History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 81

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 81

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Returning home, Mr. Taber arrived in Boston on the 19th of May, 1919, after which he took up his abode in Hartford and resumed his work in connection with the auto- mobile business, in which he has made steady progress.

On the 31st of December, 1919, Mr. Taber was united in marriage to Miss Mary W. MacDermid, of Hartford. They are the parents of three children: Earle Malcolm, Jr., born January 16, 1921; Thomas Charles, born May 17, 1922; and Russell P. (II), born February 17, 1924. The family residence is at East Windsor Hill.

Mr. Taber is well known in the membership of the leading clubs, belonging to the Hartford, City, Advertising, Sequin Golf and Shelter Harbor Country clubs. He is numbered among the charter members of the Sequin Golf Club and for three years served as its secretary. He is a Mason, identified with Tuscan Lodge, No. 126, F. & A. M .; and with Gideon Wells Chapter, No. 50, R. A. M., of East Hartford. He is sec- retary of the school board of the town of South Windsor and his interest in community affairs has been manifest in many other tangible ways.

JOHN AUGUST ERICKSON

John August Erickson, who is engaged in the undertaking business in New Britain, was born in Sweden in 1877 and remained a resident of his native land until 1896, when he came to the new world, arriving on the 26th of March. He lived for a time in South Manchester, Connecticut, and in 1903 took up his abode in New Britain. He thoroughly acquainted himself with the undertaking business by studying in the Cincinnati Col-

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lege of Embalming, from which he was graduated in 1907, being the first man of Swed- ish birth or descent to complete the course there. He had previously been employed as a salesman by the Empire Piano Company of New York city and in 1903 he became associated with the Humphrey Real Estate Company, with which he continued until 1906. He then spent six years with the firm of John Andrews & Company, undertakers, and on the expiration of that period, in 1912, formed a partnership with A. W. Carlson, buying out the Porter Company, Inc. They conducted the business at that place until 1920, when they bought out the undertaking establishment of W. J. Dunlay, located at 377 Main street, and here they handle a complete line of furniture as well as under- taking supplies and in both branches of their business have built up a trade of gratify- ing proportions. Mr. Erickson is the president and assistant treasurer of the firm of Erickson & Carlson, Inc., with A. W. Carlson as secretary and treasurer. They have every equipment necessary to their line of business and in the furniture store carry an attractive stock for which they find a ready sale owing to their progressive methods and unfaltering diligence. In addition to his other interests Mr. Erickson is a director of the City National Bank. That he keeps in touch with the highest standards and innovations of his profession is indicated in the fact that he belongs to both the local and the state embalmers' associations.

In 1901 John A. Erickson was married to Miss Anna Anderson, of South Manchester. Their family numbers four daughters, namely: Mrs. Jarl Elmgren, of Quincy, Massachusetts; Mrs. A. W. Cavins, of Terre Haute, Indiana; Helen, eighteen years of age, who is a high school graduate; and Erma, twelve years of age. The daughters are all members of the First Lutheran church, to which Mr. and Mrs. Erickson also belong and in which he is serving as a trustee. He also belongs to the Masonic lodge, to Harmony Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to the Vega Society, to the Svea Social Club and other organizations which hold to high standards in manhood and in citizenship. He is likewise identified with the Chamber of Commerce and interested in its projects for civic development and improvement, and he is a member of the Singers Society, taking keen interest and enjoyment in music.

JESSE MOORE

Jesse Moore, well known as a representative of the investment business in Hart- ford, is a member of the brokerage firm of Fuller, Richter, Aldrich & Company. A native of Virginia, he was born in Ararat, that state, August 25, 1866, a son of Henry Jefferson and Caroline Matilda Moore, both of whom were of English descent. On emigrating to America, one branch of the family settled in Virginia and another in New England.

Jesse Moore acquired his early education at Mount Airy, North Carolina, and was trained for the profession of teaching in a college on University place in New York city, founded by Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler. He taught school in the famous log-cabin schoolhouse in Virginia for a time and on leaving for New York took up his abode later in Farmington, Connecticut. For several years he worked in the business office of the Hartford Courant and acted as Farmington correspondent of the paper. It was in 1912 that he entered the brokerage business in association with Roy T. H. Barnes & Company, while subsequently he was identified with Richter & Company for a number of years. In 1922 he formed the firm of Fuller, Aldrich & Company, with which he has remained continuously to the present time and which is now known as Fuller, Richter, Aldrich & Company. Mr. Moore formed the South- ern Society of Hartford which at one time had over one hundred members. For two years he was an assistant to George M. Hersey, who was the secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association. He afterwards engaged in the newspaper business and entered the counting room of the Hartford Post. He subsequently entered the employ of the Hartford Courant in the advertising department. While with the Courant he * was associated with the late General Arthur D. Goodrich and Frank Carey. * *

Mr. Moore has a wide circle of acquaintances throughout the state and particularly in the first congressional district. When Mr. Moore entered the business department of the Courant, Congressman Fenn, who will be his republican opponent in the event of his nomination by the democratic convention, was employed in the news depart-

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(Photograph by The Johnstone Studio)

JESSE MOORE

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ment of the Courant. Mr. Moore, who takes a civic interest in the affairs of Farm- ington, ran for representative on the democratic ticket in 1926. His opponent was Adrian R. Wadsworth. Though the town was strongly republican in its politics, Mr. Wadsworth was elected by a majority of only thirty-five.

In early manhood Mr. Moore was united in marriage to Miss Louise L. Lyon, of Farmington, formerly of New York city. They reside at Farmington and have a son, David L. Moore, who is also associated with the brokerage house of Fuller, Richter, Aldrich & Company and who for many years has been deeply interested in radio. Mr. Moore is a member of the Hartford Club, the Country Club of Farming- ton and the City Club of Hartford. His position in both business and social circles of his adopted city is an enviable one and his success in the investment field is well deserved.

ERNEST N. HUMPHREY

The material development and substantial growth of every community depends upon its business enterprises and their wise and careful management. Ernest N. Humphrey is active in the commercial circles of New Britain, where as the head of the Humphrey Manufacturing Company he is engaged in the production of kitchen ware. His residence in Connecticut covers the entire period of his life, for he was born in Waterbury in 1870. His parents were Horatio N. and Anna (Mason) Hum- phrey, the former a native of England, whence he came to the United States in 1849, settling at Waterbury, where he engaged in the manufacture of pearls, following that business throughout his remaining days. He passed away in 1888, while his wife, who was born in New York city, died in 1898.

In his early youth Ernest N. Humphrey became a pupil in the Waterbury public schools, completing his studies in the high school, after which he began learning a trade by entering upon an apprenticeship at machinist work and tool making with the firm of Cross & Spears at Waterbury. He continued with that concern for four years or until 1892 and then came to New Britain, where he entered the employ of Traut & Hine, manufacturers of sheet metal and wire novelties. He became asso- ciated with that enterprise as foreman and when the business was closed out in 1895 he was filling the office of vice president. In the previous year he had established a business of his own, which he incorporated in October, 1924, under the name of the Humphrey Manufacturing Company, opening a plant for the manufacture of kitchen ware, which is distributed through jobbers, retailers and wholesalers. He has always followed this line of manufacturing since starting out in the business world and he is now president and treasurer of the company, which is controlling a steadily growing business, its trade relations constantly reaching out over a broader territory, for the output fully meets modern-day requirements and therefore finds a ready sale on the market. Associated with Mr. Humphrey in this undertaking is Lavern Bordwell, who is the vice president and sales manager of the company.

In 1892 Mr. Humphrey was married to Miss Mary Gray Robertson, a native of Maryland, and their family numbers two daughters and a son; Eunice, who is the wife of Burton Hildebrant and lives in New Britain; Virginia, who completed the high school course here; and Ernest, a pupil in the Junior high school.

Throughout his entire life Mr. Humphrey has recognized the duties and obliga- tions of citizenship and has measured up to every requirement in that connection. In early manhood he served in the National Guard under Captain Burpee. He feels it the duty and obligation of every citizen to exercise his right of franchise and has always given stalwart support to the republican party and formerly served as chair- man of the republican township board. He has been a councilman and alderman, a member of the water board, the finance board and the board of public works, and to the discharge of his political duties he has brought the same thoroughness and efficiency which have characterized his business affairs. Mr. Humphrey is a member of the Baptist church, while his wife belongs to the South Congregational Society. She also has membership in the Woman's Club of New Britain and is widely and favorably known in social circles. Fraternally Mr. Humphrey is connected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was one of the incorporators of the New Britain Hospital, was made chairman of the homecoming committee to welcome

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the service men of the World war, and there is no project which has to do with the city's interests, upbuilding and civic activities which does not call forth his support. His labors are far-reaching and his sound judgment makes his work at all times. effective and resultant.

MONROE S. GORDON

Monroe S. Gordon, attorney at law, well endowed with those qualities which make for success at the bar, is practicing in New Britain, where he was born on the 3d of October, 1904, his parents being George and Anna Gordon. They make their home in New Britain and the father is extensively engaged in the wholesale fruit business in New Britain and in Hartford. He is a native of Russia but came to America about 1890, as did his wife, who was born in Austria. From that time to the present he has been active in business circles and has allowed neither obstacles nor difficulties to bar his path as he has attempted to reach the goal of success. The years have chronicled his steady advancement and he is now a leading figure in business circles as a wholesale fruit dealer. To him and his wife were born three sons and two daughters: Myron L., who is engaged in the insurance business in New Britain; Israel, a high school student; Betty, the wife of Judge Samuel Rosen- thal, of Hartford; and Merle, at home.

The other member of the family is Monroe S. Gordon, who supplemented his high school education, acquired in New Britain, by study in the academic department of Syracuse University. Afterward he there pursued his law course and was gradu- ated in 1926 at Boston University law school, being admitted to the bar the same year and to the Massachusetts bar in 1926. On the 26th of September, 1926, he opened a law office at 338 Main street in New Britain, later removing to 300 Main street, where he has since been in general practice and is also associated with Judge Samuel Rosenthal, with offices at 750 Main street in Hartford.

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Gordon has voted with the republican party and is interested in all that makes for its success because of his firm belief in its principles. He has membership in the Jewish synagogue of New Britain and he belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in Boston, the Kappa Epsilon Phi, a legal fraternity, the Tau Delta Phi and Upsilon Lambda Phi. He is likewise a member of the Probus Club, the Professional Business Men's Association and of the Reserve Officers Training Corps. In the strict path of his profession he is connected with the New Britain and Hart- ford County Bar Associations, being the youngest member of the former. While his years are yet few, he has made steady advancement in his chosen field of labor and is today accounted one of the most promising of the young attorneys of Hart- ford county.

DANIEL DOANE BIDWELL

Few citizens of East Hartford are better known or enjoy a higher reputation than Daniel Doane Bidwell, historian and journalist. During the conflict with Germany he won international renown as a war correspondent, facing death on more than one occasion, and his life has been replete with interesting and thrilling adventures. A native of East Hartford, he was born August 7, 1866, and is a son of Charles Marcus and Emma W. (Brewer) Bidwell, who were of English lineage, the former being of sturdy Devonshire stock. His great-grandfather, Daniel Bidwell, fought for American independence during the Revolutionary war, and the name Daniel has been a favorite one in the Hartford branches of the family for eight generations.

Daniel D. Bidwell received his public school education in Hartford and was gradu- ated from Yale College in 1886 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He excelled in mathematics and in Latin prose composition, winning three prizes, and was an editor of the Yale Record and a contributor to the Yale "Lit."

In 1886 he began his journalistic career in Hartford and late in the same year became associated with the Springfield Union. He assumed the duties of news editor

(Photograph by Bachrach)

MONROE S. GORDON

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of the Florida Times-Union in 1887 and in the following year became an editor of the New York Ledger, to which he contributed stories, poems and historical articles as well as editorial work. In 1894, while in New York city, he joined the staff of the United Press, but toward the close of that year allied his interests with those of the Hartford Evening Post and two years later became one of the editorial staff of the Hartford Times.

During his student days Mr. Bidwell was a cadet in Trinity Military Institute at Tivoli-on-the-Hudson, New York, serving later in a Yale republican battalion, and in 1901 was a landsman in the Second Division, Naval Battalion, of the Connecticut Na- tional Guard. Merit won him promotion through five grades and eventually he became pay clerk, the highest warrant officer on the staff.

His journalistic experiences in Europe are best described by Mr. Bidwell, who says: "In March, 1914, I went to Ireland on a free lance foray and, striking into the Ulster situation, wrote for the New York Sun and papers in Hartford, Boston and Springfield. When, less than four months later, the World war 'broke,' I hastened on a chance into France. I contrived to be in Lille when von Odel and the Germans entered and wrote for the New York Times and a press service. By good luck I secured several 'beats' and at various times wrote for the Irish Times, the London Daily News, the New York Times, the Paris-New York Herald and a number of American papers. Was at one time tried as a supposed German spy and had adventures and angles with Scotland Upper Yard. After an air attack near Udine, Italy, I interviewed Cardinal La Fon- taine, the patriarch of Venice. During the war I was on various fronts and twice under fire."

Mr. Bidwell is a director in the East Hartford Trust Company and also in small local companies. By instinct a journalist, he has that rare gift of perception which amounts almost to intuition, enabling him to sense a "story" in the very air. He is a master in the expression of thought and an editorial writer of large industry, equipped to deal vigorously and convincingly with vital questions and issues of the day. Under the direction of State Librarian George S. Godard, Mr. Bidwell wrote what is said to be the only monograph on the part played by soldiers from Hartford and northern Connecticut in the two battles of Saratoga in 1777. This was a task requiring long and extended research work and wide and diligent correspondence with town officers and specializing antiquarians, and copies of the history are now on file in the state library and many historical libraries. Mr. Bidwell conducted the exercises at the dedication of a memorial to a soldier of the Revolution, Captain Zebulon Bidwell, in East Hartford on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the first battle of Saratoga. On April 19, 1923, he represented the city of Hartford and the state of Connecticut at the laying of the cornerstone of the Connecticut memorial on the battlefield of Seicheprey, France, where the Connecticut regiment of the Yankee division had its first important engagement. In 1926 he joined the First Company, Governor's Foot Guard, and went on its historic trip with the Second Company, the Putnam Phalanx and the Richmond "Blues" to France and Belgium, the first journey of the kind ever taken by American military units.

Mr. Bidwell was married April 18, 1891, in Brooklyn, New York, to Edith Mary Mines, a native of Broad Brook, Connecticut. Her father, John E. Mines, was chap- lain of the Third Regiment of Maine infantry, commanded by Colonel Birnie, and later held the rank of colonel. He was a well known newspaper man of New York city, serving as editor of the Mercury, and contributed a number of articles to the North American Review. Under the nom de plume of Felix Oldboy he wrote for the New York Sun and was the author of "A Tour about New York" and other old-time books of much literary merit. Mr. and Mrs. Bidwell have two children. Their daughter, Pauline, is the wife of William J. Hickmott, Jr., and lives in West Hart- ford. The son, Joseph Barry Bidwell, was bugler and orderly for a time for General Lucien F. Burpee of the Connecticut Home Guard, and later for Francis R. Cooley, commander of the River Patrol attached to the Naval Battalion of the Connecticut Home Guard. Subsequently he was a member of the United States Naval Reserve Force and is credited with being the youngest boy contributed by Hartford county to the navy during the World war, enlisting soon after he attained the age of sixteen. He married Miss Marion Evelyn Lewis, by whom he has two children, Joseph Daniel and Shirley, and the family resides in East Hartford with the parents of Joseph B. Bidwell.

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel D. Bidwell are affiliated with St. John's Episcopal church

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of East Hartford and manifest a keen interest in its work. Mr. Bidwell belongs to the Men's Club of the church, and his wife is connected with St. Agnes' Guild. She is a member of the republican town committee of East Hartford and also of the League of Women Voters. Mr. Bidwell adheres to the same political faith and joined the progressive wing of the party in 1912. At local elections he casts an independent ballot, supporting the candidate whom he considers best qualified for office, and in public affairs his influence is always on the side of reform, progress and improve- ment. In 1905 he was chosen to represent East Hartford in the state legislature, to which he was returned in 1907, and figured prominently in the proceedings of those sessions, serving on the military affairs committee and others. For some time he was a member of the town school board of East Hartford. He was nominated by a republican caucus and endorsed by a democrat. He has filled a number of minor offices, manifesting his public spirit by political courage and independence. Mr. Bid- well is a director of the Development Company of the East Hartford Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the committee that built the Second North school in East Hartford. His fraternal connections are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Masons. He is also a member of the Grange, and his hobby is historical research work in local and colonial lines.

His bent toward history is shown in a travel work, "As Far as The East is from The West," describing a trip around the world to the east in 1910 on a long voyaging ship, the first to take a large international party on a continuous journey, writing for itself a chapter in nautical annals. Mr. Bidwell is also author of a history of Hartford Naval Militia. Both works are in many libraries, the former having been purchased by librarians as far distant as Manila, Honolulu, and Colombo, Ceylon. He wrote also a sixteen page newspaper history of the Yankee Division, A. E. F., filed by many libraries. He has given energy and devotion to work for Disabled Veterans, to the American Legion War Orphan endowment and especially to a World War Memorial in East Hartford, for which he personally obtained three hundred and forty-six contributors. In 1911 he took a second trip "around"-around the world- this time to the west, making it in forty-six days and earning a record (to the west) which stood for nearly seventeen years, the speedsters traveling in the other direc- tion. This trip he described for a newspaper syndicate.

That he is a broad-guaged man is indicated by the nature and scope of his ac- tivities, which have touched the general interests of society to their betterment. His talents led him into newspaper lines and he has always maintained a high standard of journalistic veracity and accuracy in the many stories of travel and world-wide interest he has handled. Mr. Bidwell has left the deep impress of his individuality upon his work, which has brought him a wide acquaintance, and his friends are legion, including newspaper men in Ireland, London, Paris and Berlin, as well as in this country.

FRANK B. SKIFF

For many years Frank B. Skiff has been a forceful personality in business circles of Hartford, bending his efforts to administrative direction and executive control, and is widely known as a manufacturer of canvas goods, while he has also figured prominently in military affairs. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, January 31, 1867, and his parents, Cornelius B. and Josephine A. (Braisted) Skiff, were natives of New York city. The father was a prosperous clothing merchant of that city and there resided until his death in 1914.

Frank B. Skiff attended the public schools of Brooklyn and also had the benefit of a course in a business college. For a short time he was engaged in business in that city, devoting his attention to the painting of signs, and in 1884 joined the New York militia, with which he was identified until 1901, when he became a member of First Company, Governor's Foot Guard, still continuing in its service. In 1897 he came to Hartford as foreman for James Pullar & Company, filling the position for three years, and in 1890 embarked in the sign business at No. 3 Asylum street. During the Spanish-American war he was called upon for service and spent some time in the south. On his return to Hartford he resumed his activities as a sign painter and was thus engaged until about 1909, when he entered a new field, turning

(Photograph by Sterling Studio)

FRANK B. SKIFF

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HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

his attention to the manufacture of canvas goods. In the intervening period he has built up a large industry and there is a heavy demand for the output of his plant, which is of high quality. Since November, 1920, the business has been operated under the style of F. B. Skiff, Inc., of which Mr. Skiff is the president and treasurer. Joseph F. Coombs fills the office of vice president and William H. Angevine dis- charges the duties of secretary. No detail of the work escapes the keen observation of Mr. Skiff, who employs only skilled labor and manifests keen sagacity in the conduct of the business. The plant is located at No. 10 Clinton street and operated with marked efficiency.

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 81

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