History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 40

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 40

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Dr. Calvin Skinner, eighth in order of birth in their family, was born in Royal- ton, Vermont, May 22, 1818, there attended the public schools, afterward was a stu- dent at Royalton Academy and then became a student in the University of Vermont. In 1837 he took up the study of medicine, was graduated from Dartmouth Medical College in 1840 and later pursued a course in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York. After practicing at Rochester, Vermont, he removed to Malone, New York, in 1842 and was there recognized as a physician and surgeon of superior ability. In 1861 he was made contract physician for the Ninety-eighth Regiment, New York State Volunteers, recruited at Malone, and in 1862 was appointed by General Mor- gan one of the corps of volunteer surgeons to assist the regular surgeons on the Peninsula. In that year he was also commissioned surgeon of the One Hundred and Sixth New York Regiment, with which he was on duty in Virginia until physical dis- ability caused him to resign and return home in 1864. He never recovered his health, which gradually brought about a complete invalidism that confined him to his home during his last ten years. For six decades he was a member of the Franklin County Medical Association, was a charter member of the Northern New York Medical Asso- ciation and its first treasurer and was one of the original trustees of the Northern New York Deaf Mute Institution, of which he served as attending physician until the condition of his own health interfered. He aided in organizing the Malone Water Company, of which he was a director for more than forty years, and in the public

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life of that community he took prominent part, serving as postmaster from 1861 until 1875 and on the board of education from 1872 until 1890. Originally a whig, he aided in organizing the republican party in Franklin county, New York, and in 1860 was an alternate delegate to the national convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln. His last vote was cast for President Mckinley in 1896. He was an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic and also belonged to the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. At Royalton, Vermont, September 15, 1842, he married Jane Blodgett, who was born at East Randolph, Vermont, March 21, 1818, and died at Malone, New York, May 2, 1893. She was a daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Converse) Blod- gett and through the maternal line a descendant of John and Priscilla (Mullens) Alden, who came over on the Mayflower. Dr. Calvin and Jane (Blodgett) Skinner were the parents of Eleanor Porter, Samuel Blodgett, Henry Carroll, Alice Leland, William Converse and Elizabeth Caroline and Emma Catherine, twins.

Thus the family line has been brought down through eight generations from Sergeant Thomas Skinner to Colonel William Converse Skinner, long one of the most distinguished factors in the business life of Hartford. He pursued his education in the grade and high schools of Malone until graduated in 1872, when he entered Trin- ity College of Hartford and won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1876, while subse- quently his alma mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. He served as clerk of the judiciary committee of the house of representatives of the New York legislature in the session following the completion of his college course and at the same time attended lectures at the Albany Law School, but a serious throat trouble prevented his further preparation for the bar and a year was spent in Colorado in regaining his health.

With his return east Colonel Skinner located in Hartford and in 1882 entered into partnership with General Henry C. Dwight, forming the firm of Dwight, Skinner & Company, prominently known for eighteen years in connection with the wool trade in Connecticut. When he withdrew from that business association in May, 1899, Colonel Skinner became an officer in the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, being elected a director and vice president July 2, 1901, while on the 5th of January, 1909, he was chosen president and remained the chief executive until January 1, 1911, when he resigned and was made chairman of the board of directors. Following the death of President Charles L. F. Robinson, however, he was reelected to the presi- dency July 13, 1916, and so continued until his own demise, wisely directing the affairs of a manufacturing enterprise that in extent and importance is unsurpassed by any similar concern in the country. There are few men who have shown such clear dis- cernment and such acumen in control of business interests, and because of this his counsel and advice were regarded as a most valuable factor by the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, of which he was a director, the Hartford Fire Insurance Company, the Phoenix National Bank, the Fidelity Trust Company and the Smyth Manufacturing Company, all of which he represented on the directorate. He was likewise a director and vice president of the Society for Savings and of Jay O. Bal- lard & Company. It would be impossible to overestimate the value of his work in the conduct of important business affairs, Hartford at all times benefitting by his labors.

On the 25th of October, 1880, Colonel Skinner was married to Miss Florence Clarissa Roberts, who was born in 1857 and died in 1904. She was a daughter of Ebenezer and Clarissa (Bancroft) Roberts, a great-granddaughter of Samuel Rob- erts, a Revolutionary war officer, and a descendant of Samuel and Mercy (Blake) Roberts, who settled in Middletown, Connecticut, as early as 1691. Colonel and Mrs. Skinner became parents of three children. Marjorie Roberts, born August 6, 1881, is the wife of Walter S. Trumbull, grandson of Lyman Trumbull, and resides in New York city. Roberts Keney, born October 1, 1886, attended Trinity College and married Marion, daughter of Harry Stedman, of Hartford. They have two children, Roberts Keney and Florence. The younger son, William Converse Skinner (II) is mentioned elsewhere in this work.

The family circle was broken by the hand of death when on the 22d of March, 1922, Colonel Skinner passed away. He had long held prominent position in connec- tion with fraternal, social and patriotic organizations. From his father he inherited membership in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion and his ancestral connections made possible his membership in the Society of the Mayflower Descendants, the Soci- ety of Colonial Wars and the Sons of the American Revolution. He belonged to St.

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John's Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M., and as a Trinity student became a member of the I. K. A. He held membership in the Farmington Country, Hartford and Hartford Golf clubs, the University Club and Union League Club of New York city, the Metro- politan and the Army and Navy clubs of Washington and the Princess Anne Club of Virginia. His membership in the Republican Club of Hartford was indicative of his political belief. His life activities were broad in scope and important in character and his interests placed him among the men of outstanding achievement in the world of business and finance as well as in the social and civic life of his state.

FREDERICK CHURCH BILLINGS

Frederick Church Billings, president of the firm of Billings & Spencer and thus an active factor in industrial circles in Hartford, was born in Utica, New York, October 21, 1864, his father being Charles Ethan Billings, who made notable con- tribution to the business development and the commercial progress and prosperity of Connecticut's capital. The removal of the family to Hartford led him to become a pupil in the public schools and he passed through consecutive grades to the high school, after which he made his intial step in the business world by entering upon an apprenticeship in the shops of Pratt & Whitney. There he thoroughly learned the machinist's trade, becoming a draftsman as well, and after comprehensive training in which he developed his skill and efficiency to a high point, he entered his father's establishment as a foreman. Here, as in his previous connection, he earned his advancement through diligence, determination and capability. Step by step he climbed upward, and in 1920 succeeded his father to the presidency of the firm of Billings & Spencer, thus becoming active in the management of one of the foremost industrial interests of the city.

In 1893 Mr. Billings was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Parker, a daughter of Edwin Pond Parker, a minister of the South Congregational church of Hartford. Their only child, a daughter, Frances Haywood, is now Mrs. William Monypenny Newson of New York, and they have one child, Sally Monypenny.

On the membership list of various social organizations appears the name of Mr. Billings, including the Hartford and Hartford Golf clubs, the Farmington Country Club, the Wampanoag Golf Club, the Union League Club of New York, the Lambs Club of New York and the Detroit Athletic Club. His genial qualities and his unfeigned cordiality make for strong friendships wherever he is known. He is a man of marked force of character, purposeful and decisive in action, and that his course has been one of steady progress has resulted from ability, natural and acquired, for his life has been a busy one and he has wisely used his opportunities.

GEORGE A. CHANDLER

George A. Chandler has a notable record of thirty-six years' connection with a business that has been in existence for one hundred and forty-one years, being the oldest established drug business in the country, and he manifests the same substantial qualities that have brought stability to the enterprise and have led to its continued success through the passing years, now numbering almost a century and a half. He feels justifiably proud of the fact that he is now the president of the Sisson Drug Company of Hartford, having been chosen for his present executive office in 1922.

His life story had its beginning in Hartford, July 29, 1874, his parents being George P. and Mary (Rich) Chandler, of this city. The family is of English lineage and in the mother country was awarded a coat-of-arms handsome and unique, tech- nically described as follows: "He beareth Checkie, Argent and Azure, on a Bend of the First Sable, three Lyons passant Gules. By the name of Chandler." The fol- lowing is given as its significance: "The crest borne on the closed helmet above the coat-of-arms is that of the Pelican in her nest, wounding her breast to feed her young with her own blood-an emblem of parental affection expressive of the family motto, Ad mortem fidelis. The mantle, cut and jagged, hanging from the helmet, indicates the faithful service of the wearer; the gauntlet, his prowess."

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William and Annis Chandler, with four children, settled in Roxbury, Massachu- setts, in 1637, and records show that William Chandler was the owner of twenty-two acres of land in 1638 and that he was made a freeman in 1640. He died the follow- ing year. His son, Captain Thomas Chandler, was about seven years of age when he accompanies his parents to Boston, Massachusetts, and thence removed to Roxbury, while subsequently he became one of the original proprietors and the twenty-third settler of Andover. His first military title was that of "Lieutenant in ye foot Com- pany in Andover, John Stephens, Ensign, under the command of Dudley Bradstreet, Capt." He served as representative to the general court in 1678-79, was a black- smith and owned "a considerable iron works." His wife, Hannah Brewer, died Octo- ber 25, 1717, and his will was probated February 8, 1702-03. Their son, William Chandler, born May 28, 1659, was married April 21, 1687, to Eleanor Phelps. They were parents of William Chandler (III), who was born July 20, 1689, married Susanna Burge, was a clothier and died July 27, 1756. His son, Benjamin Chandler, born about 1718, died at Petersham, June 14, 1798. He was married October 2, 1743, to Hannah Dutton, who died at Petersham, June 3, 1777. Their son, Benjamin Chand- ler (II), born August 4, 1752, died in Petersham, March 15, 1826, having made farming his life work. He married Jerusha Negus, who was born April 6, 1755, and died November 10, 1834. Their son, Abel Chandler, born June 9, 1778, was married June 22, 1806, to Mary Burrell, who was born June 13, 1784, and after the death of her first husband married again. She passed away February 10, 1871. Abel Gard- ner Chandler, son of her first marriage, was born November 14, 1810, and died Jan- uary 25, 1870. He became a machinist at Saxton's River, Vermont. On the 2d of June, 1836, he married Jane M. Hopkins, who was born November 20, 1808, and after her mother's death she was adopted by Silas Pratt, whose name she then bore till her marriage. She died in February, 1888.

George Perry Chandler, son of Abel Gardner and Jane M. Chandler, was born at Saxton's River, Vermont, September 15, 1844, and when but seventeen years of age became a teacher but afterward removed to Greenfield, Massachusetts, where he learned the drug business. On January 1, 1865, he became a resident of Hartford and entered the employ of Sisson & Butler, proprietors of the drug store now conducted under the name of the Sisson Drug Company. In 1871 he was admitted to partner- ship under the style of Sisson, Butler & Company and in 1907 the business was in- corporated under the name of the Sisson Drug Company, with Mr. Chandler as president and treasurer continuing as the directing head of the business until his death January 15, 1922, when he had served the company for fifty-seven years. He was a man of splendid business ability and marked executive force, and under his direction a small drug store was converted into one of the largest wholesale drug, chemical and paint houses in New England. Mr. Chandler was also vice president of the Prison Reform Association and served many years as chairman of its finance committee. In 1871 he became actively identified with the Charitable Society of Hartford, in which he also held office. He was a charter member and active worker in the Baptist church, gave his political allegiance to the republican party and was a Knight Templar Mason and Mystic Shriner. He was married January 30, 1868, to Mary L. Rich, who was born July 29, 1848, a daughter of John and Louisa (Gil- lerrt) Rich, of Greenfield, Massachusetts, and they became parents of two children: Charles B., who was born April 23, 1870, and died April 23, 1903; and George A.

The younger son was a pupil in the public and high schools of Hartford and then, attracted to the calling in which his father was so long prominent, he prepared for his active business career by practical experience with the company from 1891 and by study in the College of Pharmacy in Hartford, from which he was graduated with the class of 1897. He then returned to active association with the Sisson Drug Com- pany and is now in control of a business that had its inception in 1786 in a small store established by Daniel Hopkins. It was at a recent date, when officials of the company examined records that for many years had lain in the vaults, that there was established beyond doubt the fact that the business had been in existence from the date mentioned. An old book, tattered and torn, with some pages almost illegible and other pages missing, provides irrefutable evidence of the age of this concern. A building was erected by the company in 1828 at No. 729 Main street-the present site of the enterprise, at which time Lee & Butler were the owners. In 1850, Thomas Sisson was admitted to a partnership and in 1865 the firm name of Sisson & Butler was assumed. As stated, Mr. Chandler became an employe in 1865, a partner in

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1871, and in 1881 the firm name of T. Sisson & Company was adopted, while in 1907 the business was incorporated as the Sisson Drug Company. After fifty-seven years of connection with the business George Perry Chandler passed away and was suc- ceeded by his only surviving son, George A. Chandler of this review, through whose initiative and efforts the firm extended its business to include paints and in that connection has developed a trade that makes the house one of the foremost paint concerns in the country. The progressive policy of George A. Chandler has further found expression in the purchase of the large wholesale drug house of the Talcott company of Hartford, and today the enterprise that has had an existence of one hundred and forty-one years is now one of the largest and most important concerns of the kind in New England, conducting an extensive wholesale drug and paint busi- ness with ramifying trade relations reaching out into many sections of the country. In addition to his activities as president of the Sisson Drug Company, Mr. Chandler is a director of the Dime Savings Bank and also of the College of Pharmacy of New Haven.

On the 1st of October, 1902, Mr. Chandler was united in marriage to Miss Augusta May White, a daughter of Alfred and Jane M. (Case) White, of St. John, New Bruns- wick, Canada. They now have two children, Mary White and Olive Augusta.

In his political views Mr. Chandler is a republican and fraternally he is a Mason of high rank, having attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. His social prominence is manifest in his membership connection with the Hartford, Hart- ford Golf, City, Farmington Country, .Wampanoag Golf and Madison Country clubs, the last named of Madison, Connecticut. His entire life has reflected creditably upon a most honorable ancestral record. He possesses the enterprising spirit of the pres- ent day, which has been the dominant factor in producing the wonderful development of Hartford, and brooking no obstacles that honest effort can overcome, he has stead- ily advanced until he has long since left the ranks of the many and stands among the successful few.

EDWIN SETH TODD

From office boy to bank president and president of the Clark Brothers Bolt Company, Incorporated, at Milidale, is the business record of Edwin Seth Todd. Strong in his honor and his good name, he has achieved notable success in business but has not confined his efforts to the advancement of his own fortunes, for the con- sensus of public opinion is that few men have equaled him in his devotion to the general welfare and in effective effort for civic development and improvement.

Born in the East Farms district of the town of Waterbury, Connecticut, March 25, 1869, he was one of the two children of William E. and Emeline E. (Barnes) Todd. His sister, Eva L., who was born July 30, 1870, became the wife of Charles H. Clark, of Royalton, Vermont, and died December 7, 1903. Edwin S. Todd was but two years of age when left an orphan, after which he lived in the home of his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Lucinda (Pond) Barnes, who removed to Southington in the Marion district when the boy was a youth of nine years, so that he has been a resident of Southington continuously since 1878. He represents early New England families. His grandfather in the paternal line was Edwin Todd, a farmer of the town of Waterbury and a direct descendant of Christopher Todd, who was a member of the Davenport colony that came from Pomfret, England, and settled in New Haven in 1638. The maternal grandfather was Seth E. Barnes, who was born at Southing- ton, November 13, 1824, and died July 20, 1863, as a result of wounds sustained at Fort Wagner while serving in Company A of the Seventh Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers, while held as a prisoner of war at Charleston, South Carolina.

Edwin Seth Todd pursued his early education in the district school in Marion and afterward spent eighteen months as a student in the Lewis high school in Southington. In 1888 he secured a position in the country store owned by H. J. Newell in Marion and later bought a half interest in the business, when the name was changed to Newell & Todd. He sold out a year later. The following year he spent in the Adirondack mountains for the benefit of his health, leading an out-of- door life in the North woods and also teaching school in that region. On the 1st of

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EDWIN S. TODD

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October, 1892, he obtained employment as an office boy with the firm of Clark Brothers & Company of Milldale and throughout the intervening period to the present has been connected with the bolt industry. As the years passed he gained a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the business and was advanced from time to time, becoming a stockholder and an officer in the company in 1903, in which year he was instrumental in bringing about the incorporation of the business under the name of the Clark Brothers Bolt Company. For more than twenty years he served as general manager and in 1925 became president of the Clark Brothers Bolt Company, Incorporated, thus assuming executive control of one of the important productive industries of Milldale, where a large plant has been developed and splen- didly equipped, while the ramifying trade connections of the company cover a wide territory. With the development of his powers Mr. Todd has extended his efforts into other fields. He became vice president of the Southington Bank & Trust Com- pany, and is also vice president of the Southington Savings Bank and a director of the Atwater Manufacturing Company, the Southington Hardware Company and other manufacturing enterprises.

On the 23d of October, 1895, Mr. Todd and Miss Layette C. Newell, a daughter of Henry J. and Sophia (Bayrer) Newell, of Marion, were married. Mr. Todd has always been a lover of music and when a youth of but fifteen years was identified with some of the musical organizations of Southington and when but twenty years of age was the leader of "Todd's Orchestra." He has ever figured prominently in the business and social clubs of his community and is widely known in fraternal circles, being a Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Sons of Veterans. He is perhaps even more widely known through his efficient activities in behalf of public progress and improvement. He favors all those projects which are based upon true humanitarian principles and has served as president of the Hospital Corporation of Southington, while for many years he acted as secretary and treasurer of the board of water commissioners without compensation. He was also president of the Parsons Golf Corporation. Any project tending to promote the general welfare has been sure to receive his endorsement and support and through- out his entire life he has been actuated by a progressive spirit that has enabled him to reach his objectives.

WILLIAM W. COTTER

William W. Cotter, registrar of voters for the City of Hartford, was here born July 12, 1888, and is a son of William and Ellen (Waters) Cotter, the former a native of Boston, while the latter was born in Northfield, Vermont. The father was brought to Hartford in 1849 by his parents, when but a year old, and became a sewer contractor. After he had attained his majority he filled the office of registrar of voters of Hartford for about thirty years. Having been here reared and educated, he was well known in the community and enjoyed and merited the respect and good will of those with whom he was associated. He was an earnest supporter of and an active worker in the ranks of the democratic party and he passed away July 14, 1916.

Having attended the public schools of Hartford until he had completed a course in the high school by graduation with the class of 1906, William W. Cotter then entered Trinity College as a member of the class of 1911. When his course was completed he became associated with his father in the registrar's office, filling the position of deputy, and at the death of his father in 1916 succeeded to the position, so that his entire business career has closely associated him with the duties that now devolve upon him. During the World war he was a member of the original registration board of district No. 2 of Hartford, through appointment of Governor Holcomb, and he was appointed by President Wilson a member of the draft board of district No. 2, being the democratic member on the board. He gave a great deal of time to war work, took an active part in all of the drives and did everything in his power to further the interests of the country during that momentous period.

On the 26th of June, 1922, Mr. Cotter was married to Miss Mary E. O'Laughlin, of Hartford, and they now have two children: William, who was born July 18, 1926; and Betty Joan, born February 17, 1928. The family residence is at No. 28 Hebron street in Hartford. Mr. Cotter belongs to the Hartford Lodge of Elks, to the Royal

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 40

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