History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 85

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 85

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Company, with which he did duty on the Mexican border until the fall of 1916, when he resigned from the National Guard. On the 10th of July, 1917, the United States having entered the World war, he was commissioned a captain of the Medical Reserve Corps, was called into active service January 4, 1918, and was for three months stationed at the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, during which time he took a course in bone and joint surgery. Subsequently he was on duty at Camp Green- leaf, Georgia, and at Camp A. A. Humphreys in Virginia. On the 21st of December, 1918, he was transferred to Embarkation Hospital No. 4, in New York and received his honorable discharge August 7, 1919, holding the rank of captain. He is now a major in the United States Army Medical Reserve Corps.

On the 4th of January, 1919, while still in military service, Dr. Yergason was married to Miss Helen Marion Seidler, of Hartford, and their children are: Marion Louise, born November 22, 1921; and Elinor Jane, born March 3, 1924.

In his political views Dr. Yergason is a republican, having always supported the party. He belongs to several of the patriotic societies, including the Connecticut Society of Mayflower Descendants, the Sons of the American Revolution and Griffin A. Stedman Camp of the Sons of Veterans, while along strictly fraternal lines he is a Mason, having taken the degrees of both York and Scottish rites. He is a past master of St. John's Lodge, No. 4 F. & A. M. He has likewise crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and in the field of social activity he is known as a member of the Exchange Club of Hartford. His personal qualities, as well as his professional skill and his service for his country in her time of need, entitle him to the high regard in which he is uniformly held. He has accomplished much for his fellowmen along various lines and is regarded as a man of ripe scholar- ship in his chosen profession.

FRED B. GRIFFIN

Fred B. Griffin, a well known representative of the tobacco trade of Hartford, with offices at 81 Commerce street, was born in Granby, Connecticut, June 16, 1873, and is a son of Gilbert B. and Margaret Gray (Fleming) Griffin. The father was also a native of Granby, but the mother was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He devoted his life to farming and continued a resident of his native locality until called to his final rest.

The public schools accorded Fred B. Griffin his educational opportunities and he started out in business life as an employe in the general store of Loomis Brothers at Granby in 1889, there remaining for about eleven years. In 1901 he turned his attention to tobacco raising, taking up the business of growing shade tobacco and other grades, and through the intervening period he has built up the largest tobacco plantation in Connecticut, operating in the towns of Windsor and Bloomfield, where he has about seventeen hundred acres of land, plowing about seven hundred acres for use in tobacco growing. He has cleared more land for this purpose than any man in New England. In 1919 he sold out to the American Sumatra Tobacco Company, of which he was elected a vice president and director, but resigned his official con- nections with that company in 1922 and went back to the tobacco business on his own account, purchasing two plantations, one in South Windsor and the other adjoin- ing in East Windsor. He has been growing tobacco for many years and his long experience and success enables him to speak with authority upon the methods of pro- duction and the manner of handling the product. He is now associated with Cullman Brothers, Inc., of New York, of which company he is vice president. He likewise owns and controls a number of warehouses and deals in all kinds of leaf tobacco. He was president of the Hartford Leaf Dealers Association for a number of years, and for some time was vice president of the National Leaf Dealers Association. He is regarded as one of the most capable and successful tobacco men of New England, being actuated at all times by a spirit of enterprise that enables him to overcome any obstacle or difficulty in his path.

On the 11th of September, 1895, Mr. Griffin was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Shattuck, of Granby. They are the parents of five children, namely: Marion Marga- ret, Freda Bertha, Donald Colman, Charles Gilbert and Carol Barbara. Mr. Griffin and his family reside at No. 41 Bloomfield avenue in Hartford, where he is well known

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FRED B. GRIFFIN

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HARTFORD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT

in fraternal and in club circles. He has served as master of St. Marks Lodge, No. 91, A. F. & A. M., has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, is a past potentate of Sphinx Temple of the Mystic Shrine and has been elected an honorary member of Lu Lu Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Philadelphia. His social qualities make for popularity and he is therefore a valued member of many of the leading clubs, including the Hartford, Hartford Golf, Madison Country, Farmington Country, Old Newgate, Coon and Hartford Yacht clubs, the Automobile Club of Hartford and the Republican Club. The last named indicates his political preference and in 1907 he was elected on the republican ticket a member of the Connecticut general assembly from Granby. He is also a member of the Reform Club of New York city and his interest centers in those channels through which flows the greatest and most perma- nent good to the greatest number. His attitude on civic, social and commercial affairs is one of progress and his career is one of outstanding achievement.

ALPHONZO BRIGGS PORTER

Alphonzo Briggs Porter, the secretary and treasurer of the G. E. Prentice Man- ufacturing Company of New Britain, is a son of Isaac and Julia Elizabeth (Fairchild) Porter. The father was for twenty-five years town clerk of New Britain and later engaged in the furniture business to the time of his death. His wife was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and belonged to one of the old New England families.

Alphonzo B. Porter became associated with the G. E. Prentice Manufacturing Company in 1913 in the dual official capacity of secretary and treasurer and is like- wise one of the directors of the concern, having been very active in the business for the past fifteen years. In 1903 he was married to Miss Harriett Disbrow, of Plain- ville, and they now have three sons: Gordon, who is a graduate in economics of Clark University at Worcester, Massachusetts; Daniel, attending Harvard College; and Richard, who is a student in Dartmouth College.

Mr. Porter is a member of the New Britain Club, the Shuttle Meadow Club, the Sons of Veterans and the South Congregational church of New Britain, while his wife belongs to the Episcopal church and to the Woman's Club of New Britain, of which she is secretary. They take an active part in the social life of the community and are prominently known.

GEORGE H. WILCOX

For eleven years South Manchester has benefitted by the well directed activities of George H. Wilcox, who has devoted his talents to educational work and conducts a thoroughly modern institution, devoted to the training of young men and women for positions of responsibility in the world of commerce. A native of Middletown, Connecticut, he was born in 1880 son of Horace A. and Mary D. (Roberts) Wilcox, who have passed away. He attended the public schools of Middletown and in 1903 was graduated from the Rochester (N. Y.) Business Institute. Having made thorough preparation for his chosen field of labor, he located in Hartford and established the Connecticut Business College in the Connecticut Mutual building, where he remained until 1917. Mr. Wilcox then allied his interests with those of South Manchester, opening the Connecticut Business College in the Odd Fellows building, and has built up an institution which is a decided asset to the city. About fifty students are enrolled in the day school and the night school has an average attendance of fifty. The courses are complete, thorough and modern. They include the maximum of essentials and eliminate to the last degree the unessentials. The three instructors are specialists, not only proficient in the art of transmitting knowledge, but also capable of doing well themselves the things that they teach.

On the 22d of August, 1906, Mr. Wilcox married Miss Jane Baldwin, daughter of Lewis and Jane (Roberts) Baldwin, of Middletown, Connecticut, where they still reside. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox have four children: Mary E., who was born in 1909 and attended Boston University is now a public stenographer in Manchester; Rodney B., who was born in 1911, graduated from high school in 1928; Lois E., who was born

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in 1914, is also in high school; and George H. Jr., who was born in 1916, is a gram- mar school pupil.

The parents are earnest, helpful members of the Center Congregational church and Mrs. Wilcox is connected with the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Mr. Wilcox is a Kiwanian and one of the enterprising members of the Chamber of Com- merce. His fraternal affiliations are with the Knights of Pythias and Manchester Lodge, No. 73, F. & A. M. In politics he is a strong republican and for five years has been chairman of the third district school board. Mr. Wilcox is president of the New England Business Educators Association and a member of the Connecticut Business Educators Association. As' a citizen he is loyal, progressive and public- spirited and his worth to the community is uniformly conceded.

WILLIAM WARNER ROBERTSON

Men of efficiency and strong character are the type of workers the commercial world of today is eagerly seeking, and in this classification belongs William Warner Robertson, a dominant figure in the management of one of the large productive indus- tries of South Manchester. A native of Connecticut, he was born February 5, 1882, in Glastonbury. His parents were John T. and Jessie F. (Brown) Robertson and the former died in 1922.

When William W. Robertson was a child the family moved from Glastonbury to South Manchester and in the public schools of this locality he completed his educa- tion. In 1901 he entered the employ of the Bon Ami Company, of which his father was an officer, and conscientiously performed the tasks assigned him. His diligence and trustworthiness were rewarded by promotion and in 1921 his ability led to his appointment as general manager of the plant. Mr. Robertson still acts in that capacity and in the operation of the factory he has secured maximum efficiency at a minimum expenditure of time, labor and material. He is a director of the corpora- tion, whose product is nationally known, and his name also appears on the directorate of the Manchester Trust Company. Moreover, he is chairman of the board of direc- tors of the J. T. Robertson Company of Syracuse, New York, treasurer of the J. T. Robertson Company of Canada and chairman of the board of trustees of the Man- chester Hospital.

In 1906 Mr. Robertson was married in Manchester to Miss Isabella A. Saunders, daughter of Charles M. and Sophia (Burns) Saunders. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have three children: Marion E., John Douglas and Eleanor M.

Mr. Robertson gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is one of the selectmen of the town of Manchester, working at all times for its best interests. In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, belonging to Manchester Lodge, No. 73, F. & A. M., to the chapter and council, to Washington Commandery, K. T., to the consistory and also to Sphinx Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. His name is also on the membership rolls of the City Club of Hartford, the Chemists Club of New York city and the Citizens Club of Syracuse, New York. His rapidly maturing powers have carried him into important relations and the principles by which his life is governed are such as constitute the basis of all honorable and desir- able prosperity.

STILLMAN FOOTE WESTBROOK

One of the strong elements in the continued expansion and prosperity of the Aetna Life Insurance Company is found in its official personnel, for there has been built up an organization controlled by men of highly developed powers, in which class Stillman Foote Westbrook, vice president, deserves specific mention. He was born in Ogdensburg, New York, May 15, 1888, and is a son of James G. and Jennie (Foote) Westbrook, residents of Ogdensburg for many years. In the acquirement of his education he attended the public schools of his native city, also the Ogdensburg Free Academy and Williams College. His start in the business world was made with the Temagami Lumber Company at Callander, Ontario, Canada, and while thus asso-

(Photograph by Pirie MacDonald)

WILLIAM W. ROBERTSON

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ciated he acquired an intimate and comprehensive knowledge of the lumber business. He afterward became associated with the Skillings, Whitney & Barnes Lumber Com- pany of New York as a salesman and so continued until 1911, when he was instru- mental in organizing the Guernsey-Westbrook Company of Hartford, which is a lum- ber concern, with Mr. Westbrook as the secretary and active in its management, his previous experience having well qualified him for his duties in this connection, where- by he is contributing in substantial measure to the success of the firm. In 1926 he entered the field of insurance by joining the Aetna Life Insurance Company as as- sistant treasurer of the organization and in this field, too, he is doing most effective work. He is likewise a trustee of the Society for Savings, is a director of the Phoenix State Bank & Trust Company, while in the field of public service he is acting as trustee of the American School for the Deaf.

On the 16th of May, 1917, Mr. Westbrook was married to Miss Frances Collins Dunham, a daughter of Samuel. G. Dunham, chairman of the board of directors of the Hartford Electric Light Company, and their children are: Stillman Foote, Jr., born February 9, 1920; and George Dunham, who was born August 26, 1926.

In the club circles of his adopted city Mr. Westbrook is well known, his mem- bership relations extending now to the Hartford Club, the Williams Club of New York, and the Wethersfield Cove Yacht Club, and it is in outdoor sports and ac- tivities that he finds his most pleasurable recreation. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and he is now serving on the board of park commis- sioners. One of the most interesting chapters in his life record covers his military experience. He enlisted April 26, 1911, in Troop B of the Connecticut Cavalry, with which command he went to the Mexican border in 1916. He was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in November of that year and became first lieutenant in 1917. When Troop B was inducted into the federal service in August, 1917, it became Company B, One Hundred and First Machine Gun Battalion, and Lieutenant West- brook was with that command when it sailed for France, October, 9, 1917. In February, 1918, he was transferred to the machine gun company of the One Hundred and Fourth Infantry and was commissioned captain in June, 1918, while in 1919 he was advanced to the rank of major and transferred to the command of the First Machine Gun Battalion, receiving his discharge April 29, 1919, at Camp Devens, as major. He served throughout the war with the Twenty-sixth Division overseas and his experiences made him familiar with every phase of modern warfare. He main- tains the same spirit of loyalty to country in days of peace and in the varied relations of life his course has ever been such as to command public confidence and regard and the good will of a large circle of warm personal friends.

HECTOR H. WEST

Development work in South Manchester has been stimulated by Hector H. West, a member of one of its well known contracting firms and a business man of proven worth and ability. He was born in Marlboro, Connecticut, in 1873 and his parents were Addison and Mary West. His father was also a native of Marlboro and devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. Hector H. West received a public school education and worked for four years at Gilead Hill. Later he was in the employ of George Barber, a contractor, and in 1913 was admitted to a partnership in the business, becoming a member of the firm of Barber & West, which existed until 1920. At that time the firm of H. H. West & Son, general contractors, was formed and the business has developed rapidly in the intervening period of eight years. They employ a large force of men and are prompt, reliable and efficient in the execution of contracts. The firm specializes in heavy construction work and has erected several substantial busi- ness blocks in Manchester, also building many fine homes in this locality. The high reputation gained during this period has brought them into still wider fields of activ- ity and thus they have contributed materially toward the growth and improvement of this section.

In 1898 Hector H. West married Miss Marietta Tryon, a native of Glastonbury, Connecticut, and a daughter of Charles W. and Hattie (Phelps) Tryon. Mr. and Mrs. West have one child, Harold T., born in 1900, who was graduated from the South Manchester high school. Since 1920 he has been identified with the firm of

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H. H. West & Son, of which he is secretary and treasurer, and his well directed efforts have constituted an essential element in the upbuilding and management of the business. The name of H. H. West & Son is closely associated with the Centennial celebration of Manchester in 1923. The firm took an active part in promoting the celebration and in originating, manufacturing and placing the Mayflower signs which the town has adopted as its coat of arms. Mr. West and his son are identified with the Masonic order as members of Manchester Lodge, No. 73, F. & A. M., and he also has membership in the Chamber of Commerce, the Manchester Country Club and the Kiwanis Club. Mrs. West belongs to the ladies auxiliary of the American Legion, the local chapter of the Eastern Star and the White Shrine of Jerusalem. She is active in the work of the Center Congregational church, which her husband and son also attend. In all matters of citizenship they are loyal and public-spirited and as business men they enjoy an enviable reputation.

FRED GIDEON WINSLOW

There is perhaps no record in this history which indicates more clearly that the subject thereof is a self-made man than does the life story of Fred Gideon Winslow, who from an humble position in the business world has steadily climbed to success, overcoming the difficulties and obstacles in his path by determined, persistent and honorable effort. He was born in Hartford, January 20, 1879, his parents being Gideon D. and Clara (Charter) Winslow. The father was a man of prominence in business and commercial circles, becoming president and treasurer of the Spring Brook Ice Company of Hartford, which was his position at the time he passed away September 14, 1914.

When a lad of about six years Fred G. Winslow entered the public schools and in course of time had mastered those branches of learning that constituted the work of successive grades and of the high school. He was a youth of eighteen when on the 7th of August, 1897, he entered the employ of the Aetna Life Insurance Company as a clerk. At the outset he realized that industry and perseverance are strong ele- ments in the attainment of success and those qualities have characterized his entire business career. His faithfulness soon won the recognition of those whom he served and from time to time he was promoted, each forward step bringing him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. At length he became assistant cashier and so continued for a number of years, gaining that valuable experience which enabled him to readily take up and master the duties of cashier when elected by the company to the more important office in 1922. He has since served in that connection and as one of the executives of the company aids in shaping its plans and directing its policy, his labors at all times being attended with gratifying and far-reaching results.

On the 19th of December, 1901, Mr. Winslow was married to Miss Katharine Forbes, a daughter of Henry C. and Mary (Smith) Forbes, of Manchester, Connecti- cut. They occupy an enviable social position, the hospitality of many of the best homes of, Hartford being freely accorded them. Mr. Winslow's name is on the mem- bership rolls of the Hartford Club, the City Club of Hartford, the Wethersfield Country Club and the Sons of the Revolution, the last named indicating something concerning the antiquity of his ancestral line in the new world. His political belief is that of the republican party and for four years, from 1906 until 1909 inclusive, he served as a member of the city council, giving thoughtful consideration to vital prob- lems concerning municipal welfare, improvement and progress. At all times he measures up to the highest standards of manhood and citizenship.

FRANKLIN GRAY WHITMORE

The record of Franklin Gray Whitmore touched life at many points of interest. He was a representative of one of the old and honored families of New England, had the opportunity of acting as secretary to Mark Twain, controlled important business interests and in the long years of his residence in Hartford county gained a wide acquaintance and the sincere regard of all who knew him. He was born at 162 Henry

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FRED G. WINSLOW

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street in New York city, September 18, 1846, his parents being Isaiah and Elizabeth Ann (Culver) Whitmore. He traced his ancestry back in direct line to Francis Whit- more, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, who was born in 1625 and was a descendant of John Whitmore, who was a resident of Wethersfield, Connecticut, as early as 1638 and in 1641 became one of the founders of Stamford, Connecticut. There are few families that antedate the arrival of the Whitmore family in New England, and in the mother country the ancestral line is traced back to 1215, which was practically the first century in which surnames were used in England. The name is derived from wid, meaning spear, and mar, meaning famous, the entire name signifying "famous with the spear" and was the name of a Gothic king. The Encyclopedia of Biography gives the following: "When King John signed the Magna Charta at Runymeade, the name of Whitmore appears. The early proprietors of the Manor were called Lords of Whytemore, and John De Whytemore was mayor of Chester from 1369 to 1372. Whit- more Hall is situated in the village of Whitmore in Staffordshire, one hundred and forty-six miles from London. Up to this time the connection of the American family with the Whitmores of Staffordshire has not been established, but the similarity in the Christian names of the family in different generations leaves little doubt that it is of Staffordshire origin. Tradition says that two brothers, Sir George and John, emigrated to America in the early part of the seventeenth century, the former locating in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he served as a government officer.

"The name of John Whitmore, sometimes called 'the lost brother,' appears on the Wethersfield, Connecticut, records in 1638, when Robert Treat purchased fifty-eight acres of land belonging to him. In 1641 John Whitmore became one of the founders and settlers of Stamford. In the first distribution of land he was allotted ten acres and was admitted as freeman in 1642. He was chosen deputy to the general court, October 27, 1643, and representative to the New Haven assembly in 1647. He was killed by the Indians in 1648. He was married in England, but the record of his wife's name has been lost. He was married a second time in this country. The following children were born from the first marriage: Thomas, in 1615; Anne, in 1623; Francis, in 1625; and John, in 1627.

"There can be no reasonable doubt that Francis, the fourth child, is the same man who married Isabele Parke in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about 1648, as he gave the date of his birth in an affidavit as 1625. He died at Cambridge, October 12, 1685. His wife, who was the daughter of Richard and Margery (Crane) Parke, died there March 31, 1665."

John Whitmore, the third child of Francis and Isabele (Parke) Whitmore, was born at Cambridge, October 1, 1654, and was married to Rachel, widow of John Poulter, of Cambridge. They made their home in Cambridge and at Medford, Massachusetts, and John Whitmore participated in the battle with the Indians at Saco. He acquired land holdings in Medford, Billerica and Charlestown and was town treasurer and deacon of the First Parish church.

His son, John Whitmore, was born August 27, 1683, and died at Billerica, March 26 or 27, 1753. In 1706 he married Mary Lane, who was born May 15, 1686, and died March 27, 1783. She was a daughter of Colonel John and Susan (Whipple) Lane and a granddaughter of Job Lane, a native of Rickmansworth, England, who came to the new world before he had reached the age of twenty years. On the 2d of July, 1660, Hannah Reyner or Rayner, of Malden, became his wife. She was born in 1632 and died April 30, 1704. Her father, the Rev. John Reyner, a native of Gildersomme, Yorkshire, England, and a graduate of Magdalen College, Oxford, was married in 1631 to Sarah Bayes and in 1635 they crossed the Atlantic on the ship "James." Rev. Reyner became pastor of the First church at Plymouth in 1636 and in 1654 went to Dover, New Hampshire, where he was pastor of the church until his death in 1669. Job Lane always followed carpentering. He removed from Malden to Billerica, Massa- chusetts, about 1667 and was a selectman there in 1683 and 1686. In 1680 he returned to Malden. His son, Colonel John Lane, was born in October, 1661, and on March 20, 1680, married Susannah Whipple. He served as selectman in 1693, from 1696 to 1704 and again in 1709. His daughter, Mary Lane, became the wife of John Whitmore.

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 85

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