History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 25

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 25

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Their son, James Goodwin, had the benefit of a cultural home environment and during his youth he found his greatest delight in studying nature and literature, while as he roamed the fields and woods he also acquired that sturdy health which carried him through many difficult phases of his later life when his ministerial duties made heavy demand upon his time and energies. He made an excellent record in school and devoted not a little of his leisure time to reading works on history and sociology, while the books of Charles Kingsley were a favorite means of recreation. After leaving the Hartford public schools he attended St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and in 1882 enrolled as a student in Trinity College of Hartford, from which he was graduated with honors in 1886 and also as class poet. During the succeeding year he went abroad and studied for a year in Paris. With his return to his native land in 1887 he entered the General Theological Seminary and won his degree at his graduation with the class of 1890, while in the previous year his alma mater had conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. Moreover, he had the honor of being chosen one of the three to read essays on the completion of his theo- logical course. From early manhood he had no other thought than that of becoming a minister, and by the Right Rev. John Williams, D. D., LL. D., bishop of Connecticut, he was ordained a deacon in Trinity church at Middletown.

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Dr. Goodwin began his active pastoral work as assistant ministry at Calvary church in New York city in 1890. The following year he devoted to the further study of theology in Oxford University, returning in August, 1891, and soon thereafter was called to the pastorate of St. Barnabas' Mission in Berlin, New Hampshire. A few years later he became rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Nashua, New Hampshire, and in 1902 was installed as rector of Christ Church at Hartford, where he lived and labored in his holy calling until he passed away. While in Berlin, New Hampshire, he had served on the board of education and took a most active and helpful interest in public affairs, his influence being widely felt in the field of con- structive effort. While he was still pastor in Hartford it was written of him: "Christ Church is one of the oldest and strongest in New England and many great men have occupied its pulpit. At the present time as one of the few 'down town churches' of a growing city it occupies a position of peculiar responsibility and influence and has at its head in James Goodwin a man singularly well fitted to guide his church so that it may be equal to that responsibility and capable of the utmost spiritual influence in the community. Tact, genuine cordiality, quick human sympathies, a lively interest in questions of the day and in public welfare, untiring energy, and enthusiasm in parish work and in keeping in touch with the many working organizations of the church. and simple, direct, earnest eloquence in the pulpit are the qualities that com- bine to make James Goodwin so worthy of his charge. The crowning reason for his success is his intense love of his work because it is God's work. So it is that his advice to others who would make their life work a success is as consistent as it is pertinent, for he says the young man who would attain true success should cultivate 'unselfishness, profound sense of duty to community and commonwealth and real patriotism and, above all, personal integrity and purity.'"

On the 13th of June, 1894, Dr. Goodwin was married to Miss Frances Whittlesey Brown, of Hartford, and they became parents of a son and three daughters. Mr. Goodwin was made chaplain of the Governor's Foot Guard. Politically he maintained an independent course. However, he was keenly appreciative of the social amenities of life and he greatly enjoyed the companionship that came to him through his con- nection with the Hartford Golf Club, the Century Association of New York, and the Hartford Yacht Club. His college fraternity was the Alpha Delta Phi. He never ceased to feel the keenest interest in the great out-of-doors, and as a pedestrian, golfer and boatman he found joy and relaxation from active professional cares. His deep human sympathy made him know almost intuitively how to approach his fellow- men to win their confidence and to aid them in gaining a broader vision of life, its responsibilities and its opportunities, and one cannot but feel that he passed on

"To join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In lives made better by their presence."

JOSEPH M. MERROW

Joseph M. Merrow, inventor and manufacturer, whose labors have been a valuable contribution to the world's work, is now president of the Merrow Machine Company, one of the important industrial enterprises of Hartford devoted to the manufacture of sewing and crochet machines, its ramifying trade interests reaching to various parts of the world. He was born June 24, 1848, in Merrow, Connecticut, which was named in honor of his grandfather, Joseph Makins Merrow, who prior to 1835 was engaged in business in Hartford, where he built a glass factory, so that for more than a century the family has been associated with the industrial and manu- facturing interests of Connecticut. In 1838 he established at Merrow the first knitting mill in the United States, and in time he was succeeded by his son, Joseph B. Merrow, who continued in the business under the name of J. B. Merrow & Sons after his two sons, Joseph M. and George W., became associated with him in the enterprise.

The public school system of Merrow afforded to Joseph M. Merrow his early educational advantages, and he later attended the Center school in Hartford, now the Brown school, while subsequently he became a pupil in the Munson Academy at Munson, Massachusetts, and afterward attended the Hartford public high school. He early learned the value of industry and perseverance and as a boy worked in his

JOSEPH M. MERROW

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father's factory, being able to do a good job as a blacksmith or as a machinist when but ten years of age. He was always mechanically inclined and he developed his powers and talents in this direction until he has become a prominent figure in the business circles of his native state. He was for some years foreman in one of the rooms of the knitting factory. Three times the mill burned and each time was rebuilt-a fact characteristic of the determined purpose and progressive spirit of those who have controlled the destinies of the business. It was in the mills of the Merrow company that the first knitting machines run by power were introduced. For many years the business was carried on at Merrow, but when in 1888 the mill was destroyed by fire the business was removed to Norwich, Connecticut, where the company continues to manufacture crochet machines. The business is today an extensive one devoted to the manufacture of the Merrow overseam and shell stitch machines for finishing edges on all kinds of knitted and woven fabrics. These machines are the invention of Joseph M. Merrow and his assistants. He carried on his experiments and his labors until he brought out a variety of machines of worth in this connection, capable of doing much that hitherto had been done by hand. He secured a patent on his first machine in 1877, and since that time has never ceased to study methods of improvement, until today the patents that he has taken out number nearly one hundred. In 1893 the plant was removed to Hartford and today the company owns a very large concern, their machines being sold in all parts of the world, while distributing offices have been established in Europe and various other foreign countries as well as throughout the United States. Joseph M. Merrow is president of this company and wherever known he is honored for what he has accom- plished, the result of his labors being of great value to those who are engaged in the manufacture of knit goods and textile fabrics.

Mr. Merrow's connection with organized social interests is that of a member of the Hartford Club. He also belongs to the Hartford Chamber of Commerce and to the Chamber of Commerce of the United States and is in full sympathy with the purposes of these organizations to organize and standardize business and to promote trade and commerce in the upbuilding of cities and states. Fraternally he is a Mason, while politically he is a republican, and on the party ticket was elected to represent Mansfield as a member of the house of representatives in the state legis- lature in 1880. While the family resided at that place his father was also chosen a member of the house of representatives, and while serving in that capacity was likewise postmaster of Mansfield, but as he could not hold both positions he resigned as postmaster and was succeeded by his son, Joseph M., through appointment of President Lincoln in 1863. The name of Merrow is thus closely associated with the history of civic as well as of business affairs and has ever been a synonym of loyalty in office and progressiveness in business affairs. Although Joseph M. Merrow is now nearing the eightieth milestone on life's journey, he is yet active in manufacturing circles, keeping in touch with the spirit of modern-day enterprise, and his record of continued usefulness over a period of seventy years-for he began work when a lad of ten-should encourage many a man of less resolute spirit who has grown weary of the struggles and trials of business life and endeavors to relegate to others the burdens that he should bear. Mr. Merrow has ever found delight in solving intricate problems of mechanics, and what he has accomplished places him among the notable inventors of New England.

JACOB LEIPZIGER

Jacob Leipziger, a general contractor of Hartford who has been engaged in this business since 1915, was born in Rugarsen, Posen, Germany, February 12, 1869, and acquired his education in the public schools of his native place. In 1884 he sailed for America, landing in New York city, whence he made his way direct to Hartford to join an uncle and aunt who were living here. His financial condition rendered it imperative that he immediately find employment. He was at that time a youth of fifteen years and he started to earn his living by working as a peddler. It was in 1915 that he entered the general contracting field, in which he still continues his operations. As the years have passed his success has steadily increased and he is today well known in this field, having built up a business of large and substantial

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proportions. Mr. Leipziger is also well known in political circles. He has been actively interested in politics for thirty years, working consistently for the interests and upbuilding of the republican party. For a quarter of a century he has served as chairman of the second ward republican town committee and is also a member of the republican state central committee.

On the 14th of June, 1904, Mr. Leipziger was married to Miss Della Rapporte, a native of Vienna, Austria. He is well known socially as a member of the Tumble Brook Club and also as a member of the Republican Club. He belongs to Congre- gation Beth Israel and he is a trustee of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith No. 13. He is likewise a member of the Allah Club, of which he was one of the founders and which has developed into a strong organization. His activities likewise extend into those fields where recognition of the hard conditions of life for the unfortunate prompts ready and effective service for their relief. He is now acting as a trustee of the United Jewish Charities and he is likewise a trustee of Mount Sinai Hospital and of the Young Men's Hebrew Association. In a word he has become a citizen of prominence and influence, especially among those of his own faith in Hartford, and many follow his leadership, recognizing the soundness of his judgment and the value of his activities. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, as he started out in the world empty-handed and has become one of the substantial business men of his adopted city.

HON. ALEXANDER W. CREEDON

Hon. Alexander W. Creedon, attorney at law of Hartford and former judge of the city police court, was born in the capital September 11, 1886, his parents being John and Josephine (Burke) Creedon, of this city. When he had completed the work of the grade and high schools of Hartford he entered Trinity College and won the Bachelor of Science degree with the class of 1909. He is now numbered among the alumni of the Yale Law School, for in that institution he prepared for the legal pro- fession and in 1912 was graduated with the LL. B. degree. The same year he was admitted to practice and at once opened an office in Hartford. While advancement at the bar is proverbially slow, it was not long before the public came to recognize that he was familiar with legal principles, that he prepared his cases with thorough- ness and care and presented his cause forcibly before the courts, so that he won many verdicts favorable to his clients. As the years have passed his prominence has increased until he stands in the front rank among the able lawyers of Connecticut. In 1915 he was chosen prosecuting attorney of the city of Hartford and gave faithful service in that position through the succeeding five-year period. On his retirement from that position in 1920 he became judge of the city police court and so served for a term of five years, in which office he again had a most commendable record for skill and efficiency, for fairness and impartiality in his decisions. He is today re- garded as a valued member of the Hartford County, Connecticut State and American Bar Associations. Aside from his profession he has business interests of importance, being a director and the secretary of the Gary Transportation Company and also of the Frederick-Raff Company of Hartford.

On the 4th of June, 1917, Mr. Creedon was married to Miss Grace M. Walker, a daughter of William and Sarah (Mooney) Walker, of Ambler, Pennsylvania, and they now have two children: Sally Ann, born April 5, 1919; and Alexander W., Jr., born January 16, 1926.

Mr. Creedon has always voted with the republican party and has long been a recognized leader in its ranks. He served on the republican town committee for five years and was formerly assistant secretary and secretary of the republican state central committee, doing much to further the interests of the party organiza- tion. In the years 1921 and 1923 he occupied the position of assistant clerk of the general assemblies. He is a well known member of the Republican Club, of which he has served as president. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks and with the Knights of Columbus, while along strictly social lines he has connection with the Hartford Club, the Hartford Golf Club, the University Club, Get Together Club and the Graduates Club of New Haven. He is also a member of the Rotary

(Photograph by Dunn, Hartford)

HON. ALEXANDER W. CREEDON

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Club and is in full sympathy with the purposes of that organization as to standards of manhood and citizenship. Those who know Mr. Creedon-and his acquaintance is wide-entertain for him that warm regard which is a recognition of his sterling worth.

JUDGE ALBERT CARROLL BILL

Few lawyers have made a more lasting impression upon the bar of Connecticut, both for legal ability of a high order and for the individuality of a personal character which impresses itself upon a community, than has Judge Albert Carroll Bill. His life work constitutes an important factor in the legal history of the state, of which he is a native son. He was born September 29, 1863, in Hartford, his parents being Charles Carroll and Julia (Emerson) Bill, the father having been connected with the firm of Bill Brothers that figured prominently in business circles of the city, the family having long been represented here. In 1873, however, Charles C. Bill removed with his family to Enfield, Connecticut, where the future judge attended the public schools, while later he continued his studies in the Hartford high school. Having determined to make the practice of law his life work, he became a student in the office and under the direction of the Hon. Charles H. Briscoe, of Hartford, and was admitted to the bar on the 25th of May, 1885. For a short time thereafter he was connected with the law firm of Briscoe & Andrews of this city and then began prac- ticing independently. He has since followed his profession and has advanced steadily to prominence and success, for throughout the years he has been accorded a liberal clientage that has connected him with much important litigation. While he was well grounded in the principles of common law when admitted to the bar, he has continued through the whole of his professional life a diligent student of those elementary principles that constitute the basis of all legal science, and this knowledge has served him well in many a legal battle in which he has won favorable verdicts. He continued in the practice of law while holding various offices. From 1887 until 1889 he acted as clerk of the probate court and was clerk of the police court from 1889 until 1893, when he was appointed associate judge of that court and so continued to serve until July 1, 1895, when he became judge of the police court and filled the office for four terms, covering a period of eight years. He retired from the bench in 1903 with the confidence and respect of all because of the fairness and impartiality of his decisions. He was appointed police commissioner of Hartford in 1903 and remained the incumbent in that office until 1906, acting as president of the board during the last year of his term. In 1917 he was appointed a member of the board of water commissioners to fill out the unexpired term of Edwin E. Hatch, and so remained until 1919. During the war he was appointed legal member and chairman of the third district registra- tion board and was also appointed member and made chairman of the third district draft board, serving throughout the entire war period on these two boards. At the present writing he is concentrating his efforts and attention upon his large law practice and is accounted one of the outstanding attorneys of Hartford.

Judge Bill has also had military experience in that he enlisted in the Governor's Foot Guard on the 1st of December, 1884, and went all through the grades of non- commissioned officers, while in 1891 he was elected ensign of the company. He received successive promotions to the rank of fourth lieutenant and second lieutenant and was detailed as adjutant of the company, thus serving from 1902 until 1908. He was retired as second lieutenant and later re-enlisted as a private in Company F, First Regiment, Connecticut National Guard. He was quartermaster sergeant and paymaster of the regiment and subsequently became quartermaster of the regiment with the rank of captain, with which he was retired. For seven years he was an engineer officer in the Putnam Phalanx under Majors Mahl and Allen.

On the 24th of October, 1889, Judge Bill was united in marriage to Bessie M. Collins, of Hartford, and they are the parents of two sons and . two daughters. Charles Carroll, born August 11, 1890, is identified with the Travelers Insurance Com- pany. Gladys Collins, who was born February 28, 1894, is the wife of William Alden Horton, of Hartford, and the mother of two children: William Alden, Jr., born June 22, 1918; and Carol Anne, born May 22, 1924. Albert Seymour, whose natal day was November 30, 1894, acquired his early education in the grade and high schools

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of Hartford and received his more advanced intellectual training in Yale University. While at Yale he enlisted, in December, 1917, in the Ordnance Corps, with which he served overseas until July, 1919, and during his absence the degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred upon him in 1918. In September, 1919, he entered Yale Law School, which conferred upon him the degree of LL. B. in 1922. Following his admission to the bar in 1922 he became associated in law practice with his father under the firm style of A. C. & A. S. Bill, a relation which has since been maintained. Albert Seymour Bill was appointed assistant to the clerk of the State Senate in 1923 and received appointment as assistant clerk of the House in 1925 and again in 1927, so that he is now filling the latter position. He married Hazel Olive Marsh, of Hartford, and they have one child, Albert Seymour Bill, Jr., born November 7, 1927. Julia Emerson, the youngest of the children of Judge Albert C. and Bessie M. (Collins) Bill, was born June 16, 1897, and is the wife of John Edgerly Sunderland, of Omaha, Nebraska.

Politically Judge Bill is a stanch republican. He belongs to the various bodies of Scottish and York Rite Masonry and has crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In the strict path of his profession he has member- ship connections with the Hartford County Bar Association, the Connecticut State Bar Association and the American Bar Association, of all of which his son, Albert Seymour Bill, is also a member. His life has been an active and useful one and he merits and commands the respect and confidence of his fellowmen to an unusual degree. His reputation as a lawyer has been won through earnest, honest labor and his stand- ing at the bar is a deserved tribute to his ability.

CLARENCE WILLIAM SEYMOUR

Clarence William Seymour, attorney at law, has for seventeen years been engaged in practice in Hartford and as senator, too, he has left his impress upon the history of the city. He is scarcely yet in his prime and yet by reason of what he has accom- plished he is entitled to mention among the valued and representative residents of the capital. Born on the 14th of March, 1885, in West Hartford, Connecticut, he is a son of Moses Ensign and Marion (Backus) Seymour. He attended the public schools of Hartford until graduated from the high school with the class of 1903 and then entered Yale College, where he completed his classical course in 1907, gaining the Bachelor of Arts degree. He prepared for the bar in the Yale Law School and is numbered among its alumni of 1911, in which year he won his LL. B. degree and was admitted to prac- tice. In that year he entered the office of Schutz & Edwards and remained one year, after which he conducted practice independently until 1920, when he formed a part- nership with Vine R. Parmelee under the firm style of Seymour & Parmelee. This association has since been maintained and the firm holds high rank at the Hartford bar. The thoroughness and earnestness with which Mr. Seymour has always prepared his cases and his devotion to the interests of his clients have been outstanding features in his success and advancement in the law. He has also become well known in finan- cial and business circles of the city, being a director of the Capitol National Bank, president of the Hartford Guaranteed Mortgage & Title Company, secretary and treasurer of the First National Farm Loan Association of Hartford, president and treasurer of the Allyn Theatre Company and president of the Newgate Historical Corporation.

On the 1st of July, 1922, Mr. Seymour was united in marriage to Miss Dorothy Belle Allyn, daughter of Robert and Alice Belle (Maine) Allyn, of Hartford, and a representative of one of the oldest and most distinguished families of Connecticut. They have one son, Allyn, born May 17, 1923.

Mr. Seymour on the 14th of January, 1914, enlisted in Troop B of the Connecticut National Guard, serving as private, corporal, sergeant and supply sergeant. In 1915-16 he attended two non-commissioned officers' schools at Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont, and in the latter year also rendered aid to his country in four months' service on the Mexican border. In 1917 he entered the second Plattsburgh training camp and on the 27th of November of that year was commissioned a first lieutenant of field artillery. In 1917 he was on duty at Camp Stanley, Texas, and at Camp Jackson, South Caro- lina, and also in France with the American Expeditionary Force. On the 22d of March,

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(Photograph by The Johnstone Studio)

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1919, he was promoted to captain of Field artillery and in 1921 was assigned as brigade adjutant to the One Hundred and Fifty-first Field Artillery Brigade of the Seventy-sixth Division. On the 10th of July, 1923, he was appointed major in the judge advocate general's department of the Connecticut National Guard, and was pro- moted on September 5, 1923, to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and was assigned the 10th of December, 1924, to the staff of the Forty-third Division, Connecticut National Guard.

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 25

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