History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 19

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 19

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On the 21st of July, 1921, Mr. Rentschler was married to Miss Faye Belden, daughter of W. A. and Lilas (Mefford) Belden, of Hamilton, Ohio. They have two daughters, Helen Faye, born August 20, 1926, and Ann Belden, born October 22, 1927.

Mr. Rentschler has always voted with the republican party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. In fact it is characteristic of him that he is in touch with progress and advancement along many lines, recognized as a man of broad general information as well as of expert knowledge in his particular field. His appreciation of the social amenities of life is manifest in his membership connection with the Hartford, Hartford Golf and University clubs, also the Princeton Club of New York and the Racquet Club of Washington, while in the line of his business he is identified with the Society of Automotive Engineers and is a constant and thorough student of all the problems that have to do with the development and progress of an industry that is still in its infancy.

JOHN C. MORAN

A well established municipal organization always gives special attention to the development of its fire department and the service that may be rendered thereby. It is therefore necessary that at the head of the department shall stand a man capable of wisely directing its activities in times of emergency and just as wisely developing the organization when the hours of stress have passed. Such an official has been found in John C. Moran, now chief of the Hartford fire department, who was born in this city May 5, 1865, and is a son of Thomas and Johanna (Condon) Moran, who were natives of Ireland and came to Hartford with their respective parents in early life. The father was a member and assistant foreman of the old Volunteer Fire Department Co. No. 2 and later became a representative of the Hartford police force, rendering service in that connection for a number of years. He died in 1908, while his widow survived only until 1910.

John C. Moran obtained his education in the Hartford public schools and after- ward learned the machinist's trade when an employe of the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company. In 1886 he became connected with the Hartford fire depart- . ment as a fireman with Engine Company No. 6 and afterward was made stoker with the same company, while later he became permanent substitute, filling all positions in connection with the service and doing all kinds of repair work. His next promotion was to engineer of Steam Propeller Engine Company No. 4 and in 1908 he was promoted over all captains to the position of deputy chief engineer, while in 1912 he became first deputy chief and in 1913 was advanced to the position of chief of the department. Thus within a period of five years he had climbed steadily until he reached the highest position in the department, continuously serving as chief since 1913. During the intervening period fire prevention work has been established, the motorization of the department has been secured and there has been established a drill school for the instruction of men on fire duty. There has also been installed

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an entire new central office fire alarm system. All of these improvements have been advocated by Mr. Moran and have been instrumental in giving Hartford as high rating as any of the older established cities can receive. The new headquarters of the department, completed in 1927, rank with the most modern quarters in the coun- try. They have been replacing all old fire stations as rapidly as possible with modern buildings, splendidly equipped, and at the present writing two new modern buildings are being erected. There is now a total of thirteen fire stations, which will house twenty-one companies and a completely equipped machine shop. The department numbers two hundred and seventy men-men who have the utmost confidence in the ability of their chief. His is never the command of the tyrant to go, but the call of the leader to come, and there is no feature of modern fire fighting with which he is not thoroughly familiar, while his mental alertness enables him to adequately meet every situation and emergency.

On the 1st of October, 1916, Mr. Moran was married to Miss Anna Deady, of Plainville, Connecticut. He holds membership in the Automobile Club and the Hart- ford Rotary Club. He is also a member of the Hartford Lodge of Elks and of the Knights of Columbus. He is a graduate of the New York Fire College and belongs to the International Fire Association and to the New England Association of Fire Chiefs, of which he was the first president. He likewise belongs to the Connecticut and Massachusetts Fire Chiefs Clubs and he has a high and well merited record of efficiency, having given to Hartford a service of the most valuable character.

EDWARD BALF

Without educational advantages beyond those offered by the public schools, Edward Balf started out to provide for his own support and for many years has been a prominent figure in the business circles of Hartford, having gradually worked his way upward through determined effort intelligently directed. He has been an apt student in the school of experience and is today a broad-minded man with highly developed capacities and powers, so that he ranks with the prominent representatives of industrial and commercial activity in Hartford, where he is widely known as president of the Edward Balf Company, general contractors and dealers in trap-rock. He was born in Durham, Connecticut, August 11, 1849, and is a son of Michael and Mary (Katten) Balf. His father was a native of Kildare, Ireland, born in 1822, and prior to his marriage came to America, settling in Durham, Connecticut, where he engaged in farming. He died in 1870, at the age of forty-eight years.

Edward Balf is the eldest of a family of five children. When he was still quite young his parents removed to Suffield, Connecticut, where he attended the public schools, but unable through circumstances to pursue his studies further than the elementary course, he left school and went to work on the Pomeroy farm in Suffield. On September 26, 1872, he engaged in his first business venture, laying the first foundation stone of the present structure of which he is the guiding head. His first contract was with the Weed Sewing Machine Company, calling for their entire trucking work. Each year brought an increase in business until his equipment consisted of two hundred and fifty horses with wagons and rigging suitable for any demand. In connection with his trucking work, Mr. Balf engaged in cellar excavation and grading, performing the first steps in the construction of many of Hartford's business and residential buildings. Later Mr. Balf organized the New England Trap Rock Company, with quarries at Tariffville, Connecticut. Subsequently he secured control of the Southern New England Paving Company, and lastly purchased the Hartford Trap Rock and Supply Company, with quarries at Newington, Connecticut, although some time previous he had opened a quarry in Newington, just north of this last acquired property. In 1913 the New England Trap Rock Company, the Southern New Eng- land Paving Company and the Hartford Trap Rock and Supply Company were merged into the present Edward Balf Company, with Mr. Balf as president, which office he has since held. The Edward Balf Company, under his able and wise leadership, has grown into one of the most important firms of its kind in the state of Connecticut. Crushed stone in heavy tonnages is shipped from the Newington plant throughout Hartford county. Practically all of Hartford's permanent asphalt pavements are the handiwork of the Edward Balf Company. For many years Mr. Balf held the contract

EDWARD BALF

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for the removal of ashes and garbage, creating a record for reduced costs to the city of Hartford for this service. His company has also performed many important high- way projects for the state of Connecticut. The business in all of its varied branches is conducted with the utmost precaution for the health and safety of its employes. The plant is one of the most progressive in New England, ranking the first in that section, and its success is almost entirely due to the unfaltering efforts and initiative of the founder, whose powers have grown and expanded with the passing years as the result of his broadening experience and his close study of business conditions and opportunities.

While vitally interested in the welfare of the city of Hartford, Mr. Balf has ever been unwilling to assume public office. His advice on municipal questions is often sought and he is always ready to give both time and financial aid to any proposition found advantageous to the best interests of the city. He is an active member of the Elks, Knights of Columbus and Hartford Chamber of Commerce, having served as a director on the boards of the latter two organizations. His club affiliations also include memberships in the Hartford Automobile and City clubs. He likewise belongs to the Hartford Landlords Association. He has served as sergeant of the Putnam Phalanx and he is widely and favorably known in this city, where he has so long been an active factor in business circles, his innate worth and capability bringing him to the front as one of the leading business men of the capital. A contemporary biographer said of him: "As the active head of one of Hartford's strong business organizations, Mr. Balf's standing in the community is a result of untiring effort, keen judgment and the faithful fulfillment of the many obligations which in the course of his active career he has been called upon to assume. A building is as strong as its foundation. The foundation Mr. Balf has constructed assures his present organization many years of prosperity and profit."

GEORGE FRANCIS COOK, M. D.

Although one of the younger representatives of the medical profession in Hart- ford county, Dr. George Francis Cook has already attained a creditable position through his successful practice at Plainville, where he opened his office in 1924. He was born at Norwich, Connecticut, January 15, 1896, and is a son of James and Catherine Cook. His preliminary education was acquired in the Norwich Free Academy and later he studied for a year in the University of Chicago, while subse- quently he pursued an academic course in Tufts College in 1917. His careful con- sideration of the business world, with the countless opportunities offered in the fields of agriculture, of commerce and of the professions, led him to the determination to take up the practice of medicine, and with this end in view he pursued a medical course in the Tufts College Medical School, which he completed in 1923. He then put his theoretical training to the practical test by serving as interne in St. Francis Hospital of Hartford for a year, gaining that broad and valuable experience which can never be acquired as rapidly in any other way as in hospital practice. In 1924 he established his office in Plainville, where he has now remained for four years, his private practice steadily increasing in volume and importance as he demonstrates his power to successfully cope with disease and bring about the restoration of health. He is medical examiner for the Plainville district and is now filling the position of town health officer, in which he seeks to introduce preventive measure as well as to check the ravages of disease.

On the 17th of September, 1924, at Jewett City, Connecticut, Dr. Cook was united in marriage to Miss Luella Riox and they have become the parents of a daughter, Anne, born July 26, 1925.

In fraternal circles Dr. Cook is well known, having membership with the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Order of Foresters, the Elks lodge at New Britain and also with the Kiwanis Club of New Britain. Along strictly professional lines he has connection with the Hartford County, Connecticut State and American Medical societies and through the interchange of thought and experience in their meetings, as well as through wide reading and study, he keeps in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and progress. He does not hesitate to adopt new methods advanced which his judgment sanctions as of value in his professional work,

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nor does he readily discard the old and time-tried procedure the value of which has long been proven. He is working his way steadily upward in his chosen field, show- ing that his choice of a profession was a wise one.

IRA EDWARD HICKS

For more than fifty years a resident of New Britain, Ira Edward Hicks materially influenced its development along industrial lines and was equally prominent in public affairs. A gallant officer, he aided in preserving the Union during the dark days of civil strife and measured up to the full stature of American manhood and citizenship. He was born September 22, 1837, in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and there received his early instruction, continuing his studies in Bristol Academy at Taunton, Massachusetts. For five years he filled a position in the Taunton post office and then came to Connecti- cut. He was employed in a minor capacity in a manufacturing plant at Bridgeport and on September 9, 1861, enlisted for service in the Civil war. As a second lieutenant of a company of the Seventeenth Connecticut Regiment, he was under the command of Colonel Terry and in 1863 won promotion to the rank of first lieutenant. Among the important battles in which he fought were the following: Deep Bottom, August 14-15, 1864; Fort Pulaski, Georgia, April 10, 1862; James Island, South Carolina, June 4, 1862; Poctolego, South Carolina, October 22, 1862; Morris Island, South Carolina, July 10, 1863; and Fort Wagner, South Carolina. The last named conflict started July 11, 1863, and ended on the 19th of that month. Mr. Hicks participated in twenty- two engagements and displayed high courage in the face of danger. At the battle of James Island he was wounded and during the assault on Fort Wagner he was named provost of the island.

After the close of the war Mr. Hicks located in New Britain, becoming identified with the Malleable Iron Works, and was a pioneer in that field of activity. For many years he was vice president of this firm and exerted a strong force in the development of the industry. He was treasurer and general manager of the Brick Exchange Cor- poration, which also profited by his wisdom and executive force.

Mr. Hicks was married September 4, 1860, to Miss Margaret Elizabeth Adams, now deceased, and his second union was with Miss Ethel Russell, to whom he was married July 10, 1907. She is a daughter of Henry E. Russell, a representative of one of the old and prominent families of Connecticut, and is the mother of one son, Ira E., born March 28, 1910.

In politics Mr. Hicks was a stalwart republican and in 1889 was appointed post- master of New Britain-an office which he filled with marked ability until 1915, serving for a period of twenty-six years. He was elected councilman in 1887 and made an equally creditable record in that connection, exerting his influence to secure for the municipality needed reforms and improvements. In the activities of the Grand Army of the Republic he manifested a deep interest and was one of the charter members of Stanley Post. He is also a member of the Loyal Legion and national junior vice commander in chief. Throughout life he adhered to a high standard of conduct, winning a secure place in the esteem of all with whom he was associated, and his passing on March 28, 1919, was mourned throughout the city. Mrs. Hicks resides at No. 292 West Main street and her genuine worth has drawn to her a wide circle of sincere friends.

CHRISTIAN REBMAN

The casual observer ofttimes attributes the attainment of success to some for- tunate circumstance or unexpected opportunity, but analysis of the career of any man who has "arrived" shows that back of the opportune moment was a thorough and ofttimes long extended training that enabled him to recognize and utilize the immediate chance for notable and successful achievement. In a review of the history of Christian Rebman it is seen that each step in his career has been one of orderly progression and the increasing responsibilities that have come to him with each pro- motion were capably met because of the thoroughness with which he had performed

IRA E. HICKS

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his previous duties, thus developing his business powers. He is today prominently known as the secretary of the Hartford County Mutual Fire Insurance Company and is thus an outstanding figure in insurance circles.

Born in Buffalo, New York, on the 31st of December, 1876, Christian Rebman is a son of Christian and Sophia (Galster) Rebman, and having acquired a high school education in his native city, he then attended business college, thus qualifying for life's practical and responsible duties. He turned his attention to the field of fire insurance by becoming an employe of the Queen City Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Buffalo, New York, but after remaining in that connection for a brief period he obtained a situation with the Erie Fire Insurance Company of Buffalo and afterward became the local agent in Buffalo of the National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford, occupying that position from 1903 until 1906. In the latter year he was appointed auditor of the Union Fire Insurance Company of Buffalo and so continued to serve until 1910. His next position was that of examiner for the New York State insurance depart in its New York office, in which capacity he remained for a decade, and from 1920 until 1923 he was assistant secretary of the Washington Marine In- surance Company of New York in New York. In the latter year he became chief accountant for Appleton & Cox, Incorporated, of New York city, handling marine insurance, and when two years had passed in that connection he came to Hartford in 1925 as secretary of the Hartford County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Through- out his entire life he has applied himself with great thoroughness to the duties at hand and has found in the faithful performance of each day's tasks the inspiration and the power for the labors of the succeeding day. He is now rendering valuable service to the Hartford County Mutual, which is one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the country, having been incorporated in May, 1831, for the purpose of insuring houses and other buildings in Hartford county beyond the city limits of Hartford. The following history of the corporation has been written: "At the first meeting held in the State House September 19th, David Grant was elected president, and Elisha Phelps, secretary. After a few weeks Mr. Phelps resigned and was suc- ceeded by Charles Shepard. The 'premium note' was perhaps the most characteristic feature in the early history of the Mutuals. Upon ordinary detached risks the com- pany required a note equal to two per cent. of the face of the policy and ten per cent. of the first year's premium in cash. On buildings more exposed the rates were higher. The following year the company was authorized to insure property outside the limits of the county, and to charge the premium in a gross sum instead of rating the same by the year, the lien remaining the same. In 1835 the cash payment on effecting insurance was raised to three and one-third per cent. of the premium charge. The system with occasional variations in the rates continued till 1889, when the premium note was discarded and the whole business put on a purely cash basis. The Hartford County began modestly, and after disbursing twelve dollars in losses, and one hundred and seventy-nine dollars in contingent expenses, had a surplus of twelve dollars at the end of the first twelve months. For the next eleven years the business grew slowly, and at each annual meeting the books showed a small balance on the credit side of the ledger. In 1842, however, came a turn in the tide. Losses mounted up to three thousand, two hundred and sixty-nine dollars and fourteen cents, and at the close of the fiscal year, in December, the directors were confronted with a deficit of three hundred and sixty-two dollars and eleven cents. Matters seemingly trivial have often proved to be pivots on which the fate not only of nations, but of civilization itself, has turned. So in a small way of this deficit. It provoked earn- est thought and much discussion. Some advocated an assessment. Mr. Shepard took ground in favor of borrowing the money and raising the cash rates to a remun- erative basis. Already the theory which prevailed at the outset, and which in many changeful forms has been revived and discarded since, had proved its insufficiency. The sensible views of the secretary were approved, and a note for the arrearages, presumably indorsed by the officers, was discounted at the Hartford Bank. From current receipts the obligation was soon discharged, and the company has never been compelled by reverses to pass through a similar experience since. Not till 1853 was the company permitted to insure buildings within the city limits of Hartford. On the morning after the great Chicago fire, residents of the city did not know whether the policies on their property issued by stock companies were worthless or not. Of the solvency of the Hartford County Mutual they were certain, for it did no business beyond the boundaries of Connecticut. Many came in at that time to take

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advantage of the protection it offered, and have since remained upon its books. From 1835 to 1844 policies were renewed on the payment of a fee of twenty-five cents to the secretary, with no further cost to the insured. Meanwhile new members paid their initiatory premium. The company takes only the safer class of risks, as dwellings and farm buildings with their contents. It does not insure churches, school- houses, stores or factories. Its business has always been confined to the state of Connecticut.

"The Hartford County Mutual Fire Insurance Company has increased its bus- iness until today it is one of the most substantial insurance organizations in Connecti- cut and that means in the insurance world." The secretary has always been the executive of the company and thus. Mr. Rebman was called to a position of large responsibility but has measured up to every requirement, and under his guidance and that of his fellow officers the business has shown a continuous growth founded upon the safest principles, in which progressiveness and conservatism are splendidly balanced forces, making for the sure stability of the organization.

On the 30th of June, 1898, Mr. Rebman was married to Miss Elizabeth S. Meyer, a daughter of George and Katharine (Heichberger) Meyer, of Buffalo, New York. They are the parents of three daughters and a son: Marjorie Elizabeth, Lois Caro- line, Robert John and Katheryn Isabel. The oldest daughter is now the wife of Wendell Foster Roberts, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has one child, Shirley Ann.

In his fraternal relations Mr. Rebman is a Mason and an Odd Fellow and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. He has never been ambitious to hold office, preferring to concentrate his time and energies upon his business affairs, yet is never neglectful of the duties and obligations of citizenship. Few men are more prominent or more widely known in insurance circles than he, for he has been an important factor in this field and his prosperity is well deserved, as in him are embraced the characteristics of an unbending integrity, unabating energy and industry that never flags.

JAMES H. PRATT

James H. Pratt, a man whose constantly expanding powers have brought him into close and important connections with business interests, has since 1910 been president of the Southington Hardware Company, one of the extensive industries of this section of the state. His association with manufacturing interests of Connecticut covers an extended period and has constituted a valuable contribution to the material growth and development of the state. His life story indicates what may be accomplished through individual effort intelligently directed, for no special opportunities or advan- tages were accorded him. He was born at Southington, August 3, 1853, his parents being Daniel and Nancy (Beardsley) Pratt, both representatives of old American families dating their residence on this side of the Atlantic from early colonial days. The father was a successful farmer.

The son enjoyed the educational advantages offered by the public school system, followed by a brief course of study in a business college in New Haven. When a youth of eighteen years he secured a clerkship in the country store of E. R. Brown of Cheshire, with whom he remained for a year, after which he returned to Southington and for two years acted as clerk in the general store of Pratt & Neale. On the expiration of that period he purchased the interest of Mr. Neale in the business, becoming a partner of his brother, while later he acquired his brother's share and conducted the store independently for a period of nine years. He then sold out and turned his attention to manufacturing interests by becoming a traveling salesman with the Atwater Manufacturing Company, with which he remained for seven years. He was afterward associated with the Blakeslee Forging Company of Southington and remained secretary and treasurer thereof for a period of ten years. At the same time he filled the office of vice president and assistant to the treasurer of the South- ington Savings Bank, while later he again became associated with the Atwater Manu- facturing Company, being elected to the presidency and filling that executive position for two years. He was next made president of the Aetna Nut Company and two years later was chosen president of the Southington Hardware Company, which succeeded

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 19

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