History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 22

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 22

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this, as in other fields, he has made valuable contribution to science.

GERALD WALDO HART

The business activities of Gerald Waldo Hart, founder and head of the Hart Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, are by no means limited by the confines of this state but have reached from the Atlantic to the Pacific, touching at many intermediate points, and also feature in the business development of London, thus directly connecting him with the land from which came his earliest American ancestor, Deacon Stephen Hart, who was born at Braintree, Essex county, England, about 1605, and about 1632 arrived in the Massachusetts Bay colony, locating for a time at Cambridge, Massachusetts. His second wife was Margaret, the widow of Arthur Smith. She was admitted to the church in Farmington, March 17, 1690-1, and died in 1693, having for some time survived her husband. Deacon Hart and his first wife were consistent members of the Farmington church, which was organized in November, 1652, with Rev. Roger Newton as pastor. Mr. Hart had previously served as deacon of Rev. Thomas Hooker's church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Hartford, Connecticut. He was one of the fifty-four settlers at Cambridge, was a proprietor at Hartford in 1639 and became one of the eighty-four proprietors of . Farmington in 1672. In 1647 he was one of the "deputyes" of the general court of Connecticut and in 1653 was appointed commissioner by the general court, for the town of Farmington, to aid the constable in impressing men into the army. Tradi- tion has it that Connecticut's capital city took its name from the fact that Stephen Hart discovered a ford which was used in crossing the river when the water was at low stage. Tradition also has it that he and others discovered the Farmington river valley when on a hunting trip and arranged with the Indians for white settlement in that district. There he purchased a large tract of land bordering the present town of Avon and yet known as Hart's Farm. He had a large house lot in the town and owned and operated a mill. His will, which was dated March 16, 1682-3,

Samuel Part-

GERALD W. HART

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bequeathed his land to his children and grandchildren as well as his second wife. His children, seven in number, were all born of his first marriage.

Thomas Hart, his third son and youngest child, was born in 1644 and married Ruth Hawkins, who was born at Windsor, Connecticut, October 24, 1649. He inher- ited a portion of his father's homestead opposite the meeting-house in Farmington and was made a freeman by the general court in 1664. He was confirmed ensign of Farmington train-band by the general court in 1678 and lieutenant in 1693 and the same year was deputy to the general court. In May, 1695, he became captain. He was again deputy from Farmington for thirteen years and was speaker of the general court for four years. He was appointed commissioner for Farmington, serving in 1692, 1693, 1694, 1695 and 1697, and in 1698 became justice for Hartford County, serving with the exception of 1699 and 1700 through to 1706. In October, 1702, he was appointed on a committee to settle the boundary between Rhode Island and Connecticut and in other ways took prominent part in public affairs. He and his wife were members of the church in Farmington. She died October 9, 1724, at the age of seventy-five, and Captain Hart passed away August 27, 1726, in his eighty-third year, when he was laid to rest with military honors. He left his land to three of his sons, and by the terms of his will his daughters received five pounds each. His children were seven in number.

The fourth of the family was Deacon Thomas Hart, of Kensington, Connecticut, who was born at Farmington in April, 1680, and was married December 17, 1702, to Mary Thompson, daughter of John and Mary (Steele) Thompson, of Farmington. He was admitted to the Farmington church February 2, 1706-7, and he and his wife became members of the Kensington church at its organization December 10, 1712. Six years later he became deacon. He was also prominent in public affairs as justice of the peace and as representative of the town of Farmington for six sessions be- tween 1739 and 1747. His wife, Mary, died in October, 1763, and on the 11th of January, 1764, Deacon Thomas Hart, of Kensington, married Elizabeth Norton, widow of Isaac Norton, of Berlin, he being then eighty-four and his wife seventy- nine years of age. She died March 28, 1771, and Deacon Thomas Hart died January 29, 1773, when about ninety-three years of age.

In the fourth generation the direct ancestor of Gerald W. Hart was Deacon Elijah Hart, of New Britain, the third son of Deacon Thomas and Mary (Thompson) Hart, of Kensington, where he was born June 18, 1711. He was married De- cember 26, 1734, to Abigail Goodrich, who was born December 14, 1714. Deacon Elijah Hart settled at New Britain, where he and his wife, formerly of the church of Kensington, became members of the New Britain church, organized April 19, 1758. Soon afterward he was elected deacon. He died August 3, 1772, in his sixty- first year, and his widow died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Eno, in Simsbury, Connecticut, January 21, 1809, at the very advanced age of ninety-five years.

They were parents of Deacon Elijah Hart (II), who was born September 26, 1735, in Kensington, the eldest of a family of nine children. In 1757 he became a member of the Kensington church. He removed with his parents to New Britain and joined the church there on its organization. He married Sarah Gilbert, who was born May 11, 1737, and settled in the south part of Hart Quarter. He owned a large property and reared a large family. For twenty years he served as deacon, being elected June 1, 1780, and for many years he led the singing in his church. He died December 10, 1800, at the age of sixty-six years, and his widow died September 22, 1809, at the age of seventy-three.

Deacon Elijah Hart (III), of New Britain, son of Deacon Elijah Hart (II) and his wife, Sarah (Gilbert) Hart, was born at New Britain, May 7, 1759, and was married December 21, 1780, to Anna, the eldest daughter of Hezekiah and Anna (Stedman) Andrews, born September 6, 1760. They lived in the south part of the parish in New Britain, and Deacon Elijah Hart (III) owned a large farm and engaged extensively in manufacturing corn meal for the West India trade. He was admitted to the church October 3, 1784, and chosen deacon in 1805. He enlisted March 18, 1778, for service in the Revolutionary war, and was present at the cap- ture of Burgoyne. In 1824 he and his wife were admitted to the church at Mount Carmel, in Hamden, Connecticut, where they lived for several years and where he built a house and mill. Later they returned to New Britain, where he died August 4, 1827, while Mrs. Anna Hart passed away December 2, 1835.

Their children were of the seventh generation of the family in the new world

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and they had eight sons. Samuel Hart, third in order of birth, was born at New Britain, April 7, 1786, and on the 18th of March, 1812, Orpha North, who was born August 12, 1793, became his wife. She united with the Congregational church Feb- ruary 2, 1812, and lived a consistent Christian life, passing away January 12, 1847. Samuel Hart ranked as the leading physician of New Britain for many years and was also a successful farmer. He joined the Congregational church in October, 1802, and became a member of the South church on its organization in 1842. He had reached the age of seventy-seven years when he passed away June 20, 1863.

Dr. Samuel Waldo Hart, who was the fourth in order of birth of the five chil- dren of Dr. Samuel and Orpha (North) Hart, was born in New Britain, May 22, 1825, and on the 22d of October, 1851, married Cordelia M. Smith, who was born in New Britain, June 7, 1828, a daughter of William H. and Marsha (North) Smith. Like his father, Dr. Samuel Waldo Hart became a successful physician of New Brit- ain and occupied his father's old home on Main street, opposite Central Park. He served as mayor of his city from 1873 to 1875 inclusive. His wife, Cordelia, died June 16, 1857, and on the 10th of November, 1864, Dr. Samuel W. Hart was mar- ried in St. Mark's church to Margaret C. Smyth, who was born October 18, 1846, in Easton, Maryland. By his first wife he had two children: Mary Louise, born Octo- ber 8, 1852; and Gerald Waldo, born July 23, 1856. The children of his second marriage were: William Goldsborough, who was born April 6, 1870, and died July 20, 1870; Anna Smyth, born September 13, 1872; Margaret Carrol, born October 17, 1875; and S. Waldo, born March 14, 1877.

Gerald Waldo Hart, son of Dr. Samuel Waldo Hart and a representative of the family in the ninth generation in America, was born in New Britain, July 23, 1856. In the schools of his native village he pursued his education and his preparatory training was obtained in the Episcopal Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut, after which he matriculated in the Sheffield Scientific School, completing his course at Yale with the class of 1878. From early youth he had displayed natural aptitude for mechanics and during his college days specialized in mechanical engineering and theoretical knowledge of mechanics. He also took active interest in college sports and was a member of the freshman crew of 1876, while in 1877 he was bow oar of the Yale University crew.

After leaving the university Mr. Hart, in 1880, became the first employe of the American Electric Company of New Britain, which afterward became the Thomson- Houston Electric Company and later the General Electric Company. In this field he found ample opportunity to develop his latent talents along mechanical and inventive lines. He measured up to all requirements and augmented his theoretical knowledge by practical experience in a field for which nature undoubtedly intended him. He left his first employers in 1887 to become superintendent of the Edison Electric Light and Power Company and assistant general manager of the Kansas City Electric Light Company of Kansas City, Missouri. His entire professional career has been one of steady advancement in which his labors have enabled him to achieve far- reaching results. In 1890, associated with George S. Hegeman, a former classmate at Yale, he organized the Hart & Hegeman Company of Kansas City and this con- nection was maintained until 1897, when Mr. Hegeman passed away. In 1898 Mr. Hart withdrew from the firm and organized the Hart Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, where again he took up the work of manufacturing electric light supplies. Since its inception the business has enjoyed steady and rapid growth, resulting from the executive ability as well as the scientific training and practical experience of Mr. Hart. From the beginning the firm has used as its trademark the letter "H" enclosed within a diamond-shaped figure, and the switches and other elec- trical appliances manufactured by the company are usually sent out under the name of Diamond H. Constantly the company has reached out along broadening lines, establishing trade connections at various points, until at the present writing offices are maintained in New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and in Toronto, Canada, and London, England. Their output is extensive, the business having long since reached gratifying proportions, returning a most substantial income to the stockholders. Mr. Hart is the inventor of numerous improvements in electrical appli- ances upon which he has issued patents, and he is particularly well known as the successful inventor of electric switches.

On the 5th of October, 1887, in Kansas City, Missouri, Mr. Hart was united in marriage to Lucie Janes Van Dorn, daughter of Robert L. Janes and a direct de-

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scendant of William Janes, who in 1637 came to the new world with John Daven- port, settling at New Haven, Connecticut. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hart are: George Hegeman, now vice president of the Hart Manufacturing Company; and Harry A., who is the general manager of the company. The former was born in Kansas City, Missouri, December 3, 1890, and was married December 8, 1915, to Mary Case, daughter of Judge William Scoville Case. Their children, representa- tives of the family in the eleventh generation in America, are: George Hegeman Hart, Jr., born in Hartford, April 16, 1918; and John Stephen, born in Hartford, April 22, 1925.

Gerald Waldo Hart maintains his home as well as his business headquarters in Hartford, with a summer residence at New London, Connecticut. Politically he has always been a stanch republican, but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him. He belongs to the Farmington Country Club and various social organizations and is a true sportsman whose interest in yachting and aquatic sports dates from his college days. He finds both pleasure and recreation in outdoor life, which constitutes an even balance for the intense activity demanded in the conduct of his steadily growing business affairs. The rapid development of all material resources during the present century has brought business enterprises up from the day of small things to gigantic proportions, where millions of dollars take the place of hundreds and where men are required to handle millions as coolly, as carefully and as successfully as their grandfathers handled much smaller sums. The training which Gerald W. Hart received fitted him to meet present-day conditions, and a laudable ambition and indefatigable energy have carried him into most impor- tant relations, keeping him at all times in close touch with the general march of advancement.

HORACE L. ROCKWELL

Horace L. Rockwell, a member of the law firm of Bristol & White, general lawyers and patent attorneys, was born in Washington, D. C., August 1, 1886, his parents being Julius E. and Mabel R. (Lewis) Rockwell. After attending the public and high schools in that city he began preparation for the bar and was. graduated from the National University in 1910, at which time the LL. B. degree was conferred upon him. He was admitted to the bar in Washington in 1914 but after his gradua- tion had engaged in patent law practice in Chicago, being associated with Edwin B. H. Tower of that city, and afterward with the International Harvester Company, his activities in that field covering the period between 1910 and 1916. In the latter year he became patent attorney for the Sullivan Machinery Company of Claremont, New Hampshire and Chicago, and in 1925 he resigned his position with that corpora- tion to come to Hartford as resident partner and one of the patent lawyers of the New Haven law firm of Bristol & White. Politically Mr. Rockwell is a republican, while social activities connect him with the Hartford Club and the Hartford Golf Club.

WILLIAM C. HOLDEN

Public school education finds a worthy representative in William C. Holden, prin- cipal of the Thomas Snell Weaver high school since 1923. He was born in Casco, Maine, August 19, 1867, and is a son of Jesse Francis and Sarah B. (Sawyer) Holden, also natives of the Pine Tree state. His early education was supplemented by study in Bridgton Academy at Bridgton, Maine, and a course in the University of Maine, in which he won his M. E. degree in 1892. Long before taking his college course, how- ever, he began teaching, becoming an instructor in rural schools at Waterford, Maine, in 1884. In 1892-3 he taught in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in the latter year spent six months as a teacher in Cleveland, Ohio, but later in the same year went to Portland, Maine, where he engaged in teaching until 1895. He then accepted a position as teacher at Lynn, Massachusetts, where he continued until 1902, when he came to Hartford as one of the teachers in the Hartford Public High School, of which he was vice principal from 1914 until 1923. In the latter year he was advanced to the posi-

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tion of principal of the Thomas Snell Weaver high school, where he has since remained, and the passing years have demonstrated his ability in this connection, for he has wisely directed the work of the school, which has shown continued progress under his guidance.

On the 31st of March, 1896, Mr. Holden was married to Miss Elizabeth M. Fogg, a daughter of William H. and Lydia (Merrow) Fogg, of Bath, Maine. They have five children: Theodore L., Ruth E., Francis W., Marion E. and Sylvia J.

While a broad reader and keeping in close touch with the progressive thought of the present, Mr. Holden has little time for activities outside of his school. His high professional' standing is indicated in the fact that the University of Maine conferred upon him the honorary M. A. degree in 1927. He has membership in the National Education Association and the National Association of Secondary School and Colleges and he embraces every opportunity to promote his efficiency in his chosen field.

DANIEL C. FLYNN

Daniel C. Flynn is one of the younger members of the Hartford bar, but if the present foreshadows the future, one need not hesitate in prophesying for him success in the years to come. He was born in Middletown, Connecticut, December 13, 1904, and is a son of Daniel J. and Anna G. (Cauley) Flynn, who retained their residence there until 1907, when they removed with their family to Hartford. It was here that Daniel C. Flynn obtained his public and high school education, while later he attended the Catholic University of Washington, D. C. A review of the broad field of business and professional activity led him to the determination to make the prac- tice of law his life work and with this end in view he entered the Fordham Law School of New York, gaining his LL. B. degree in 1925. The same year he was admitted to the bar and at once began practice in Hartford as an associate of Benedict M. Holton, but after this initial year he began practicing alone and has so continued, building his success upon the safe qualities of careful and thorough preparation and loyalty to the interests of his clients.

Mr. Flynn holds membership with the Catholic University Club of Washington, with the Utopia Club and with the Republican Club of Hartford, the last named connection indicating his political allegiance. He is alert to modern-day conditions and opportunities, not alone in the line of his profession but in matters of citizenship, as well, and is at all times a champion of progress and improvement.

JOHN FRANCIS FORWARD

For an entire decade John Francis Forward has occupied the position of public defender for Hartford County and since 1902 has been numbered among the members of the Hartford bar, rising to a notable position in the ranks of Connecticut's attor- neys. Since 1921 he has been senior partner in the firm of Forward & Daly and they have a large clientele connecting them with litigation of important character.

Mr. Forward was born October 16, 1872, in South Hadley, Massachusetts, his parents being George H. and Frances (McMaster) Forward. He attended the public schools of Springfield, Massachusetts, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, and then entered Trinity College of Hartford, from which he was graduated in 1896 with the Bachelor of Science degree. He then turned his attention to educa- tional work and was a teacher in Salisbury Academy at Salisbury, Connecticut, from 1896 until 1898. In the following year he began preparation for the bar as a law student in the office of Andrew F. Gates of Hartford and was admitted to practice in 1902. He at once opened an office and soon gave demonstration of his thoroughness and diligence in the preparation of his cases as well as of his loyalty to his patrons. Year by year his practice increased in importance as well as volume until his legal business had assumed extensive proportions. In 1921 he formed a partnership with Edward J. Daly and as member of the firm of Forward & Daly has since continued in active connection with the Hartford bar. Clear and cogent in his reasoning, logical in his deductions and seldom, if ever, at fault in the application of a legal

(Photograph by The Johnstone Studio)

JOHN F. FORWARD

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principle, he has won many notable verdicts. Some years ago he was special prose- cuting attorney for the city of Hartford and in 1918 was called to the position of public defender for Hartford county, in which capacity he has since continued. Aside from his professional activity he is well known in business circles, having many important interests. He is a director and the secretary of the Roto Company of Hartford, also of the Gray & Prior Machine Company of Hartford and the Baldwin- Stewart Electrical Company. He is likewise president and one of the directors of the Lakeland Company of this city, is also secretary and a director of the New Haven Sherardizing Company, and his sound judgment is considered a valuable asset in business affairs.

Mr. Forward has also rendered appreciated service in the presidency of the University Club, which office he filled from 1920 until 1922. In 1924 he was elected to the presidency of the Trinity College Alumni Association for a two years' term and he still has membership in both organizations. In club circles, too, he is well known, his membership being in the Hartford Golf Club and the Get Together Club. That his interests and activities are broad is further indicated in the fact that he has membership in the Connecticut Historical Society and in the Drama League. He is never neglectful nor unmindful of his duties and obligations of citizenship and his belief in republican principles has led him to give stanch support to his party. From 1919 until 1922 he was street commissioner of Hartford and any practical plan for the city's development and improvement receives his earnest cooperation.

W. JAMES TULLER

W. James Tuller, general agent of the National Life Insurance Company of Montpelier, Vermont, with office at 805 Main street in the Phoenix Bank building of Hartford, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, March 11, 1884, a son of William J. and Mary (Sisson) Tuller, also natives of this city. The Tuller family was numbered among the first settlers of Connecticut and George W. Tuller, grandfather of W. James Tuller, was born in Simsbury, Connecticut, early moving to Hartford where he resided for many years, engaging in the tailoring business, while later he became a real estate dealer. The grandmother, Abbie Loveland James, was a direct descendant of King James II of England, who was beheaded. She died in June, 1927, at Everett, Massachusetts, at the notable old age of one hundred and three years, and was very active up to the time of her demise. Albert Lee Sisson, the maternal grandfather of Mr. Tuller, was born in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and in his boyhood came to Hartford, where he was engaged in the tobacco trade and in the wholesale meat business for many years. He also erected the Sisson block on Main street, there conducting his commercial interests for an extended period. In 1865 he erected a residence on what was then Hubbard street, at the extreme outskirts of the city. Today the thoroughfare is known as Sisson avenue and the confines of Hartford have extended far beyond the location of the old home, which was sold in 1900 and is now known as the House of the Good Shepherd-a home for girls. The grandmother of Mr. Tuller in the maternal line was Mary A. Gorton, who was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, but in her girlhood became a resident of Bloomfield.

In the West Middle district school W. James Tuller pursued his early education until completing his course with the class of 1897 and then entered the Hartford public high school, from which he was graduated in 1901. Having put aside his textbooks, he became associated with the Dun and Bradstreet agencies and later entered the employ of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company as head of the policy writing department. For about fifteen years he has been writing insur- ance as agent for the Connecticut Mutual and National companies and in February, 1922, he organized the Tuller-Wiley Agency, with offices at 750 Main street in Hart- ford, acting as local agent for all lines of insurance. In June, 1923, he was appointed general agent for Connecticut for the National Life Insurance Company and since then has devoted the greater part of his time to developing the life insurance end of the business. In May, 1927, he sold his interest in the Tuller-Wiley Agency to his partner, William H. Wiley, who has since continued the business but without change of firm name. The course of Mr. Tuller has been one of steady progress and

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successful achievement and he is today a well known figure in insurance circles in this city.

On the 4th of October, 1911, Mr. Tuller was married to Miss Elsie May Hurlbut, of Hartford, and they have three sons-William James (III), Edwin Hurlbut and Frederick Sisson, who are with the parents in their home at 35 Lilley road in West Hartford.

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 22

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