History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 84

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 84

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MAJOR LOUIS H. STANLEY

Major Louis H. Stanley, supervisor of the south district public schools of Hart- ford, is well known in educational circles, having devoted many years of his life to the profession of teaching. He has also figured prominently for many years in connection with the military affairs of the state and won the title by which he is usually known in command of the First Company, Governor's Foot Guard. Born in Brooklyn, Connecticut, August 22, 1874, he is a son of Edward and Mary Stanley, who were natives of Killingly, this state. He acquired a public school education and then attended the State Normal Training School at Willimantic, Connecticut, from which he was graduated, later becoming a student at Yale College. Taking up the profession of teaching, he was made principal of the East school, now the Alfred Plant school in West Hartford, under Charles D. Hine, there remaining for three years. In 1899 he became identified with the Chauncey Harris school as an instructor in the upper grade, preparing children for high school. He taught there for two years and subsequently became vice principal of this school, so continuing to serve from 1902 until 1906, when he was made principal of the Lawrence street school in the same district, there remaining from June, 1906, until 1910, when he was elected supervisor of the South school district, having charge of all the schools in this district to the number of seven, with six thousand, four hundred and sixty-five children in attendance. His entire life has been devoted to educational work and he is regarded as one of the foremost representatives of the profession in this part of Connecticut. He has closely studied the most advanced educational methods and his

(Photograph by The Johnstone Studio)

MAJOR LOUIS H. STANLEY

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initiative has enabled him to meet all conditions and institute many improvements. He represents Hartford as one of the ten delegates of the State Teachers Association and for some time has been president of the Hartford County Teachers Association. From the outset of his professional career he has shown marked ability in imparting clearly and readily to others the knowledge that he has acquired and, moreover, has that quality which has enabled him to inspire teachers and pupils under him with much of his own interest and zeal.

On the 15th of October, 1902, Major Stanley was united in marriage to Miss Lucy W. Dunlap, of Hartford. They are members of the South Congregational church and Major Stanley also belongs to the Automobile Club of Hartford, which honored him with election to the presidency in January, 1928. His military record is a most interesting one. He enlisted as a private in the First Company on October 1, 1900, and on the 18th of February, 1906, became a corporal. Four years later he was advanced to sergeant and in November, 1915, became first sergeant. It was while he was serving in that capacity that the Governor's Foot Guard participated in a memorable parade in Baltimore. In 1916 he was made ensign and on the 11th of March, 1918, was commissioned fourth lieutenant, while the 6th of May, 1918, brought him to the position of third lieutenant and on the 26th of January, 1920, he became second lieutenant, followed by his election on the 8th of August as first lieutenant and captain. He served as adjutant while ensign and through his connection with each of the lieutenant grades, being adjutant for Majors Charles E. Stedman, Lucius B. Barbour and Clarence S. Wadsworth. On the 26th of June, 1922, he was appointed a personnel officer on the major's staff with the rank of captain. On the 26th of March, 1923, he was commissioned major and held that rank for four years, when he resigned, much to the regret of the governor, who urged him to reconsider his resignation. He felt, however, that he had given a full term of service to Connecticut military organizations, inasmuch as he had served for twenty-seven years, and he asked to be placed on the retired list. After his election to the command the Foot Guard participated in many notable events here, including the trip to Europe in the spring of 1926; the participation in the exercises opening Connecticut's building at the Sesquicentennial exposition in Philadelphia in June, 1926, when the guard was ordered there by the state; the trip to Lexington in 1925 to take part in the obser- vance of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the battle which opened the Revolution; the visit of the Richmond Blues to Hartford in 1925 as guests of the First Company, at which time Governor Trinkle of Virginia and the Blues were entertained extensively for two days here; the visit of the Foot Guard to Richmond as the guests of the Blues in May, 1924, when likewise they were lavishly enter- tained by their southern hosts; the stop-over in Washington and the parade reviewed by President Coolidge, Governor Templeton, Congressman Fenn and others, from the White House steps. All of these various undertakings were managed success- fully as far as the First Company was concerned, by Major Stanley, as well as annual summer encampments and two inaugural balls, one for Governor Bingham and the last one for Governor Trumbull. Major Stanley's interest in the Governor's Foot Guard and the military affairs of the state has not ceased even though he has resigned his office. In all matters of citizenship he manifests a progressive spirit and he gives hearty cooperation to all projects for the general good. His has been an active and useful life in which he has rendered valuable service to the state in the development of its military organization and in the establishment of higher and more effective standards of education.

ERNEST R. PENDLETON, M. D.

As a talented surgeon Dr. Ernest R. Pendleton has become an outstanding figure in professional circles of Granby and is widely and favorably known as the owner of the fine sanitarium which bears his name. A native of Russell, Massachusetts, he was born in 1879 and is a son of Arthur and Catherine Pendleton. His father operated a sawmill and also engaged in agricultural pursuits.

Dr. Pendleton attended the public schools of Russell, Massachusetts, and received his higher education at Boston in the College of Physicians & Surgeons, from which he was graduated in 1904. Afterward he served as an interne in Sacred Heart Hos-

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pital at Manchester, New Hampshire, and then returned to Westfield, where he prac- ticed for a number of years. In 1909 he became a member of the staff of Noble Hospital of Westfield and for four years was engaged in surgical work for H. B. Smith. Owing to the condition of his health Dr. Pendleton was obliged to seek a change of climate and in 1916 journeyed to the west, where he spent five years, regaining his strength and vigor. In 1921 he returned to the east, locating in Granby, and is now regarded as one of the foremost surgeons, of this part of the state. He has an extensive practice and is also the proprietor of "Dr. Pendleton's Sanitarium," an ideal place for convalescents. This quiet, restful and home-like institution is sit- uated fifteen miles from Hartford, on the College highway, in what is regarded as one of the most picturesque spots in New England. The sanitarium contains well furnished single rooms which are heated by steam and all are light and airy. There are large sun porches where patients can read and lounge and listen to radio con- certs. Among the important features of the institution are an X-ray room and a technical laboratory for diagnosis, as well as facilities for the treatment of cases which require occupational therapy. This is one of the most important forms of therapy and has been developed to a high standard. Instruction is furnished in bas- ketry, loom weaving of rugs and scarfs, leather tooling, raffia, net weaving, etc., and all departments are under the direction of trained technicians. A fine nine-hole golf course, tennis and croquet grounds and woodland walks all aid in restoring health to patients who need exercise and recreation. A rustic clubhouse has been provided and in equipment, facilities and efficiency of operation this sanitarium is equal to the best in the country. The rates are reasonable and make it possible for people in moderate circumstances to secure the best sanitarium treatment. Every detail of the work has been carefully planned and closely supervised by Dr. Pendleton, who has perfected a model institution which is a great asset to Granby and to this section of the state.

In 1913 Dr. Pendleton was married in Westfield to Miss Emma Nelson, who passed away February 28, 1925, leaving a daughter, Ruth, born in 1922. On March 26, 1926, Dr. Pendleton was again married, his second union being with Miss Hazel Nelson, a sister of his first wife. The Doctor is a Mason and his wife is connected with the Eastern Star and the Woman's Club of Granby. He owns the Salmon Brook Country Club, which has an eighteen-hole golf course and is under the direction of Dr. Pendleton's Sanitarium. In religious faith he is a Congregationalist and his professional affiliations are with the Hartford County and Connecticut State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. Through practical experience and close study he has constantly broadened his knowledge and augmented his skill and his pronounced success indicates that he has chosen the vocation for which nature intended him.

WILLIAM ROSS McCAIN

The name of William Ross McCain occupies an outstanding position on the roster of those who represent insurance interests in Connecticut and he is now the vice president and secretary of the Aetna (Fire) Insurance Company. Born in Monticello, Arkansas, October 15, 1878, he is a son of William Simonton and Eliza (Chesnutt) McCain. He is a southern man by birth and training, although he has found in the north the opportunities for the attainment of notable success in business. He pursued his early education in the grade and high schools of Little Rock, Arkansas, and next entered the Washington and Lee University of Lexington, Virginia. At a later date he returned to his native state and became a student in the University of Arkansas, from which he was graduated in 1898 with the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts. When his college days were over he went abroad and spent two years, from 1898 until 1900, in travel and study in Europe, spending some time in the University of Bonn in Germany and at the Sorbonne in Paris. He then returned to Little Rock, Arkansas, and took up the study of law under the direction of his father, a prominent attorney of that city who passed away there in 1908.

William Ross McCain was admitted to the bar in 1903 but did not enter upon active practice at that time, his attention being directed to other duties. He became clerk of the civil division of the circuit court and also served as deputy circuit clerk

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W. ROSS McCAIN

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in Little Rock. He made his initial step in the field of insurance in 1907 when he became associated with the firm of A. B. Banks & Company, who conducted the Home Fire Insurance Company at Fordyce, Arkansas. He continued with that com- pany in Fordyce for two years and then became representative for the firm in Texas as special agent with headquarters in Dallas. In 1909, however, he resigned his position to become assistant special agent for the Phoenix Insurance Company of Hartford, his territory covering northern Texas and Arkansas. He remained with that corporation until 1911, when he became associated with the Aetna Insurance Company as special agent for Arkansas, with headquarters in Little Rock, and occu- pied that position until July, 1919, when he was made assistant secretary of the Aetna Insurance Company and removed to Hartford. Here he measured up to the demands of executive service and administrative direction and in 1923 was elected secretary of the corporation, while in 1927 the duties of vice president were added to his secretarial work and he is now filling both positions. Thus step by step he has advanced to an eminent position among the leaders of insurance in the country and his high standing is further indicated by the fact that in June, 1927, he was elected president of the Southeastern Underwriters Association at its annual meeting in Briarcliff Lodge, New York.

Mr. McCain was married April 11, 1917, to Dorothy May Foster, a daughter of H. H. and Elizabeth (Wallin) Foster, of Little Rock, Their children are: Elizabeth, born in December, 1918; and William Ross, Jr., born in July, 1921.

Mr. McCain has always voted with the democratic party. He rendered efficient service as a member of the city planning commission and is now serving as a com- sioner on the fire board, for he maintains deep interest in everything relating to the welfare and progress of the community and municipality with which he is now identi- fied. He belongs to the Phi Kappa Psi, dating from his college days, and has mem- bership in the Hartford, University, Civitan and Wampanoag Country Clubs, to the social activities of which he devotes much of his leisure time. That he is a repre- sentative of one of the early American families is indicated in the fact that he has membership with the Sons of the Revolution, and the commendable course of his ancestors in loyalty to country is continued in the record of William Ross McCain.

EDGAR SMITH YERGASON

Never content save with the best, Edgar Smith Yergason in his business career steadily advanced until his record was one of notable achievement. Thoroughness and efficiency marked all that he did and he ever held to the highest standards and ideals in connection with his work as an interior decorator. This brought him a patronage which made him known throughout the entire country. He also possessed many admirable personal qualities which gained for him the friendship and high regard of many men eminent in various walks of life. Connecticut numbered Mr. Yergason as a native son, for he was born in Windham, September 10, 1840. His father, Christopher Yergason, was born at Norwich, Connecticut, and served as a lieutenant in the state militia. He married Charlotte Ann Smith, a native of Wind- ham, Connecticut, and a descendant of Elder and Love Brewster.

Having completed his early education in the public schools, Edgar S. Yergason continued his studies in the Pine Grove Seminary in South Windham and when his textbooks were put aside came to Hartford, where he secured a clerkship in the dry goods house of Talcott & Post, being there employed until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he volunteered for service and donned the blue uniform as a private of Company B, Twenty-second Connecticut Volunteers. After receiving his honorable discharge he resumed connections with Talcott & Post, there remaining until the partnership was dissolved in 1881, when Mr. Yergason became a partner of Mr. Post in the organization of the firm of William H. Post & Company. They took up the business of interior decorating and ere long had become well established in this field, owing to excellent workmanship and thoroughness in meeting their contracts. The entire department of decorating was personally supervised by Mr. Yergason, who not only displayed marked executive ability as manager but superior taste in directing his workmen and in advising his patrons. So widely did his work become known that he was chosen to do interior decorating in the White House under Presidents

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Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley and also in the state capitol at Albany. He had contracts for work in many of the most magnificent homes in Washington and other sections of the east and it was through one of his patrons, William Wind- ham, then secretary of the treasury, that he secured his first White House contract. After he had decorated the apartment of Captain George E. Lemon, of Washington, who was owner of the Washington National Tribune, Mrs. Benjamin Harrison and the wives of four of the cabinet members visited the apartment and were so thor- oughly pleased with the work that Mr. Yergason was invited to come to the White House on the following day and suggest changes for the Blue Room. This he did and was accorded a very sizable commission for interior decorating in the executive mansion, including not only the Blue Room but other parts of the building, and it was he who installed the first electric light system there. Between the years 1890 and 1892 President Harrison frequently called him to the White House to suggest desired improvements and his patronage steadily increased among the leading citizens of the Capital and of other sections of the east. He had charge of the furnishing of the home of General John A. Logan, then United Sttes senator from Illinois, and that mansion was afterward leased to William Jennings Bryan when he became secretary of state under President Wilson. It is still regarded as one of the most elegantly furnished of the palatial residences in Washington and many of the drap- eries and carpets put there by Mr. Yergason in 1892 are still in use. With the passing years Mr. Yergason not only obtained as patrons but won as friends many of the most notable men of the country, including Joseph Jefferson, Admiral George Dewey, Thomas A. Edison, Richard J. Gatling, who perfected the first gun bearing his name, General Horace Porter, James G. Blaine, General W. T. Sherman, General Philip H. Sheridan and others of equal note.

In early manhood Mr. Yergason was married to Emeline B. Moseley, a daughter of D. B. Moseley, of Hartford, and they became the parents of two daughters and a son, the latter being Dr. Robert M. Yergason, a distinguished orthopedic surgeon of Hartford, mentioned elsewhere in this work.

Mr. Yergason not only gained distinction as one of the foremost interior dec- orators of the entire country but was also widely known in other connections. He took the keenest interest in politics, regarding it the duty and obligation of every citizen to support the measures which he deemed vital to community and country. He belonged to the Republican Club of New York and the Amen Corner Republican Headquarters of New York state and he was the first of five young men who orig- inated the Wide Awake Torch Light Marching Campaign Club to further the election of W. A. Buckingham, who was the candidate for governor. He was not only one of the first five Wide Awakes but he invented and, with his own hands, made the first five Wide Awake capes, which were the distinctive badge of the movement, which attracted such attention and interest that it became a national one. Dr. R. M. Yer- gason has in his possession the original cape of cambric which his father wore and which is the only one of the first five capes in existence. He also has his cape of mackintosh material worn in the fall campaign of Lincoln's election year. After the organization of the first Wide Awake Club. Other similar clubs were formed through- out the state and the enthusiasm aroused resulted in Buckingham's election. In the fall of the same year the torch light processions were a feature of the republican campaign throughout the entire country when Abraham Lincoln was elected to the presidency. Many years later President Mckinley named Mr. Yergason for a position as colonel on his staff at the time of the inauguration on the 4th of March, 1897, and he served in a similar capacity at the inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt on the 4th of March, 1901. His activity as colonel in this connection did not entirely cover his military service aside from the Civil war, for he was made an honorary member of Company K, First Regiment, Connecticut State Militia, and was an honorary member of the Old Guard in Washington, D. C., in July, 1890. He held membership with the Society of Sons of the American Revolution, in Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R., and in the Army and Navy Club of Connecticut. The breadth of his interests is further indicated in the fact that he was a member of the Amaranth Dramatic Club of Brooklyn, New York, and of the Aldine Merchants Club of New York. It is said that every man has a hobby and Mr. Yergason's was the collection of valuable relics, which included some of the rarest and most unusual in the country. Among the most interesting of his possessions of this character was a flag used to drape the box in Ford's Theatre in which President Lincoln sat on the night that Booth fired the fatal

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shot that caused the death of the Great Emancipator. As the assassin jumped from the box the spur on one of his boots caught in the silken emblem, which was torn in half, and one half of this flag is now preserved in a glass box in the hall of the treasury building in Washington. The flags of the Treasury Guard consisted of two American flags similar in all respects except that one had been decorated by having an eagle and ribbons painted upon it, which was the emblem or insignia of the Treas- ury Guard. Both flags were hung on the box in the theatre. Booth's spur tore a large piece out of the flag which did not bear the insignia of the Guard. After the event both flags and the torn piece were returned to the treasury and were rolled up for many years. Mr. Cobaugh, a great friend of Mr. Yergason and for a number of years chief officer of the Treasury Guard, brought out these flags and gave to Mr. Yergason the flag which bore the insignia of the Guard (mate to the flag actually torn). He also gave him a large remnant from the flag actually torn and a small piece clipped from the section which Booth's spur tore out. The flags were very rotten with age at the time. The larger portion of the flag actually torn by the spur is now mounted in a glass case on the wall of the treasury building. The untorn flag, together with the two remnants above mentioned, was mounted and placed in a glass case by Mr. Yergason. After his death Dr. Yergason presented this case, with its contents, to the Connecticut Historical Society, where it may be seen. Mr. Yergason possessed in notable measure those qualities which made him the esteemed friend and companion of many of the outstanding Americans of his day and generation, although he never sought, as did many of them, to figure in public life. He found in his business a congenial field and one which enabled him to give expression to an artistic nature. He had interest in all that made for intellectual progress, for cultural advancement and for uplift among humankind, and his entire record was such that Connecticut had every reason to number him among her most honored citizens.

ROBERT MOSELEY YERGASON, M. D.

Since 1912 Dr. Robert Moseley Yergason has been a representative of the medical profession in Hartford. He continued in general practice for five years and since that time has gained wide reputation as an orthopedist, having developed his skill and efficiency in this field until his position is now a most enviable one. Dr. Yergason has spent his entire life in the city which is still his place of residence, having been born here October 3, 1885, his parents being Edgar Smith and Emmeline Bingham (Moseley) Yergason. His public and high school education was acquired in Hartford and for a year thereafter he was a student in Trinity College, while in preparation for his professional career he attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, the medical department of Columbia University, which granted him his M. D. degree in 1909. Thus having qualified by comprehensive and thorough courses of study for the calling which he wished to make his life work, Dr. Yergason gained his initial practical experience as interne in the Lying-in Hospital of New York, serving for four months. He then went to the Methodist Episcopal Hospital of Brook- lyn, New York, where he remained for two years, and in 1912 he returned to Hart- ford to engage in general practice. He was more and more attracted to orthopedics, however, and studied along that line, so that in 1917 he decided to give up general practiced and his since limited his attention to bone and joint surgery, keeping always abreast of the times in his knowledge of the latest scientific researches, methods and discoveries. He not only has an extensive private practice but is also consulting orthopedic surgeon of the Manchester Memorial Hospital and visiting orthopedic surgeon of St. Francis and Mount Sinai Hospitals of Hartford. He maintains pleasant relations with his professional brethren through his membership in the Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut State and American Medical Associations. He is like- wise a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Association of Military Surgeons.

There is also an interesting military chapter in the life record of Dr. Yergason, who enlisted as a private in Headquarters Company, First Infantry, Connecticut National Guard, in 1914. He was later transferred, with commission of first lieu- tenant, to the Medical Corps and was assigned to the First Connecticut Ambulance

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 84

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