditing department, in which he held various positions until he was elected assistant auditor in 1923. March, 1927, brought him promotion to the office of auditor of the Travelers Companies.

On the 16th of October, 1912, Mr. Flynn was married to Miss Kathryn F. Ward of Hartford and they have one child, Frances Ward, thus bearing the family name of her mother, who is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John J. Ward of Hartford.

GEORGE T. KIMBALL

George T. Kimball became associated with the American Hardware Corporation of New Britain a decade and a half ago and is today president of the company, while with other important business enterprises he is identified as a director. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, June 25, 1874, his parents being Penn Townsend and Helen Margaret (Gooch) Kimball. At the usual age he entered the public schools of his native city and in due course of time was graduated from the Evanston high school. After seven years' employment with Linn & Dwight in the grain elevator business he entered the law department of Lake Forest University, where he com- pleted his course and was admitted to practice at the Illinois bar in 1899. Imme- diately afterward he opened an office in Chicago, where he continued to practice law for fourteen years, but in 1913 he turned his attention into the channels of com- merce by becoming assistant auditor of the American Hardware Corporation at New Britain on the 8th of October of that year. Later in 1913 he was advanced to auditor and in 1915 was made assistant secretary of the company, occupying that position for five years. In 1920 he was chosen secretary and also in that year was elected the first vice president, continuing to serve in that official connection until 1924, when he became president of this corporation, which controls one of the chief

1342

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

business enterprises of Hartford county. Moreover, he is a director of the Corbin Motor Vehicle Corporation, the New Britain National Bank and the Connecticut Light and Power Company.

On the 30th of June, 1902, Mr. Kimball was married in Chicago to Miss Janette Thorson. His social standing is high, as indicated by his membership in the leading clubs of this section, including the Farmington Country Club, Shuttle Meadow Club, New Britain Club and Hartford Club. He is also a Mason of high rank, holding membership in Lake View Lodge, No. 774, F. & A. M .; in Lawn Chapter, R. A. M .; Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T .; and Sphinx Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. While in the west he was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade from 1896 until 1913. During his residence in Connecticut he has been active in local political circles and has at all times given stalwart allegiance to the republican party. He has served on the New Britain zoning board, on the New Britain park board and the Connecticut state water commission.

HUGH M. ALCORN

Hugh Mead Alcorn, a resident of Suffield, Connecticut, has been actively engaged in law practice in Hartford since 1897, and has served as state's attorney for Hart- ford county during the past two decades. He was born in Suffield, October 24, 1872, a son of Hugh Glen and Susan (Ford) Alcorn. His early education was supple- mented by study in the Connecticut Literary Institution, from which he was gradu- ated in 1894. He was admitted to the bar at Hartford in 1897 and has since prac- ticed in the state and federal courts. Since 1908, as above indicated, he has been state's attorney for Hartford county. In 1920 he acted as special assistant to the attorney general in the case of the United States versus Rumely et al., and he was also special assistant to the attorney general in the case of the United States versus McAuliffe. Among his leading cases have been the following: Connecticut versus Griffith (Tolman loan shark cases), 218 U. S. 563; State versus Gilligan (poison cases) ; Underwood tax cases, 254 U. S. 113; United States versus Rumely et al. (in- volving purchase of the New York Evening Mail by the German government, United and he is a member of the Hartford County Bar Association, the Connecticut State States Court, Southern District, New York). Mr. Alcorn specializes in trial work Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 124

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