History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 48

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 48

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father, Erastus Tucker, under the firm name of E. Tucker & Sons. The family has been represented in Hartford for more than eighty years and the mother taught in the old Brown school in the early days.

Edwin Hovey Tucker attended the public schools of this city until graduated from the high school with the class of 1886, after which he started out in the business world by securing a position in the City Bank of Hartford, now the City Bank & Trust Company. He remained with that institution until 1916, rising to the position of cashier, and then resigned to engage in the insurance business as a representative of the Mutual Life of New York. In 1918 he enlisted for service in the World war as a member of Company C of the First Regiment of the Connecticut State Guard on the first assembly night of what was to the United States its World war period. He remained with that organization until it was mustered out and was adjutant of the Second Batalion with the rank of first lieutenant. He was always on duty in this state until discharged in March, 1921.

On the 2d of June, 1898, Mr. Tucker was married to Miss Ada M. Woodford, a daughter of David and Isabelle (Chapman) Woodford, of Hartford. They have one son, Edwin Woodford Tucker, who was born June 4, 1899, and is now engaged in the brokerage business here. He was married in September, 1924, to Miss Gertrude Mar- shall, of New Haven, Connecticut, and they have one child, Edwin Marshall, born December 20, 1927.

Mr. Tucker is a member of the Hartford Golf Club, which indicates that he finds much of his pleasure and recreation on the links. He is a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants of the state of Connecticut and its present treasurer. He rep- resents one of the oldest and best known families of New England, the name being inseparably associated with many events that have made history and with much that has pertained to the progress and upbuilding of this section. He was a pupil in the first session held in the West Middle school building and has witnessed many of the changes which have occurred in Hartford as modern-day development has been brought about. Successive generations of the family have kept in touch with the work of advancement and Edwin H. Tucker, in the same spirit of progress, has shown those qualities which have established him as a substantial citizen and a thoroughly reliable business man.

SCHUYLER WILLIAMS

Varied experiences have featured in the life record of Schuyler Williams, an honored and respected resident of Plainville, who after many years of activity in the educational field is now living retired, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. Mr. Williams was born in the town of Barkhamsted, Connecticut, August 30, 1849, his parents being Douglas and Sophronia (Holcomb) Williams, who in March, 1858, removed to a large farm in the south district of the town of Southing- ton, Connecticut. As a youth Schuyler Williams pursued the course of study offered by the public schools of that town and later he entered the Hudson River Institute and Claverack College at Claverack, New York, a military school. He succeeded the drill master there and for two years was in charge of the school battalion. On leaving there he became a student in Yale University and was graduated with the class of 1873. He then went to Granby, Connecticut, where for one year he was an instructor in a private school for boys. At that time there were a number of Chinese young men of noble family being educated in America at different schools at the expense of the government of China, and Mr. Williams had two of this group in charge. In 1874 he came to Plainville, Connecticut, where he consolidated the Plainville school system, and for seventeen consecutive years continued to fill the office as instructor and supervising official of schools. Upon resigning in 1891, he was offered several lucra- tive positions in the educational field among which should be mentioned the principal- ship of the Meriden high school and the superintendency of the school of Ypsilanti, Michigan, but he accepted the more responsible position of principal of the Prospect street grammar school at Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he remained until he reached the age of retirement in 1920. He then returned to Plainville, where he owns his home, and is now spending the evening of life in well earned retirement.

Mr. Williams was married at Southington, Connecticut, in 1875, to Miss Josephine

SCHUYLER WILLIAMS

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E. Woodruff and they became parents of a daughter Martha Josephine Bullen, who is the mother of one son, Frederick Williams Bullen.

Mr. Williams is an active member of the Congregational church in Plainville in which he has served as chairman of the board of trustees, deacon and Sunday school superintendent. He was formerly president of the Connecticut State Teachers Association. He was instrumental in organizing the Plainville Improvement Associa- tion, later the Chamber of Commerce of Plainville, and was its first president.

In his political views Mr. Williams has been a republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. On various occasions he has been called to local office and for fifteen years efficiently served as justice of the peace until age retire- ment. He was also at one time a member of the school board at Plainville and for many years was a grand juror. He served as chairman of the board of assessors for two years and was a member of that board altogether for eight years. He represented his town at the nomination of Henry Harrison for governor of Connecticut in 1885 and has ever labored earnestly and consistently for the success of his party. At the present writing he is serving as a member of the board of assessors of Plainville and always in public office he has given unswerving loyalty to the interests entrusted in his care, seeking ever to promote progress and improvement in matters of public concern. He holds membership in the Southington blue lodge of Masons and in the Royal Arch chapter, and that he is a representative of one of the old American families is indicated in his connection with the Sons of the American Revolution. The same spirit which prompted his ancestors to espouse the cause of liberty has ever been manifest in Schuyler Williams and he has especially sought the field of intellectual liberty that comes through wide reading, study and research. A broad- minded man of high ideals, his life work has been of intense value to the communities in which he has labored.

MAJOR JOSEPH P. NOLAN

Major Joseph P. Nolan, dealer in office supplies in Hartford, in which connection he has developed a business of substantial proportions, ranking him with the repre- sentative merchants of the city, was here born August 14, 1894. His parents, Patrick P. and Mary (Bray) Nolan, are natives of Ireland, whence they came to America in youth, settling in Hartford, where they have now resided for more than a half century, the father carrying on business as a carpenter.

Major Nolan was educated in the public schools of Hartford until graduated from high school, and when his textbooks were put aside he entered the employ of the Sisson Drug Company, with which he remained from 1914 until after the World war was declared. He enlisted in the First Connecticut Ambulance Corps on the 13th of Febru- ary, 1913, which initiated his military experience as a member of the National Guard. He served for three years, going through the grades as corporal sergeant and sergeant first-class in the Medical Corps. On the expiration of this period of enlistment he again enrolled in June, 1916, as a member of the First Connecticut Infantry to serve on the Mexican border, and in March, 1917, he was mustered into the federal army by the call of President Wilson and was with a detachment of the First Connecticut Regiment as top sergeant, serving at Hartford until June, when he was sent with the detachment to Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont, there remaining until the 1st of September. At that date he joined the One Hundred and Second United States Infantry, which was sta- tioned at Yale Field and had been made up of the old First and Second Connecticut Regiments. With this command he went overseas on the transport Antilles, which was sunk on its return trip. He arrived at Saint-Nazaire, France, in September, 1917, and was in training at Neufchateau for some time. In February, 1918, he went into actual combat and participated in the battle of Seicheprey, the first engagement in which the Americans participated and in which he was taken prisoner. He was then sent as a prisoner of war to Geissen and later to Darmstadt, both in Hesse, Germany, and afterward to Tuchel in West Prussia. He was paraded in Berlin, June 28, 1918, with representatives of all the other army prisoners, which was to demonstrate to Berlin's citizens that the German troops were holding prisoners. While he was at Tuchel, West Prussia, the Spanish ambassador visited him and others, looking out for the welfare of American prisoners. Complaints were made and Major Nolan was

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instrumental in securing the removal of the prisoners to Rastatt. He learned of the signing of the armistice two days after it occurred through a Russian feltwable. He was repatriated as a prisoner of war on the 10th of December, 1918, afterward made his way to Danzig and sailed on a Danish Red Cross boat from that port, arriving after three days at Copenhagen, where he and his companions were well received by the American consul and spent the night. Three days later they arrived in Leith, Scot- land, where they were supplied with new clothes and other necessaries; were then taken through a number of camps and eventually rejoined the American army at Win- chester, England, December 25, 1918, but penniless, having had no money for eleven months. In January, 1919, they sailed from Liverpool for America. After returning to Hartford, Major Nolan organized the Service Company, which he commanded from May 23, 1921, until July 10, 1926, when he was made major and placed in command of the Third Battalion, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Infantry, Connecticut National Guard.

With his return to civil life Major Nolan again became identified with the Sisson Drug Company, with which he continued until August, 1925, when he established busi- ness on his own account as a printer and dealer in office supplies. He has built up a substantial trade which is steadily growing and which is well merited by reason of the methods he pursues and the excellent workmanship manifest in all that he does.

Major Nolan resides at No. 21 Sterling street. He gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He also belongs to the American Legion and thus keeps in touch with his army comrades. One of his interesting experiences of the World war was that he was presented to Princess Louise, the daughter of Queen Victoria, at Leith, Scotland, by an English officer. His military service has carried him into many regions and has brought him experiences sometimes difficult, ofttimes pleasant. In days of peace he is equally loyal to the interests of his city and his course in business makes for progress and for success.

FRANK EDMOND BEL

Frank Edmond Bel, senior partner of the firm of Bel & Dunham, investments, in Hartford, was born in Oakland, California, October 10, 1881, and has reversed the usual order of procedure of western emigration. From the Pacific boundary he has come to the east and has found in its business fields opportunity for continuous progress and successful achievement. His parents, Alphonse and Sarah F. (Proctor) Bel, were natives of Paris, France, and New Hampshire, respectively, and in 1885, leaving their home in California, they became residents of Middletown, Connecticut, where their son, Frank E., attended the public and high schools. In 1899 a further removal was made to Hartford and Mr. Bel of this review, then a youth of eighteen years, entered the employ of the Aetna Life Insurance Company as office boy in 1900. With that corporation he worked his way steadily upward and when he with- drew in 1914 he was holding the office of chief underwriter in the accident department and had gained wide, comprehensive and accurate knowledge of the insurance business. In 1914 he became associated with the personal accident department of the Hartford Accident & Indemnity Company as chief clerk and remained with them until Novem- ber, 1917, when he enlisted in the United States army and at Plattsburg, New York, was commissioned a first lieutenant. Subsequently he was stationed at Camp Devens and in July, 1918, went overseas with the Seventy-sixth Division, remaining in France until September, 1919, when he received an honorable discharge.

Lieutenant Bel then returned to his position with the Hartford Accident & In- demnity Company and so remained until 1920, when he became a representative of Raymond, Rich & Company of Boston, acting as manager of that house in Hartford as senior partner in the firm of Bel & Dunham. They handle investments, in which connection they have gained a large clientele.

On the 22d of May, 1920, Mr. Bel was married to Miss Harriette O. Patterson. of Hartford, and they have one child, Frank Edmond, Jr., born January 10, 1922. Politi- cally Mr. Bel is a republican, having always given stanch support to the party. Fraternally he is a Mason and socially is connected with a number of important clubs, being vice president of the Automobile Club of Hartford, a member of the board of governors of the City Club and also a member of the Hartford Golf Club and Shelter

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(Photograph by The Johnstone Studio)

FRANK E. BEL

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Harbor Country Club. The well balanced man is the one who not only works well but plays well, and Mr. Bel recognizes the value of recreation. He yet has right to use the title of lieutenant, for he holds that commission in the Governor's Foot Guard. He has many friends, for all enjoy his companionship, and at the same time he has gained an accredited position in financial circles, his enterprise and laudable ambition carrying him to an enviable place among the representatives of investment houses in Hartford.

RAOUL A. V. SILICIANO, M. D.

Dr. Raoul A. V. Siliciano, numbered among those who are devoting their attention to the work of the medical profession in Bristol, was born at Messina, Italy, on the 14th of February, 1898, a son of Vito and Teresa (Milazzo) Siliciano, but was only four years of age when he left that sunny land, being brought by his mother, to the United States, his father having previously died. The family home was established in New Haven, Connecticut, and there after reaching the usual age the Doctor entered the Hopkins grammar school, passing through consecutive grades to the high school. In young manhood he resolved to become a member of the medical profession and to this end he matriculated in Columbia University of New York city, while later he attended Hahnemann Medical School of Chicago and gained his M. D. degree when graduated with the class of 1924. He served as interne in the Polyclinic and Henrotin Hospital in Chicago and thus gained broad and valuable experience such as can be acquired as rapidly in no other way as in hospital practice. In 1924 and 1925 he was house physician at the Metropolitan Hospital in New York city, and in the latter year he opened an office in Bristol, where he has since remained. Desirous of making his service of the greatest possible benefit to his fellowmen, he took a postgraduate course in the New Haven School of Physio Therapy in 1927 and a course in surgery at the New York Post Graduate and Medical School in 1928. For seven weeks during 1928 he had charge of the Isolation Hospital during the smallpox epidemic, this being first established in Bristol, and was acting health officer during the summer of 1928.

On the 30th of June, 1924, at Waterbury, Connecticut, Dr. Siliciano was united in marriage to Esther S. Riccio, the first Italian teacher of Waterbury, Connecticut. She is a graduate of Danbury Normal School. They are the parents of a son, Robert. They are fast gaining a wide acquaintance in Bristol, where they have won many friends and where Dr. Siliciano has been accorded an extensive practice, especially among those of Italian birth or descent. Actuated by a laudable ambition, he is work- ing his way steadily upward in his chosen calling and has already reached a most creditable position.

FREDERICK RICHARD MANNING

On the roll of capable and forceful members of the Hartford bar appears the name of Frederick Richard Manning, who with offices at 902 Main street is practicing suc- cessfully, his capability having won for him a large and gratifying clientage. A native of Connecticut, he was born in Manchester, March 21, 1885, and is a son of Richard and Jane Ella (Green) Manning, the former having been born in Hartford and the mother at the old family home in Manchester, where their son was born. The Manning family were early residents of the capital city and the grandfather, Charles Manning, was the "boss" blacksmith in the roundhouse of the Fishkill & Hudson Railroad. His son, Richard Manning, learned and followed the carpenter's trade and for forty-four years had charge of outside construction for Cheney Brothers, silk manufacturers. In the maternal line, too, the family history is one of long and close connection with Con- necticut. Daniel L. Green, grandfather of Frederick R. Manning, was a carpenter and general contractor and erected a large number of buildings throughout this section of the state. He removed to Connecticut from Rhode Island and purchased a home in Manchester about 1850, the property still being in the possession of his daughter, Mrs. Manning, she and her husband now living at the old homestead.

Frederick Richard Manning, their son, obtained a district school education, which 18-VOL. 3

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he supplemented by a high school course, and then, desiring to enter upon a profes- sional career, became a law student at Yale and was graduated with the class of 1909. In July of the same year he was admitted to the Connecticut bar and entered upon active practice in the following February, opening an office in Hartford, where he has since continued alone, building up his clientage by reason of his accurate knowledge of the law and ability to apply its principles to the points in litigation. While advance- ment at the bar is proverbially slow, he has made steady progress and his devotion to his clients' interests is a well known factor in his growing success.

Mr. Manning is known in Masonic circles through his membership in Manchester Lodge, No. 73, F. & A. M., at Manchester, and he also belongs to Manchester Grange, No. 31, Patrons of Husbandry. He makes his home with his parents in his native town, while following his profession in the capital, and what he has already accom- plished promises well for further success in the future.

JAMES A. WALSH

James A. Walsh, general agent for the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, with offices at 750 Main street in Hartford, was born in Burlington, Ver- mont, October 23, 1887, a son of Thomas H. and Mary J. (Beatty) Walsh, who were also natives of the Green Mountain state, where the father held the responsible posi- tion of superintendent with the Shepard & Morse Lumber Company of Burlington.

James A. Walsh was graduated from the Edmunds high school of his native city as a member of the class of 1905 and then entered the employ of the Central Vermont Railroad Company as telegraph operator and station agent, representing that corpora- tion in Burlington and in Montpelier through a period of about ten years. He then came to Hartford in 1913 and for a time served as telegraph operator under E. R. Ryder of the Western Union. In 1914 he became associated with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company under F. A. Griswold, with whom he remained until February, 1924, and during that decade gained intimate and comprehensive knowledge of the business. He next became associated with the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company as general agent at Hartford and in this connection has built up a large and prosperous business which has steadily grown until he now has forty agents under him in the Connecticut territory. He wisely directs and stimulates the efforts of those who represent him and his unabating energy and unfaltering industry have constituted the foundation upon which he has built his present gratifying success.

On the 4th of May, 1916, Mr. Walsh was married to Miss A. Loraine Claffey, of Hartford, Connecticut, and they now have two children, James A., Jr., and Dorothy Loraine. The family residence is at No. 21 Vanderbilt road in West Hartford. Mr. Walsh is not a club man, preferring to devote his time to his business and his family, finding his greater happiness at his own fireside and delighting in his success because of what it enables him to do for the members of his household.

MORGAN HYDE STEDMAN

Morgan Hyde Stedman is agent for the Travelers Insurance Company at Hartford and thus connected with a business which has been a basic element in the commercial and financial growth of this city. With the steady growth of insurance interests here the requirements have been more strict, the work has been more thoroughly system- atized, and he who would essay effort in this field must measure up to high standards of service. This Mr. Stedman has done and his agency has become a profitable under- taking. Born in Hartford on the 2d of October, 1897, he is a son of Harry Brimmer and Margaret (Porter) Stedman, both of whom were born in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1882 the father visited Hartford on a trip and ten years later established his home in this city, where he is now senior partner of the firm of Stedman & Redfield, handling commercial paper.

Reared under the parental roof, Morgan H. Stedman attended the public schools and had reached his nineteenth year when the United States entered the World war. He then enlisted for service in the navy and made twelve trips overseas on convoy ships.

JAMES A. WALSH

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He was also in the transport service as a seaman and petty officer and he made landing at Bordeaux, Brest and Southampton. He enlisted for four years as a member of the regular navy but was released after about three and one-half years of active duty on the high seas, being mustered out at Bay Ridge, New York, in September, 1920.

With his return to Hartford, Mr. Stedman secured a position with the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, with which he remained for three years, and he was afterward with the M. S. Little Company for several months. In April, 1924, he became associated with the Travelers and has made a great success in connection with the insurance business. He represents and writes all lines of insurance and has bent every energy to a thorough mastery of the business, so that his work is based upon intel- ligent argument and understanding as well as executive ability and close application.

On the 22d of October, 1924, Mr. Stedman was married to Miss Elizabeth Way, a daughter of John L. Way, and they have become parents of two children, John Way and Marion Stedman, who are with their parents in a pleasant residence at 173 Bloom- field avenue. Something of the nature of his recreation is indicated in the fact that Mr. Stedman is identified with the Hartford Club, the Hartford Golf Club and with several fish and game clubs, and he enjoys life in the open when leisure permits. He still holds his membership in the Bachelors Club and his social qualities make him popu- lar with a large circle of associates and friends.

CHARLES ARCHIBALD GOODWIN

Charles Archibald Goodwin, member of the bar, was born in Hartford, November 18, 1876, a son of the Rev. Francis Goodwin, whose life history is given elswhere in this work. After attending private school he became a student in St. Paul's School at Concord, New Hampshire, entered Yale with the class of 1898, where he won his Bachelor of Arts degree, and in 1901 was graduated with the LL. B. degree from the Harvard Law School. With his admission to the bar January 1, 1902, he entered the law office of Gross, Hyde & Shipman, continuing with the firm until January 1, 1904, when he joined M. Toscan Bennett under the firm style of Bennett & Goodwin. He served as executive secretary to Governor George L. Lilley. Following the gover- nor's death he tendered his resignation to his successor, Governor Frank B. Weeks, but this was not accepted by the chief executive, he feeling that he could not dispense with Mr. Goodwin's services.

A firm principle of Mr. Goodwin's from his earliest days had been that citizens should interest themselves in public affairs. Because of his own evidence of interest in his ward and his influence in arousing others, he had become chairman of the republican town committee, a position which he accepted-and used-for the purpose of maintaining high standards for the administration of city affairs. He had the hearty cooperation of democratic leaders along the same line. His position at the capitol had given him wide acquaintanceship and in the fall of 1910, while only thirty-four, he was his party's candidate for governor. Against him the democrats put their most powerful man, Hon. Simeon E. Baldwin of New Haven, lawyer, pro- fessor and long chief justice, at that time retiring because of the age limit,-one of Connecticut's most distinguished sons. While in presidential years the state had demonstrated that it was not party-bound, in the "off" years it had shown repub- lican proclivities except when the democrats had named preeminent citizens, like Chief Justice Charles B. Andrews after his retirement. The year 1910 was an "off" year and again an honored jurist won, both at this election and at the next. Mr. Goodwin's zeal for better government through the keener interest of all citizens has continued unabated and helpful, but his profession and his many connections outside of politics have demanded a larger portion of his time. In corporation law and the handling of estates and matters of public interest, the firm of Shipman & Goodwin is one of the strongest in the state. With Mr. Goodwin and Arthur L. Shipman are associated George H. Day and W. Arthur Countryman, Jr., in the Essex building on Lewis street, in the conception and erection of which structure Mr. Goodwin was the prime mover.

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 48

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