History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 21

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 21

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SIDNEY WINTER CROFUT

Sidney Winter Crofut, vice president and secretary of the Society for Savings of Hartford, has wisely directed his efforts throughout the years since he attained his majority, ever recognizing his duties and responsibilities as well as his opportuni- ties, and thus he has contributed in no small degree to the expansion and material growth of the business activities with which he has been associated and from which as a result he has derived substantial benefits. He was born in Ossining, New York, and that he comes of a family long represented on this side of the Atlantic is shown by the fact that among his ancestors were those who served in the Revolution- ary war.

After acquiring his early education in private schools Mr. Crofut attended the Mount Pleasant Military Academy and during the period of his early business life was in New York city, where close application and ability won him various promo- tions with consequent increasing responsibilities. At length he felt the need of a change to outdoor life and removed to Danielson, Connecticut, where he resided for a few years and during that period took active part in public affairs, particularly in the development of the borough, of which he was the head official, occupying the position of warden for three consecutive terms. He was also made chairman of the high school committee and served as a member of the board of education and as president of the Free Public Library Association in Danielson. His business activi- ties arose from his position as vice president and trustee of the Savings Bank and as director of the National Bank of Danielson. Appreciation of his service on the part of his fellowtownsmen led to his selection as representative from the town of Killingly in the general assembly session of 1893-1894 and in 1895 he accepted the appointment of state bank commissioner, which position he filled under three governors, remaining in that office until January, 1900, when he resigned in order to accept the position of first assistant treasurer of the Society for Savings in Hartford. Subsequently he was made treasurer and is now vice president and secretary of the corporation as well as one of the trustees, while of the Hartford National Bank & Trust Company he is a director. His entire career has been marked by that steady progression

(Photograph by The Johnstone Studio)

Sidney Merefut ,

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which indicates continually expanding power and marked efficiency in discharging the duties which devolve upon him.

Mr. Crofut was united in marriage to Miss Lucy E. Marcy, a daughter of the Hon. William W. and Martha K. Marcy and a lineal descendant of Colonel Thomas Knowlton. They have one child, a daughter, Florence S. Marcy Crofut, who is a graduate of Wellesley College, which conferred upon her the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts. They now reside at No. 25 North Beacon street in Hartford.

Mr. Crofut is a member of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and of other organizations. He has mastered the lessons of life day by day until his postgraduate work in the school of experience has placed him with the men of marked business ability who for years have figured prominently in the business and financial circles of Connecticut. Thoroughness has characterized his every under- taking, bringing to him a clear understanding that has enabled him to readily solve complex problems and effectively direct his efforts to the attainment of success for the institutions which he represents.

CLEMENT COLLESTER HYDE

Clement Collester Hyde, principal of the Hartford Public High Schol, has been associated with the educational interests of this city since 1894. He was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, June 21, 1871, and is a son of John M. and Mary S. (Whit- ney) Hyde, residents of Gardner, the public school system of which town afforded Clement C. Hyde his early educational opportunities. After leaving high school in entered Harvard College and received his Bachelor of Arts degre in 1892. He remained at his alma mater as assistant in physics, also serving in the same connec- tion at Radcliffe College, while from 1892 until 1894 he was a student in the Harvard Graduate School.

In the latter year Mr. Hyde came to Hartford to teach science and mathematics in the Hartford Public High School, so continuing until 1911, when he was advanced to the position of principal and has remained in that office to the present time. Trinity College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature in 1912, while from Yale University he received the honorary degree of Master of Arts in 1924.

On the 9th of July, 1908, Mr. Hyde was married to Miss Edith L. Risley, of Hartford, and their children are: Richard W., who was born June 18, 1909; Eleanor, born March 3, 1911; and Allen R., June 26, 1913.

Mr. Hyde is a member of the Head Masters Association, the University Club of Hartford, the Twentieth Century Club of Hartford, the Harvard Club of Connecticut and other organizations, mainly educational.

FRED D. WISH, JR.

Fred D. Wish, Jr., became superintendent of schools for the city of Hartford in January, 1923. He was born in Portland, Maine, May 15, 1890, his parents being Fred D. and Fannie (Atkinson) Wish. He graduated from Bowdoin College with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1913. The following school year he was principal of the high school at Scarboro, Maine. From September, 1914, through June, 1917, he taught history and government in the high school of Portland, Maine. In September, 1917, he began teaching history and government in the Hartford Public High School, acting in that capacity until chosen superintendent of schools in 1923. Mr. Wish engaged in summer study at Columbia University in 1914 and 1915, also at Harvard University in 1923 and 1924.

On June 27, 1916 Mr. Wish was married to Retta Morse, a daughter of Melville and Retta (French) Morse of Portland, Maine. They now have two children: Frances Helen, born April 17, 1918; and Robert Norris, born March 23, 1922.

Mr. Wish is a member of the Juvenile Commission of Hartford.

Mr. Wish belongs to the Department of Superintendence, the National Education

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Association, New England Superintendents Association, Connecticut Superintendents Association, Connecticut State Teachers Association, Hartford County Teachers Asso- ciation, and the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. During the legislative session of 1927 he served as chairman of the legislative committee of the Connecticut Superintendents Association.

During Mr. Wish's administration in Hartford trade education has been made available. A full time state trade school in a modern building provided by the city will be started during the winter of 1928-29. The facilities for the Ungraded School which houses the educationally subnormal pupils have been improved, maintaining and fitting a new building. The availability of educational training for teachers has been materially increased.

THOMAS WILLIAMS HOOKER

Thomas Williams Hooker, actively associated with insurance interests in Hart- ford, is now senior partner of the firm of Hooker & Butterworth. He was born May 10, 1871, in the city which is still his place of residence, and is a son of Bryan Edward and Martha Huntington (Williams) Hooker, residents of Hartford, and a direct descendant of Rev. Thomas Hooker. After the completion of his high school course he went abroad, spending two years in study in Germany and gaining, moreover, that liberal culture which comes from foreign travel. With his return he became associ- ated with the Broad Brook Manufacturing Company of Broad Brook, Connecticut, which is a wool manufacturing concern of which his father was then treasurer and manager. Following the death of Bryan E. Hooker, his two sons, Thomas Williams and Edward Williams Hooker, continued the business for a decade and then sold out. After disposing of this business Thomas W. Hooker turned his attention to the insur- ance field, in which he has since operated, and forming a partnership with Paul M. Butterworth, under the style of Hooker & Butterworth, has since conducted a general insurance business.

On the 30th of January, 1908, Thomas W. Hooker was united in marriage to Miss Luva Bedell, a daughter of Louis and Mary (McConnell) Bedell, of Pough- keepsie, New York. Their children are: Thomas Bedell, born July 11, 1908; and Bryan Edward, born May 31, 1911.

Mr. Hooker belongs to the Society of Colonial Wars and to the Sons of the American Revolution-membership connections that indicate his descent from some of the oldest New England families. Fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Mason and Mystic Shriner and his political endorsement is given to the republican party.

WILLIAM EDWARD EGAN

In no profession does advancement depend so entirely upon individual ability and merit as in the practice of law. In industry and manufacture an established busi- ness may be turned over to a young man starting out in the world, thus giving him a foundation upon which to build, but success at the bar is the direct outcome of mental qualifications-a retentive memory, a ready grasp of situations, a keen power of analyzation and logical deduction that can relate effect to its previous cause. That William Edward Egan possesses these requisite qualifications is manifest in the success which has attended his legal career. Connecticut claims him as a native son, he having been born in Southington, May 6, 1880, his parents being Thomas Francis and Ellen M. (White) Egan, mentioned elsewhere in this work. The son attended the Lewis high school and is numbered among its alumni of 1897. He then faced the necessity of providing for his own support and became an apprentice at the tool maker's trade in the factory of Peck, Stow & Wilcox, while subsequently he was employed in various large plants in Hartford, spending some time with the Pratt & Whitney interests, with the Pope Manufacturing Company and also with the Corbin Motor Vehicle Company of New Britain and the International Paper Com- pany of Bellows Falls, Vermont. While he made progress along mechanical lines, he always felt a strong inclination toward a professional career and availed himself

(Photograph by John Haley)

WILLIAM E. EGAN

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of the opportunities to enter into that line of work. He became a student in the Yale Law School, from which he was graduated in 1908, and in June of that year passed the required examination which made him a member of the bar. Throughout the intervening period, covering two decades, he has practiced law and his course has been marked by steady advancement, his clientage constantly growing in volume and importance. He continues in general practice, handling all kinds of cases and equally at home in all branches of the law as the result of his comprehensive study, not only in his college days but since his admission to the bar. His mental alertness and precision, his logical deductions and his ability to readily determine the impor- tant point upon which the decision of every case finally turns are elements in his success. Aside from his profession Mr. Egan has business connections, being a director of Suisman & Blumenthal, Inc., of Hartford, and of the New Haven Marine Construction Company.

On the 16th of September, 1909, Mr. Egan was married to Miss May G. Noonan, a daughter of James J. and Margaret (Bradley) Noonan, of Hartford. They are now parents of two sons: William Edward, Jr., born April 4, 1912; and James N., born January 11, 1916.

During his college days Mr. Egan became a member of the Phi Delta Phi, the Kau Tau Kappa of Yale and the Eyelet Club. He is also a member of the Automo- bile Club of Hartford, of the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks. He was formerly a member of the Governor's Foot Guard for four years and he is interested in everything that pertains to the welfare and prog- ress of municipality and commonwealth, giving active and effective support to many public-spirited projects. In manner he is genial and cordial, and the friendship of William E. Egan is an appreciated possession of his associates. Notwithstanding his outside interests, however, his attention is mainly given to his professional duties and he is an esteemed member of the Hartford County, Connecticut State and American Bar Associations, enjoying the full confidence and respect of his colleagues and con- temporaries because of his devotion to the highest ethical standards of his pro- fession.

BENJAMIN WILLARD ALLING

Admitted to the bar in January, 1906, Benjamin Willard Alling has steadily progressed in the professional field until he now occupies the responsible position of attorney general of Connecticut, having his office in the state capitol, while he maintains his residence at New Britain. He was born in Berlin, Connecticut, Novem- ber 7, 1879, and is a son of Willard I. and Harriet E. (Upson) Alling, of that place. He attended the public schools of his native town and afterward became a pupil in the high school at New Britain, Connecticut. He next matriculated in Dartmouth College and won his Bachelor of Arts degree at his graduation with the class of 1902. Interested in law practice, he then began preparation for the bar as a stu- dent in the Harvard Law School, winning his LL. B. degree in 1905, while in Janu- ary, 1906, he was admitted to practice at the Connecticut bar. He first took up the active work of his profession in Bridgeport but after a short time passed in that city removed to New Britain in the same year and has there maintained his home to the present time. Throughout the intervening period he has continued in prac- tice in Hartford county and each year has found him in a position in advance of the point which he had reached the previous year. He entered into partnership with George W. Klett under the firm style of Klett & Alling, an association that was maintained from November, 1906, until the death of the senior partner in January, 1926. Since that time Mr. Alling has practiced alone and for many years he has enjoyed an extensive law business that has connected him with much important litiga- tion tried in the courts of the district and of the state.

For an extended period Mr. Alling has been accounted one of the leading citizens as well as prominent lawyers of New Britain and has exerted a widely felt influence in public affairs, at all times working along constructive lines. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has held several positions of public honor and trust, all of which, however, have been in the strict path of his profession. He was prosecuting agent of New Britain from 1909 until 1920 and in the latter year

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became associate judge of the New Britain police court, occupying that office until 1923. He was then made judge of the police court and sat upon its bench until 1927, when he resigned to take the office of attorney general of Connecticut, to which he had been elected on the 5th of January, 1927. He is now faithfully serving as custodian of the legal interests of the commonwealth and his record in office is a commendable one.

On the 7th of February, 1910, Mr. Alling was united in marriage to Miss Ellen I. Lappan, a daughter of Adolphus and Mary Lappan, of New Britain. In the social activities of his city he is interested, having membership in the New Britain Club and the Sequin Golf Club. He is also well known in fraternal circles, having mem- bership with the Masons, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Junior Order of American Mechanics. He stands high among those men who are filling public office in Connecticut, his record indicating marked loyalty to the best interests and the welfare of the state.

GUSTAVE A. FEINGOLD

Through a period of eleven years Gustave A. Feingold has been associated with public education in Hartford and since 1926 has been principal of the Morgan Gardner Bulkeley high school. He was born in Russia, June 17, 1883, and is a son of Samuel W. and Mary R. (Roth) Feingold, who were also natives of that country, whence they came to the United States in 1893, when their son Gustave was a lad of ten years. He attended the public schools in Whitestone, Long Island. In 1903 the family moved to Hartford where G. A. Feingold prepared for Trinity College from which he was graduated in 1911, receiving the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from that institution. The following three years were devoted to study in Harvard University, which conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree in 1912 and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1914. He entered upon his career as a teacher in 1917 in the Hartford Public High School where he became vice prin- cipal in 1923. In 1926 he was elected principal of the Morgan Gardner Bulkeley high school.

On the 17th of June, 1917, Mr. Feingold was married to Miss Etta Flora Ruffkess, of Hartford, and their children are Marshall S., S. Victor, Richard M., and Albert H.

Mr. Feingold holds membership in the Get Together Club, the Probus Club of Hartford, the American Psychological Association, the National Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Association of High School Principals, and through the last two keeps well informed concerning the trend of modern thought as related to teaching. He is ever quick to adopt any new idea which he believes valuable, and his long connection with the public schools of Hartford is indicative of the high opinion entertained for his service by his fellow townsmen.

CHARLES PATTON HOWARD

A business executive and inventor of superior ability whose labors have con- stituted a valuable contribution to science and have won him wide endorsement in the scientific world, Charles Patton Howard is prominently known as the president of James L. Howard & Company, manufacturers of railway supplies in Hartford. Constantly seeking to improve methods and devices, he has brought forth many in- ventions, the worth of which are everywhere acknowledged inasmuch as they have come into worldwide use.

Mr. Howard was born in the capital city, March 21, 1853, his parents being Charles F. and Catharine (Patton) Howard, the father having been one of the found- ers of the business of which the son is now the head. The ancestral line is traced back to William Howard, a native of England, who in 1635 settled at Braintree, Mas- sachusetts, while in the maternal line Charles P. Howard is descended from Colonel Robert Patton, of a Scotch-Irish family, who left his home in Westport, Ireland, and became a resident of Philadelphia in 1762. Of that line Colonel Patton, the great-

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grandfather of Charles P. Howard, took a prominent part in the military and civic affairs of his day, serving in the colonial army under Washington and under Lafay- ette in the Revolutionary war and afterward becoming one of the original members of the Society of the Cincinnati. In 1789 he was appointed by Washington the first postmaster of Philadelphia and continuously occupied the position for thirty years.

Thus from an ancestry honorable and distinguished came Charles Patton Howard and his entire course has been in harmony with that of his forebears. He completed a course in the Hartford Public High School in 1869, after which he spent one year in Colt's Armory under the instruction of the superintendent. He then resumed his studies, entering the Massachusetts Insitute of Technology at Boston, completing the civil engineering course by graduation with the class of 1874. When his technical training was finished he at once joined the firm of James L. Howard & Company in Hartford, being made assistant to the superintendent, while in 1877 he was elected secretary. In 1905 he was advanced to the office of vice president and upon the death of James L. Howard in 1907 succeeded him in the presidency. This company is en- gaged in the manufacture of railway supplies and has one of the largest plants of the kind in the east. Mr. Howard's contribution to the continued growth and success of the business is not merely that of a capable executive, for his inventive genius has been brought into play in many instances, resulting in the production of articles and devices of value to the railway supply business. He has now taken out more than twenty patents on such and his inventions are now widely used. He holds membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and is deeply interested in every- thing relating to his profession.

Politically Mr. Howard has always been a stalwart republican but never an office seeker. His leisure hours have been devoted to mountain climbing and outdoor pursuits. He has reached the summits of the highest peaks of the White mountains and the Adirondacks and in 1877 he scaled three of the highest peaks of the Alps, reaching a height of thirteen thousand, seven hundred feet on Breithorn near Zermatt, fifteen thousand, eight hundred feet on Mont Blanc and fourteen thousand, eight hundred feet on the Matterhorn, a description of his ascent of the Matterhorn appearing in Lippincott's Magazine for September, 1879. Ten years later he reached the height of fourteen thousand, two hundred feet on Mount Sneffles in Colorado and on the same trip visited the cliff dwellings in the Mancos Canon, his party being the second group of white men to visit the principal ruins called the Cliff Palace, which had been discovered only the previous winter by their guide. In 1896 he again climbed Mount Sneffles and also Uncompahgre Peak, which reaches a height of four- teen thousand, four hundred feet. He has likewise carried his investigations far and wide into the realms of astronomy and has ever been keenly interested in the tele- scope. He inherited this taste from his father, who in 1858 bought a four and one- fourth inch Fitz telescope, which served Mr. Howard's purpose until 1880, when he replaced it by a much larger and better one, with an object glass of nine and four- tenths inches, this being one of the most perfect telescopes in existence. In 1880 Mr. Howard undertook the task of constructing a three and one-half inch telescope object glass, doing all the work himself. He had to master every phase of the work and it was not until 1885, therefore, that he brought his glass to such a state of perfection that no error could be found in it, having accomplished this by using his evenings and holidays for the purpose. In 1886 he began work on a four and one- half inch object glass of an entirely different form from the other and completed it in 1889. He then showed it to the Clarks in Cambridgeport and it was tested by Alvan G. Clark, who said that it was the best object glass he had ever tested that was made outside of their own plant. Mr. Howard next undertook an object glass of seven inches aperature but this proved a failure because of the kind of glass used. In 1903 he completed another seven-inch object glass through which, on May 12, 1903, three canals on Mars were distinctly and steadily seen, while on February 5, 1904, the Companion of Sirius was steadily and easily seen at a distance of only six and one-half seconds from Sirius. Only a few telescope makers in the world can produce an object glass of such perfection.

For two years Mr. Howard waited for manufacturers to produce the desired quality of glass and then, impatient at further delay, in 1905 he obtained from Jena in Germany two discs of glass for a twelve-inch objective. He had calculated the curvatures of the surfaces for the several possible forms that such an object glass

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can take and had determined what form is best. Mr. Howard has written many scientific articles which have appeared in the leading publications of the country, including an article on the Refracting Telescope which appeared in the Popular Science Monthly for December, 1885; a paper on the Orbit of the Companion of Sirius in the Astronomical Journal of February 4, 1891; a paper on A Graphical Method of Determining the Apparent Orbits of Binary Stars, in Astronomy and Astrophysics for June, 1894, and again in 1923 he published a paper on the same subject in "Popular Astronomy." On the 28th of May, 1900, at Winton, North Caro- lina, he was associated with President Luther of Trinity College in observing the total eclipse of the sun and had one of the most remarkable views of the sun's corona on record. A full description of these observations was published in Popular Astronomy for December, 1900. In 1905, at Burgos, Spain, in company with Pro- fessor Charles S. Hastings of Yale University, he viewed the total eclipse of the sun, both using similar telescopes of about three inches aperature with magnifying power of twenty and field view of two and one-fourth degrees. Comparing notes as they stood at their telescopes, the instant the eclipse was over, it was found that both had seen the corona exactly alike. They distinctly saw it to be a filamentous structure completely surrounding the sun as far out as three radii. To this extent Mr. Howard's observations of 1900 were confirmed, but the other objects then so clearly seen were absent. He published an account of these last observations in Popular Astronomy for December, 1905. That the corona of 1905 would prove decid- edly different from that of 1900 was expected, because the former happened at the time of sun spot maximum, and the latter at sun spot minimum. If, therefore, the objects seen in 1900 have real existence, they are peculiar to minimum coronas. Mr. Howard is confident that he made no mistake in his observations of 1900. This con- fidence is justified not only because of his intimate knowledge of telescopes, but also because in making a change in focal adjustment, he saw with perfect distinctness that the objects in question went in and out of focus exactly with the coronal fila- ments; a thing that could not have happened had they not been real objects on the sun. Nothing has afforded Mr. Howard keener delight than his study of astronomy and in .

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 21

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