History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 8

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 8

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On the 12th of April, 1865, Mr. Buck was married to Miss Mary A. Keeney, of Manchester, Connecticut, and to them were born a daughter and a son: Florence

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

K., who became the wife of Jacob H. Greene, of Hartford; and John Halsey, men- tioned elsewhere in this work. In his own home Mr. Buck was a hospitable host, kindly, cordial and considerate, and his circle of friends was an extensive one. He died February 6, 1917, having left an indelible impress upon the history of the state through his devotion to the highest ideals of the legal profession and through most loyal and efficient service in public office.

JOHN H. BUCK

On the list of those who are representatives of the legal profession in Hartford appears the name of John H. Buck, whose course has ever reflected credit and honor upon the Hartford bar. His clientele today is extensive, connecting him with many of the most important legal interests that figure in the records of civil law procedure. Born in Hartford, August 12, 1869, he is a son of John R. and Mary A. (Keeney) Buck. The father, who died February 6, 1917, was long one of the leading attorneys of his day. The son, after leaving the high school, enrolled as a student in Yale University with the class of 1891 and in due course of time won his Bachelor of Arts degree. He studied law in the office and under the direction of his father and his thorough preliminary reading enabled him to pass the required bar examination in 1893. He then began practice in association with his father, the business connection between them continuing until the latter's death, after which time John H. Buck remained alone until 1918, when he formed a partnership with Captain Anson T. McCook under the firm style of Buck & McCook. The thoroughness and care with which he has ever prepared his cases have made Mr. Buck a formidable adversary in the courts and the breadth of his legal knowledge, combined with his analytical power, has constituted him a safe counselor and wise adviser on legal matters. In business circle, too, Mr. Buck is known through his connection with the directorate of the National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford, the Hartford County Mutual Fire Insurance Company and the Phoenix State Bank & Trust Company and he is also secretary as well as director of the Taylor & Fenn Company. He is a director of the American School at Hartford for the Deaf and of the Cedar Hill Cemetery Association.

On the 4th of October, 1906, Mr. Buck was married to Miss Edith A. Albin, a daughter of John and Georgia A. (Modica) Albin, of Concord, New Hampshire, and they now have two children: Richard A., born October 21, 1909; and Mary, born September 17, 1917.

Mr. Buck votes with the republican party and his official service was as a member of the city council and as executive secretary to Governor Lorrin A. Cooke from 1897 until 1899. He belongs to the Hartford, Hartford Golf and Wampanoag Country clubs and his interest in organizations for the public welfare is manifest in helpful service as a director of the American School for the Deaf. Along strictly professional lines he has membership with the Hartford County, Connecticut State and American Bar associations, and that he has ever been a loyal adherent of the highest ethics and standards of the profession is indicated in the warm regard enter- tained for him by his fellow members of the legal fraternity in the capital city.

JUDGE EDWARD B. BENNETT

The name of Judge Edward B. Bennett, now deceased, was closely associated with Hartford's history through a period of fifty-eight years. He came to the capital as a young man and filled various public offices, while for an extended period lie was widely and prominently known as a lawyer and lawmaker. He was born in Hampton, Windham county, Connecticut, April 12, 1842, his parents being William and Marina (Brown) Bennett. The early American ancestors of the family came from England and settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts, whence removal was afterward made to Hampton. There William Bennett figured as a leading and influential citizen and was chosen to represent his district in the general assembly of Connecticut.

In the pursuit of his education Judge Edward B. Bennett attended Williston

(Photograph by The Johnstone Studio)

JUDGE EDWARD B. BENNETT

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

Seminary at Easthampton, Massachusetts, there remaining from 1860 until 1862, when he enrolled as a student in Yale. His course was completed by graduation from the law school with the class of 1866 and after a brief period devoted to practice in Hampton he came to Hartford, where he established an office in 1869. Through the intervening years to the time of his death he continued an active member of the bar of this city and for a time was associated in practice with George O. Brott. He made steady progress at the bar, winning recognition as one of its able representatives, owing to the thoroughness with which he prepared his cases and the wise legal counsel which he gave to his clients. His clear reasoning and logical deductions were manifest in all of his legal work. He readily recognized the relation between cause and effect and he was seldom, if ever, at fault in the application of a law principle. He had been a resident of Hartford for only a brief period when he was called upon to aid in the execution and later in framing the laws of the state. In fact, while still a resident of Hampton, he was elected to the general assembly in 1868 and in the following year became assistant clerk of the house, while in 1870 he was chosen clerk of the senate. In 1871 he became clerk of the Hartford police court and filled that position continuously until 1874. The second ward of the city chose him as its councilman in 1873, while from 1878 until 1891 he occupied the bench of the police court, making a notable record for the fairness and impartiality of his decisions. On the first of June, 1891, through presidential appointment, he became postmaster of Hartford and filled the office until January 18, 1896, while he was again called to that position on the 1st of February, 1900, and remained postmaster until June 1, 1907. In the meantime-in 1904-he succeeded John P. Harbison as president of the Hart- ford City Gas Light Company and so continued to the time of his demise. Judge Bennett was also a director of the Travelers Insurance Company and the Travelers Fire Insurance Company, and his legal knowledge and sound judgment proved of great value in the successful conduct of the interests of these corporations. He had previously served as president of the Springfield Waste Company of Springfield and as president of the Farmington River Power Company.

In April, 1877, Judge Bennett was married to Miss Alice Howard, daughter of James L. Howard, who was lieutenant-governor of Connecticut from 1887 until 1889. They were separated by the hand of death on the 25th of March, 1927, Judge Bennett passing away at the venerable age of eighty-four years. While a student at Yale in his young manhood he was actively interested in athletics and rowed as No. 5 on the famous Wilbur Bacon crew which defeated Harvard twice on successive days at Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1865. For three years he was a member of the varsity crew and was most prominent in intercollegiate athletic interests and events. He was the last survivor of the "Hawley Old Guard," a group of men united by the common purpose of supporting the late General Joseph H. Hawley in his campaigns to become governor, representative and United States senator. He took the keenest interest in public affairs and his activities were always of a constructive nature, seeking the benefit and progress of city and commonwealth. He gave efficient service to the American School for the Deaf as one of its directors and also as a member of the advisory board of the Hartford Orphan Asylum. His interests and his labors touched life at many points. He was president of the Hartford Yale Alumni Asso- ciation in 1901 and 1902, was a member of the Republican Club of Hartford, the University Club, the Hartford Club, and the Connecticut Historical Society. He was usually seen in those gatherings where men of intelligence were met in the discussion of vital civic, public or philanthropic projects, and his high standing as a man, as a citizen, as a lawyer, a jurist and a legislator is indicated in the fact that at his demise a number of the most prominent men of the city acted as honorary pallbearers when he was laid to rest.

FRANCIS GOODWIN (II)

Francis Goodwin (II), secretary and treasurer of the Silas Chapman Company, Incorporated, conducting one of the old established fire insurance agencies of Hart- ford, was born April 30, 1895, and is numbered among the young men whose activities have greatly furthered the interests of insurance here. His parents were Rev. James and Frances Whittlesey (Brown) Goodwin, who are mentioned on another page of

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

this work. While spending his youthful days under the parental roof he improved the opportunities for educational training accorded by the public school system of Hartford and afterward entered St. Paul's School at Concord, New Hampshire, there pursuing his preparatory course, while his more specifically literary course was taken at Yale University, which numbers him among its alumni of 1918.

In the meantime-in April, 1917-Mr. Goodwin enlisted for service in the United States navy, and in March, 1918, was commissioned ensign. He was on duty until September, 1919, when he received his discharge and returned home. Immediately after he sought employment, which he secured with the firm of Todd, Irons & Robert- son, building contractors of New York, with whom he remained until November, 1921. Again coming to Hartford, he here turned his attention to the insurance business with the firm of Beardsley & Beardsley, with whom he continued until 1924, when he became secretary and treasurer of the Silas Chapman Company, Incorporated, and thus entered into active relations with one of the old fire insurance agencies of the city. His previous experience stood him in good stead. He has thoroughly studied fire insurance in all of its varied phases and his broad knowledge enables him to speak authoritatively concerning the business in all of its departments. Moreover, his executive force enables him to wisely direct the activities of the company and contribute to its growing success.

On the 24th of April, 1924, Mr. Goodwin was married to Miss Janet Stanley, a daughter of James N. and Caroline (Zelie) Stanley, of Brookline, Massachusetts. He has membership in the Yale Club of New York and the Dauntless Club of Essex. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is now serving for the second term as alderman from the eleventh ward, giving thoughtful and earnest consideration to municipal problems and seeking at all times to advance civic standards and promote municipal improvement.

REV. FRANCIS GOODWIN

Rev. Francis Goodwin, of the seventh generation of the Goodwin family in America, devoted practically his entire life to service for others in the ministry and in the fields of education and benevolence, and his life was of such signal usefulness and benefit to his fellowmen as to reflect still further honor upon a name that has figured prominently in the history of New England since 1632, when Ozias Goodwin came from his native England and landed at Boston, Massachusetts. Extended refer- ence to the ancestral line is made in the sketch of James Junius Goodwin elsewhere in this work, the latter being a brother of the Rev. Francis Goodwin. Their parents were Major James and Lucy (Morgan) Goodwin, and in the family home in Hartford the son Francis was born September 25, 1839. At the usual age he became a public school pupil and made substantial progress in his studies, so that he had done con- siderable work in the high school when at the age of fifteen years he entered the employ of Howe, Mather & Company, dry goods merchants, with whom he continued for two years. New York city then became the scene of his activities, and until May, 1857, he was there associated with the firm of Morton & Grinnell, but the high purpose of devoting his life to the uplift of his fellowmen had become a dominant force in him and he began preparation for the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal church, pursuing his studies under private instruction for a time and afterward in the Berkeley Divinity School at Middletown, which he entered in October, 1860, there completing his course in May, 1863. He was ordained a deacon in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Middletown by the Right Rev. John D. Williams, D. D., diocesan bishop, and the following month Rev. Mr. Goodwin received appointment to the position of chaplain to the bishop, being placed in charge of the missions at Durham, North Guilford, North Killingworth and Ponset, with residence at Middletown. In July of the same year Trinity College conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts, and on the 19th of December following he was ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal church by Bishop Williams. From May, 1865, until he resigned in November, 1871, he was rector of Trinity Protestant Episcopal church of Hartford, and from April until December, 1872, he was in charge of St. John's church at Hartford, while from April, 1874, until May, 1875, he was pastor of Trinity church at Wethersfield. In November, 1876, he was called to the Church of the Good Shepherd in Hartford, where he con-

(Photograph by Randall)

REV. FRANCIS GOODWIN

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

tinued until June, 1877, and in 1878, on the division of the archdeaconries, he was elected the first archdeacon of Hartford, filling that high office until February, 1888, or for a period of a decade.

In his later years business engrossed much of his time and attention, but he never ceased to feel the deepest interest in the church or to aid in its various activities. Throughout his life he gave much attention to the study of architecture, and not only drew the plans for his father's beautiful residence on Woodland street, but also superin- tended its construction. After the father's death in 1878 he was associated with his brother, James Junius Goodwin, in the management of the estate, which brought him into close and prominent connection with various business and financial interests. Nor did he abate his service to mankind, though it took a different form from active duty in the ministry. In 1875 he became a trustee of the Berkeley Divinity School of Middletown and so continued for many years. He was also president of the board of trustees having in charge the bishop's fund. In 1884 he was elected a trustee of Trinity College of Hartford, was made a trustee of the Watkinson Library of Refer- ence in 1875, and in 1877 a trustee of the Watkinson Farm School and Juvenile Asylum, becoming president of the board in 1879. His incumbency in all of these positions continued for many years and he rendered signal service to each. He also gave valuable aid to his city in the management and control of municipal affairs. In 1879 he entered upon a year's term as street commissioner and beginning in 1880 served for many years as park commissioner. In 1887 he was made a member of the board of school visitors and long held that office, while from 1881 he served as a director of the Retreat for the Insane, and from 1886 until 1890 was first vice president, then president of the Wadsworth Athenaeum of Hartford. He was also president of the board of trustees of Keney Park and thus the aid which he rendered in municipal affairs was of incalculable worth and benefit to his native city.

When the trials and perplexities of the ministry, of business life or of humanitarian service pressed hard upon the Rev. Mr. Goodwin, he ever found peace and happiness in his home in the companionship of wife and children. He was married June 3, 1863, to Miss Mary Alsop Jackson, who was born in Middletown, Connecticut, July 14, 1842, and was the second daughter of Commodore Charles Hunter Jackson of the United States Navy and a descendant of Edward Jackson, whose residence at Newton, Massa- chusetts, dated from 1643. Her mother was Martha Lawrence Willard prior to her marriage to Commodore Jackson. Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Goodwin became the parents of eight children. James, born February 10, 1865, became prominently known as a clergyman and devoted citizen of Hartford, where he died January 3, 1917. William Brownell Goodwin was born October 7, 1866, and educated at St. Paul's School, Trinity College and Yale University. Sarah Morgan was born May 7, 1868, became the wife of Henry S. Robinson and is now deceased. Alice Fenwick, born March 30, 1871, married Benjamin Wister Morris. Lucy Morgan, born January 11, 1873, died May 9, 1884. Charles Archibald, born November 18, 1876, is mentioned on another page of this work. Francis Spencer, born October 19, 1878, was educated at St. Paul's School and in Yale University. Jeannette, born July 2, 1884, married, first, Com- mander Harold J. Davison, R. N. R., and second, Capt. Leslie W. Howarth, R. N. R. They reside on the Island of Bermuda.

From the interests of his own home Rev. Goodwin reached out in helpfulness to all mankind, seeking ever to ameliorate the hard conditions of life for the unfortunate, working ever along the lines of uplift and improvement. His memory is cherished by all who were associated with him and remains an inspiration and a benediction to those who came within the sphere of his broad usefulness.

CHESTER RHOADES SEYMOUR

Chester Rhoades Seymour, who fought for his country in the World war, has advanced far on the highroad which leads to success and although young in years he is a forceful figure in business circles of Simsbury. He was born in Wollaston, Massachusetts, in 1894, and is a son of William A. and Ella (Rhoades) Seymour, the former a native of Simsbury, Connecticut, and the latter of New Marlboro, Massa chusetts. They now reside on a farm near East Granby, Connecticut, and the father is one of the prosperous tobacco growers of that district. His public spirit has been

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

expressed by service on the board of selectmen and in religious faith he is a Congre- gationalist, while his fraternal connections are with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias. Mr. and Mrs. Seymour have two children: Dorothy, who is the wife of C. Edgar Blake, of Windsor, Connecticut; and Chester Rhoades Seymour.

The son was graduated from one of the high schools of Hartford in 1911 and completed his education in Trinity College, from which he won the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1915. While a college student he spent the summer vacations in Sims- bury and in July, 1915, entered the employ of the Ensign-Bickford Company. His first work was in the bookkeeping department, with which he was connected for two years. In November, 1917, he responded to the call to arms, joining Company A, which was attached to the Twenty-eighth Engineers. He was commissioned a second lieutenant while overseas, remaining at the front for seventeen months. On July 9, 1919, he was honorably discharged and returned to the office of the Ensign-Bickford Company. Afterward he traveled for some time for the corporation, in connection with the introduction of a new detonating fuse, and in 1920 was made assistant treasurer. His next promotion was in 1924, when he became treasurer, and has since held that office. He is devoted to the interests of the firm and his advancement is the merited reward of hard work and proven ability. Mr. Seymour is one of the directors of the Ensign-Bickford Company and treasurer of the Simsbury Water Company, of which he is also a director.

On October 3, 1923, Mr. Seymour was married in Hartford to Miss Helen Roberts Tolles and they have two children, Jean Tolles, born October 3, 1925, and Chester Tolles, born September 25, 1928. The parents are affiliated with the First Church of Christ and Mrs. Seymour sings in its choir. She is one of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Mr. Seymour belongs to the American Legion, the Univer- sity Club of Hartford, the Avon Country Club and the Community Club of Simsbury. Along fraternal lines he is connected with the Masonic order and his political allegiance is given to the democratic party. A young man of marked strength of character and substantial worth, Mr. Seymour has accomplished much for one of his years, and a wide circle of loyal friends is indicative of his personal popularity.

CHARLES D. RICE

An outstanding figure in the industrial and manufacturing circles of Connecticut is Charles D. Rice, manager at Hartford for the Underwood Typewriter Company, where he has completed twenty-six years of service with a corporation that ranks first among the business enterprises of the city in the point of labor employment and production. This association at once indicates the high development of his powers as an executive, nor have his efforts been confined alone to one line, for various other important business interests of Hartford are profiting by his coopera- tion. His life story is an interesting one, as it indicates what can be achieved through individual effort and ability. Born in Auburn, New York, April 15, 1859, Charles D. Rice is a son of Benjamin and Harriet (Bridges) Rice and while spend- ing his youthful days under the parental roof he attended the public schools of his native city. Without collegiate training he began providing for his own support and was first employed in running' a steam engine and boiler at Union, Pennsylvania, for a brief period. He then returned to Auburn, where he filled a position in a clothing store for about two years, afterward serving seven years in a local factory -makers of carriage hardware. Following this period he soon became identified with typewriter interests as an employe of the Calligraph Typewriter Company at Corry, Pennsylvania, in 1884 and was with this concern at the time its plant was established in Hartford in 1885. This was the beginning of the typewriter industry in Connecticut. Mr. Rice continued with the company as a tool maker until 1888, when he joined the Yost Writing Machine Company in Bridgeport and was with them while they were developing their machine, acting as foreman and continuing in their employ until 1890. In the latter year he joined the Pope Manufacturing Company in Hartford as engineer and his industry and capability won him promo- tion to the position of chief engineer, in which capacity he was serving when he left the company's employ in 1900. His association with the Underwood company dates from January, 1901, at which time he assumed the duties of superintendent in the factory, then located in Bayonne, New Jersey. The rapid growth of the business

BACHRACH

CHARLES D. RICE

HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

made it desirous that the plant should be established where there was a greater market for skilled labor, and after five months' connection with the Underwood company, at the suggestion of Mr. Rice, the plant was removed to Hartford. Six years later, or in 1907, he was promoted to manager of the local plant. On coming to this city the company secured the old Board of Trade building on Capitol avenue and Woodbine street, which had been vacant for a year, and they brought with them three hundred skilled mechanics from Bayonne, although four hundred and fifty operatives were needed to maintain the plant at capacity working. The additional one hundred and fifty men therefore were gathered from the ranks of Hartford's skilled labor and the continual growth of the business necessitated further employ- ment of men until at the present writing the number on the pay roll is four thou- sand, five hundred and for many years the company has been the largest employer of labor in this city. Originally there were about ninety-two thousand, five hundred square feet of floor space, but after a short time an additional building was secured and in 1905 still other buildings were erected. By 1907 there were three hundred and nineteen thousand, five hundred square feet of floor space, while in 1910 other additions were made and again in 1911 and 1912, the floor space amounting in the latter year to six hundred and twelve thousand, five hundred square feet. In 1916 the company began the erection of four large buildings, adding more than a third to the space of the factory, at a cost of four hundred thousand dollars. In 1920 another large addition was built and in 1923 the company purchased the adjacent factory formerly occupied by the Johns-Pratt Company. Rated in terms of lineal measurement, a floor fifty feet in width and three and one-half miles in length indicates the space of the plant of the Underwood company. The output of this mammoth concern is not only shipped extensively to every part of the North American continent but also to every part of the world, and among the interesting machines sent out are those shipped to Russia with Russian characters upon the keys. Czar Nicholas II had a special machine built for him, finished in nickel and white enamel, while Franz Josef, then emperor of Austria-Hungary, ordered an Underwood of special size enameled in the national colors, and fifteen years ago King Alfonso of Spain placed his order with the company for a specially finished Underwood. Aside from the building of typewriters the company has promoted the industrial and commercial development of Hartford by the establishment of the Underwood Computing Machine Company. At the present time the combined pro- duction of the Underwood plant at Hartford and the Bridgeport plant, where the portable machines are made, is equal to one machine for every thirty seconds of the working day, production at the Hartford factory amounting to about one machine every thirty-eight seconds. The Underwood plant is the largest producer of type- writers in the world and since the establishment of the business in Hartford the company has paid out in wages more than one hundred and fifteen million dollars, while its total assets are now more than thirty million dollars. In a measure the story of the growth of this mammoth industry is the story of the developing powers and ability of Charles D. Rice, whose efforts have kept the plant at its maximum production. There is no phase of the manufacturing end of the business with which he is not familiar, owing to his long years of experience in typewriter manufacturing, and though multitudinous duties devolve upon him in his present connection, his habit of mental concentration enables him to find ready and accurate solution for every problem presented. He is also financially interested in various other large business concerns, being a director of the Phoenix State Bank & Trust Company, Mechanics Savings Bank, Atlantic Screw Works, Colt's Patent Fire Arms Company, the Hartford City Gas Light Company, the Billings & Spencer Company, Lincoln Fire Insurance Company, Underwood Computing Machine Company, Standard Screw Company, the Hartford Machine Screw Company and the Hope and What Cheer Mutual Fire Insurance Companies of Providence. For many years Mr. Rice has been officially associated with community welfare work, being a member of the Board of Trustees of the American School for the Deaf, the Hartford Hospital, the Connecticut Children's Aid Society and the Young Women's Christian Associa- tion. Unofficially, he has been associated with many local charitable enterprises.

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 8

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