History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 4

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 4

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While Mr. Trumbull has been instrumental in developing one of the largest indus- trial enterprises of his section of the state, he has also done much in other fields of business whereby the material resources of the county have been developed and pro- moted. He is the president and a director of the Plainville Trust Company, which he aided in organizing, is a director of the Bristol and Plainville Tramway Company, a director of the Plainville Realty Company and a director of the Chamber of Com- merce of both Bristol and Plainville, whereby he aids in advancing various interests from which he derives no pecuniary advantage.

To have been one of the active factors in the upbuilding of a business of the extent and importance of the Trumbull Electric Company would alone entitle John H. Trumbull to prominent mention in the history of his estate, but into many other fields he has extended his labors wherein his fellowmen have benefited. It is interesting to know that he is the fourth of the name of Trumbull to serve Connecticut as its chief executive. In November, 1924, he was elected lieutenant governor and through the election of Hiram Bingham to the United States senate he became governor of the state on the 8th of January, 1925. He continues in the office and his record is a matter of present-day history, being characterized by needed reforms, the introduction of notable improvements in public service and in all that has to do with the welfare and progress of Connecticut. For five years previous to his advancement to the highest office within the gift of the state he has been active in politics and his course had won for him the confidence and trust of the public to an unusual degree-a trust that he has never betrayed. As in business, his plans are of a practical character and at the same time have led to the adoption of high civic standards and ideals.

Through nearly all of the period in which Governor Trumbull made steady advance in business and political circles he has had the inspiration and encouragement of one who prior to their marriage on the 30th of November, 1903, was Miss Maude Pierce Usher, of Plainville, a daughter of Robert C. and Antoinette Usher, representatives of old and honored families of this state. Governor and Mrs. Trumbull have two daughters, Florence and Jean. The hospitality of the Trumbull home is proverbial and there are other features that are just as outstanding in the life of Connecticut's governor, one of which is his stanch loyalty to the high teachings and purposes of the

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

Masonic order, his membership being in Frederick Lodge, No. 14, F. & A. M., of Plainville, and with the different Masonic bodies which have brought him up to the thirty-second degree, while of Sphinx Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Hartford he is a past illustrious potentate. He has membership in the famous Campfire Club, a national organization which includes in its membership some of the most distinguished naturalists and noted woodsmen of America. One of the requirements for membership is a record as a hunter of big game and at least one trip that necessitated camp life for thirty years or more. Mr. Trumbull has gone on many memorable hunting trips from which he has brought back notable trophies of his skill, as evidenced in the heads of moose and caribou that adorn his den, and on two or three occasions he has taken with him a cameraman and moving picture machine, enabling him to bring back the story of his experiences in the wilds of our own western country and of Canada.

The military experience of Governor Trumbull covers service as captain of the Connecticut State Guard during the World war, when he organized the Plainville Company and was appointed chief of ordnance by Governor Templeton. He is now a captain in the Officers Reserve of the Connecticut State Guard and a lieutenant in the Putnam Phalanx He has been keenly interested in aviation for a number of years, being a great believer in the future of aviation as a means of transportation, especially to connect the New England state with the west. He was one of the organ- izers of the Colonial Air Transport to carry the mails between New York and Boston. The company was formed as Connecticut corporation with the governor as chairman of the board of directors. He is also chairman of board of directors of Colonial Western and a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Colonial Airways. He is a director in a large manufacturing company producing aircraft engines and aircraft and in two local operating companies. He has qualified as a licensed pilot and holds a state and federal license to operate aircraft. He has been keenly interested in the activities of the Forty-third Division Air Squadron and was instrumental in securing legislation enabling them to put up shops and hangars and improve their flying conditions. He is also a member of several aeronautical societies.

Along strictly social lines his connection is with the Hartford Gun Club, the Farm- ington Country Club, the Hartford Club and the Shuttle Meadow Club of New Britain. His interest along scientific lines finds expression in his membership in the American Ornithological Union and the Aero Club of Hartford. He belongs to the American Trapshooting Association and by reason of the nature of his business is a member of the Associated Manufacturers of Electrical Supplies of New York, of which he has served as a governor. He is likewise a director of the Connecticut Children's Aid Society and has done effective work in various charitable fields, for it is characteristic of Governor Trumbull that he is continuously but unostentatiously reaching out a helping hand. His is indeed a well rounded nature, his activities covering a most comprehensive scope and has led to continuous intellectual, social, civic and moral progress. Connecticut has achieved much under his regime as its chief executive and in less spectacular fields he has done that which has made for the material develop- ment of the state and has rendered it a better place in which to live.

WILBUR FISK GORDY

The name of Wilbur Fisk Gordy, educator and author, is known throughout the length and breadth of the land because of his contributions to the historical litera- ture of the country, many of his writings being accepted as standard textbooks in many sections. Mr. Gordy was born near Salisbury, Maryland, June 14, 1854, as were his parents, Elijah Melson and Martha Ellen (Shepard) Gordy. His prelimi- nary education was acquired in the public schools of his native state and he won his Bachelor of Arts degree on the completion of a course of study in the Wesleyan Uni- versity at Middletown, Connecticut, in 1880, while later his alma mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree, and the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, in 1928. He immediately took up the profession of teaching, becoming vice principal of the high school at Middletown, where he served for the school year from 1880 to 1881. He then accepted the position of superintendent of schools at Ansonia, Connecticut, where he remained from 1881 until 1884, when he was made a supervising principal in

WILBUR F. GORDY

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

the public schools of Hartford and so continued through the succeeding two decades. From 1904 until 1911 he was superintendent of schools at Springfield, Massachusetts, and from 1904 until 1908 he was a member of the Committee of Eight appointed by the American Historical Association. Among the official positions which he has held in the line of his chosen life work is that of president of the Hartford board of education and president of the board of directors of the Hartford Public Library. Mr. Gordy is a familiar figure on the lecture platform, speaking on many school topics, and is also a well known contributor to educational journals. His name is perhaps most widely familiar to the people of the country, however, through his authorship, which includes: A School History of the United States, published in 1898; American Leaders and Heroes, 1901; Stories of American Explorers, 1906; Colonial Days, 1907; Elementary History of the United States, 1910; American Be- ginnings in Europe, 1911; Stories of Early American History, 1913; Stories of Later American History, 1915; Abraham Lincoln, 1917; Causes and Meaning of the Great War, 1919; History of the United States, 1922; Leaders in Making America, 1923. Mr. Gordy was a co-author of: A Pathfinder in American History, 1892; Language Lessons, 1903; Grammar Lessons, 1903.

On the 9th of July, 1889, Mr. Gordy was united in marriage to Miss Isabel Drummond Hunter and they reside at 104 Gillette street in Hartford. While his activities have been directed largely in the educational field, he has found time for helpful cooperation in various projects having to do with the social, intellectual and moral advancement of city and state and has served as a director of the Connecticut Humane Society. He has carried his researches far and wide into the field of his- tory and the results of his labors have been presented in a clear, logical and enter- taining way that holds the interest of readers and has made the story of American development and progress a familiar one to American youth in many sections of this wide land. 'His name is on the membership rolls of the American Historical Association, the New England History Teachers Association, the Get Together Club, the Twentieth Century Club, the Hartford Golf Club and the Psi Upsilon and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities.

HENRY J. MARKS

Henry J. Marks, a partner in the law firm of Gilman & Marks, with offices at 49 Pearl street in Hartford, was born in this city November 11, 1888, and is a son of Leopold and Nettie (Leopold) Marks. The father was formerly a merchant and died in 1910. The youthful days of Henry J. Marks were passed under the parental roof and when a lad of six years he entered the public schools, mastering the work in consecutive grades until he left the high school. Having determined to make the practice of law his life work, he then became a student in the Yale Law School, won his LL. B. degree in 1910 and was admitted to the bar. He began practice in his native city with the firm of Bill & Tuttle, being thus associated from 1910 until 1912, after which he practiced independently for eight years and then entered into his present partnership relation as the associate of George H. Gilman and of his brother, Albert J. Marks. The firm has had a continuous existence through many changes in partnership since 1875, existing as Hyde & Joslyn from that date until 1893, as Hyde, Joslyn & Gilman from 1893 to 1897, as Hungerford, Hyde, Joslyn & Gilman from 1897 to 1909, as Hyde, Joslyn, Gilman & Hungerford from 1909 to 1919, as Hyde, Joslyn, Gilman & Marks from 1919 to 1920 and as Tuttle, Gilman & Marks from 1920 to 1921, when it became Gilman & Marks. The present partners are acknowledged to be the peers of their predecessors and the extent and volume of their clientage is indicative of their high standing among their colleagues and contempor- aries of the Hartford bar at the present day.

On the 16th of January, 1924, Mr. Marks was married to Miss Alice Davidson, a daughter of Philip and Julia (Franken) Davidson, of Bremen, Germany. They have one child, Julia D., born July 28, 1925.

Mr. Marks is a member of the Hartford County, Connecticut State and American Bar associations. Politically he is a republican and is now serving on the town plan committee of West Hartford. He was assistant corporation counsel in 1912 and 1913, but his time and energies have been mostly devoted to the private practice

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

of law, wherein he has made consecutive progress bringing him to an enviable posi- tion. In January, 1928, he was elected vice president of the Hartford Bar Library Association.

HENRY C. ROBINSON

Along many lines of activity and in many departments of valuable public service Henry C. Robinson rendered aid to his city and state in maintaining and upholding the highest standards of manhood and citizenship. He was a lawyer of ability, an orator of distinction, a legislator whose course was marked by unassailable honor, a bene- factor whose generosity brightened the lives of many and a Christian gentleman whose example remains as an inspiration to all who knew him. Hartford numbered him among her native sons, he having been born here August 28, 1832.

It is believed that Thomas Robinson, the pioneer of the family in the new world, was a native of Guilford, England, and with his arrival in America he settled in Guil- ford, Connecticut, where through the purchase of land in 1666 he acquired the title of "Mr." His later years were spent in Hartford, where he passed away in 1689 at an advanced age, while his wife, Mary, died on the 27th of July, 1688. The sixth of their seven children was David Robinson, who was probably born in England in 1660. About 1688 he married Abigail, daughter of John and Elizabeth Kirby. She passed away in 1694 and soon after 1700 David Robinson removed to Durham, Connecticut, which town was incorporated in 1708, and in the spring of that year he was made a member of a committee appointed to secure the services of the Rev. Nathaniel Chaun- cey as their minister. He was long prominent in town and church affairs and died January 1, 1748.

David Robinson (II), son of David and Abigail Robinson, was born in 1694 and was married January 26, 1719, to Rebecca, daughter of Benjamin and Mary Miller, of Middletown. She died September 18, 1786, at the age of eighty-seven years. Her ancestry could be traced back to Thomas Miller, of England, who settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and afterward in Middletown, Connecticut, becoming one of its pro- prietors. His son, Benjamin Miller, a man of prominence in the community who had great influence with the Indians, was the first settler of Middlefield, Connecticut, where he died November 22, 1746. To him and his wife Mary, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Smith) Johnson, of Woodstock, Connecticut, was born a daughter, Rebecca Miller, who became the wife of David Robinson, of Durham. Their son, Colonel Tim- othy Robinson, was born April 29, 1728, in Durham, and afterward resided in Litch- field, Connecticut, and in Granville, Massachusetts, where he became an influential citizen, representing his town in the general court for nine years. He espoused the cause of the colonists in the Revolutionary war, was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Third Hampshire County Regiment, February 8, 1776, and participated in the battle of Ticonderoga. He was again the service for two months in the same regi- ment in 1777 and in 1782 became lieutenant-colonel of that regiment. He served as judge of the court of common pleas of Hampshire county and was for thirty years a deacon in his church. On the 13th of February, 1755, he married Catherine Rose.

Their son, David Robinson (III), was born August 9, 1762, at Granville, and died May 27, 1809. In young manhood he was elected and served for about seven years in the general court. He married Catherine Coe, who was born September 25, 1769, and died February 2, 1820.

David Franklin Robinson, son of David and Catherine (Coe) Robinson, was born in Granville, January 7, 1801, and after there acquiring his public school education became a resident of Hartford, where his remaining days were passed. His wife, Anne, born December 9, 1801, was a daughter of Asa and Elizabeth (Denison) Sey- mour and a descendant of Richard Seymour, who came to America and was one of the early proprietors of Hartford, while in 1650 he became an early settler of Norwalk. His son, John Seymour, born about 1640, married Mary West and their son, John Seymour (II), was born in Norwalk, January 12, 1666. He filled various town offices and was a member of the general assembly. On December 19, 1693, he married Eliza- beth Webster, whose father, Lieutenant Robert Webster, was a son of Governor John Webster. Daniel Seymour, son of John and Elizabeth (Webster) Seymour, was born October 20, 1699, and was married August 10, 1727, to Mabel Bigelow. Their son,

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

Daniel Seymour (II), born about 1729, died November 8, 1815. He served in the Revolutionary army and he married Lydia King, who was born in 1738 and died April 1, 1829. Their son, Asa Seymour, who was born February 5, 1760, and died October 28, 1810, was married December 17, 1786, to Elizabeth Denison, who was born March 27, 1765, and died May 28, 1846. They were the parents of Anne Seymour, who became the wife of David Franklin Robinson.

Henry C. Robinson, son of David F. and Anne (Seymour) Robinson, married Eliza Niles Trumbull, of Stonington, Connecticut, and they became parents of five children, namely: Lucius F., Lucy T., Henry Seymour, John T. and Mary S.

The public school system of Hartford accorded Henry C. Robinson his early edu- cational opportunities, and true to his native state and her institutions, he continued his education at Yale, where he won high honors at his graduation with the class of 1853. Among his fellow alumni of that year were many who have since gained dis- tinction, including Hon. Andrew D. White; Bishop Davies of Michigan; Dr. Charlton T. Lewis; Dr. James M. Whiton; Isaac H. Bromley and George W. Smalley, journalists; R. L. Gibson, former member of the United States senate; Hon. Benjamin K. Phelps; and Edmund Clarence Stedman, poet. Following his graduation Mr. Robinson entered upon the study of law in the office of his elder brother, Lucius F. Robinson, and following his admission to the bar engaged in practice independently for three years. He then formed a partnership with his brother, a relationship that was maintained until the latter's death in 1861. Henry C. Robinson then practiced alone until 1888, when he was joined by his eldest son, Lucius F. Robinson, under the style of H. C. & L. F. Robinson. Throughout the years of his connection with the bar the father enjoyed a constantly growing reputation as the result of his pronounced ability and high standards of service. In the course of time his practice extended throughout New England and into the middle Atlantic states and he was recognized as one of the foremost attorneys of the country. His alma mater recognized his scholarship and achievements by conferring upon him the Doctor of Laws degree in 1888. He pos- sessed not only a most intimate and comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence but also that oratorical ability that enabled him to present his thought with clearness and force and which further enabled him to present the intricate prob- lems of law in a way that all auditors could thoroughly understand. Because of his gift of oratory, resting upon the foundation of liberal education and culture, he was called upon to speak on many public occasions, being chosen to address the audience at the memorial services held in Hartford in honor of Presidents Garfield and Grant, while his address at the unveiling of the Putnam statue in Brooklyn, Connecticut, was regarded as one of the finest ever delivered in the state.

Mr. Robinson was yet a young man when first called to public office. From his boyhood he was interested in fish culture and gave considerable attention to the study of that subject, so that he was well qualified to serve when Governor Hawley appointed him fish commissioner of the state. Already his practice had assumed extensive proportions, but he yet found time to faithfully and capably discharge his official duties and brought about the passage of law forbidding the use of fish pounds at the mouth of the Connecticut river. Selfish interests on the part of others later secured the repeal of the laws, and other statutes were enacted which experience has shown to be valueless in conserving the shad fisheries. As a worker in republican ranks Mr. Robinson's labors were far-reaching and effective and he always maintained the highest standards of citizenship and wrought for continued progress. Although the city was usually democratic in politics, he was elected mayor of Hartford and it was largely through his efforts that the city became the sole capital of the state. To the discharge of his duties he brought the same earnest study and careful analysis that characterized his law practice, with the result that he succeeded in introducing various economies and in promoting improvements of far-reaching effect and benefit. A number of department commissions were established as the result of his suggestions and he left the office as he entered it-with the confidence, respect and good will of all. Following his election to the general assembly in 1879 he was made chairman of the judiciary committee and became a leader in the house. Working earnestly for im- proved legislation, his committee accomplished some very important results greatly beneficial to legal procedure. In the spring and fall of 1876 and again in 1878 he was nominated by acclamation in the republican state convention for the office of governor, declining the nomination, however, on the third occasion. He wrote a large portion

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

of the republican platform when in 1880 he met with the party in national convention in Chicago. In 1887 he was the commissioner for Connecticut at the Constitutional Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia. President Harrison offered him appointment as minister to Spain, but this he declined on account of his law practice, which had become of great volume and importance. His legal knowledge, his sound judgment in all practical affairs, his broad vision and his keen insight led him to be sought as a cooperant factor in the management of many important business and financial inter- ests. He became a director of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Com- pany, the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, the Pratt & Whitney Company and the Connecticut Fire Insurance Company, while of the Connecticut Trust and Safe Deposit Company he was a trustee. He was likewise a member of the Hartford Board of Trade and each organization benefitted by his keen insight and broad vision.

On the 28th of August, 1862, Mr. Robinson married Miss Eliza Niles Trumbull, who was born July 15, 1833, a daughter of John F. Trumbull, of Stonington, Connecti- cut. They became the parents of three sons and two daughters: Lucius F., men- tioned elsewhere in this work; Lucy T., who was born July 19, 1865, and is the wife of Sidney Trowbridge Miller, of Detroit, Michigan, and the mother of two children, Elizabeth T. and Sidney T., Jr .; Henry Seymour, who was born April 16, 1868, and rose to prominence as an attorney and insurance officer of Hartford; John T., an able attorney, who was born April 25, 1871, and who married Gertrude Coxe, of Utica, New York, by whom he has two children, Gertrude and John T .; and Mary S., who was born May 17, 1873, and is the wife of Dr. Adrian V. S. Lambert, of New York city, their children being Mary, Adrian, John and Ruth. The family circle was broken by the hand of death when Mr. Robinson passed away February 14, 1900. His wife survived until June 25, 1916, and had reached the age of eighty-two years when called to her final rest. A contemporary biographer wrote of her: "She was a Christian in every sense of the word, not only in the name, but in the deeds of daily life. She gave constantly and unreservedly of her energy, strength, and financial support to the charit- able work of the city of Hartford, and was one of the founders of the Union for Home Work, of which she was a member of the board of trustees for several years. Mrs. Robinson's work was well known in the city, and it served to raise her to a standard in the hearts of hundreds to which only the truly worthy can attain. By one who knew her, as a friend of years, the Rev. Dr. Edwin Pond Parker, pastor emeritus of the South Congregational church, of which she was a member, the following tribute was paid: 'For more than half a century it has been my inestimable privilege to know with some good degree of intimacy Mrs. Henry C. Robinson. I turn for a moment or two from my paper to interrogate the picture of her husband on the wall nearby- that most trusted and most faithful friend of my active life-and memories too numer- ous and precious for relation, of him and of her, and of their home, their family, their hospitality, their unfailing friendship and unbounded kindness throng into the chambers of my mind and heart. Loving and honoring her at first for his dear sake, it was soon and ever after honor and love of her for her own no less dear sake. She was one of those who as wife, mother and friend "show us how divine a thing a woman may be made." Recalling her domestic devotion, her attunement in all wisdom and simplicity to the appointments of her life, her fervent charity, her fragrant purity, her contagious cheerfulness, her delightful humor, her quick sympathy with the sor- rows of others, and her calm serenity in her own sorrows, her unaffected modesty and meekness combined with a rare intellectual brightness and a beautiful spiritual insight and taste, and all that combined for reverence and lovableness in her character, I may best use Wordsworth's lines and say:

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 4

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