History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 86

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 86

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Their son, Francis Whitmore, was born at Medford, October 4, 1714, and on the records in the middle part of the century he made various purchases and sales of land in the vicinity of Reed's Point on the Kennebec river in Maine. He was probably the pioneer lumberman of that section, as evidence of milling is found on his land. He traded extensively with the Indians. In 1763 he was moderator of the meeting

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held to incorporate the town of Bowdoinham and mention is made of him as "Cap- tain" Francis Whitmore. He was married January 1, 1739, to Mary Hall, who was born April 17, 1719, and died October 20, 1791, while Francis Whitmore passed away April 27, 1794.

Their son, John Whitmore, born at Medford, November 25, 1754, was married April 12, 1781, to Hulda Crocker, who passed away at Bath, Maine, February 19, 1812, while he died in Bath, November 29, 1820. They were the parents of Isaiah Whitmore, who was born at Bath, February 21, 1792. He removed to New York city, where he was extensively engaged in the shipping business, owning a large number of vessels used in trade with West Indian and South American ports. After many years of activity he turned his business over to his sons, Henry and Frederick. His wife, Elizabeth Ann Culver, was born March 29, 1803, and she died December 4, 1860, while Isaiah Whitmore passed away July 1, 1865.

Their son, Franklin Gray Whitmore, enjoyed the advantage of educational training in Charles N. Anthon's private grammar school in New York city and in the private boarding school conducted by Edward L. Hart at Farmington, Connecticut. He was a youth of sixteen when he matriculated at Columbia College in 1862 and was but eighteen years of age when in 1864 he joined the Sixth Company, Seventh Regiment, of the New York National Guard, under Captain Bird. This regiment was detailed to act as guard when the remains of President Lincoln were lying in state in the city hall in New York. In 1867 he was married and afterward spent some years abroad. Later he resided during the summer months on a large stock farm which he owned in Fairfield county, Connecticut, and which was devoted to the breeding of trotting horses. He owned some very fine stock. The winter months were passed in Hartford until 1880, when he established his permanent home in West Hartford. He afterward established a real estate office in Hartford and several years later admitted his son, Harold B., to a partnership under the firm style of F. G. Whitmore & Son. A most interesting experience came to him through his connection with Samuel L. Clemens, to whom he served as secretary for several years, having the most intimate acquaintance with Mr. Clemens, so that none could speak with greater authority upon America's foremost humorist. He lectured and wrote extensively on Mark Twain and was the possessor of a large collection of his letters. In 1896 Mr. Whitmore was chosen secretary of the board of park commissioners and filled the office for several years. He was also a director of the Connecticut Fire Insurance Company for thirty- eight years.

In the year 1867 Mr. Whitmore was married to Miss Harriet Eliza Goulden, a daughter of William S. Goulden, of Fairfield, Connecticut, and they became parents of six children: William Franklin; Frederic Culver, deceased; Harriet Eliza, the wife of John O. Enders; Franklin G., who has also passed away; Harold Burton, who be- came his father's successor in the real estate business; and Ruth, the wife of Robert P. Parker. The wife and mother passed away June 30, 1915. She was a lady of most liberal culture and high ideals and was a leader in the intellectual life of her community. She exemplified the highest type of wifehood and motherhood and her influence extended broadly in the field of benevolence and philanthropy. She was identified with the Blind Asylum, the Women's Aid Society, the Hartford Art School, the Connecticut Historical Society and the Colonial Dames of Connecticut, serving for several years as vice president of the last named and declining the presidency on account of her health. She was widely known as a writer of magazine articles on historical subjects and she devoted much time to the preparation of a volume entitled: "A Memorial of the Kindred and Ancestry of Harriet L. Sturges Goulden, of Fairfield, Connecticut, Compiled in Loving Memory by Her Daughter, Harriet E. Goulden Whit- more." In this volume she traced the ancestral lines of the Sturges, Barlow, Judson, Sherwood, Bradley, Dimon, Ward, Pinkney, Burr, Redfield, Davis, Hull, Jones and Sanford families. Her interest in the annals of New England was most pronounced and for some years she served as historian of the Ruth Wyllys Chapter of the Daugh- ters of the American Revolution of Hartford. Mr. Whitmore survived his wife for more than a decade, he passing away at Hartford, June 15, 1926. His activities touched life at many points, for his interests were indeed broad and varied. He was a member of the advisory board of the Hartford Art Society and of the advisory board of the Women's Aid Society and he had membership with the Sons of Colonial Wars. A man of liberal education and culture, of broad experience and of manifold activities and interests, he ranked with the honored and representative men of New

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England. He held membership in St. John's Episcopal church and a memorial window in that edifice was placed there by him in honor of his deceased children. He was an outstanding member of a family that has figured prominently in the history of New England since the earliest chapters in American history were written.

HAROLD B. WHITMORE

Thoroughness and close application in the conduct of an insurance and real estate business are bringing Harold B. Whitmore steadily to the front and Hartford now numbers him among her representative citizens. He is also classed among her native sons, for he was born here May 8, 1877, his parents being Franklin G. and Harriet (Goulden) Whitmore, mentioned elsewhere in this work. He attended the Hartford schools, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, and when his educational training was over he entered the insurance field at an early age, receiving his training under his father, with whom he was thus associated in business for several years. He is now operating independently and has gained a large clientele as a representative of insurance interests. He likewise operates successfully in real estate, knows the property upon the market and is thus able to wisely direct the investments of those whom he represents.

On the 7th of November, 1906, Mr. Whitmore was united in marriage to Miss Maria C. Pearce, of Washington, D. C., and they are the parents of a daughter, Frances P., born January 18, 1909.

In club and social circles Mr. Whitmore is well known and something of the nature of his recreation is indicated in the fact that he belongs to the Hartford Golf Club. He is also identified with the City Club and the Hartford Club and he has membership in Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, A. F. & A. M., of West Hartford. He is a communicant of St. John's church and is interested in all those forces which make for civic development and intellectual and moral progress in his community. Along the lines of his chosen life work his membership connections are with the Hartford Real Estate Board and the Connecticut Association of Insurance and he holds to the highest standards of service promoted by these organizations.

JAMES L. D. KEARNEY

James L. D. Kearney, vice president and general manager of the Hartford Acci- dent & Indemnity Company and widely and favorably known in insurance circles in Connecticut's capital, was born in Cumberland, Maryland, June 6, 1878. His parents, M. M. and Helen M. (Dwen) Kearney, were likewise natives of that state, where the father, who engaged in business as a wholesale grocer, died in 1887, while his wife passed away in 1894.

A course in Loyola College at Baltimore, Maryland, supplemented the early ed- ucation of James L. D. Kearney, acquired in private schools. He won his Bachelor of Arts degree at his graduation from college in 1898 and next entered the University of Maryland, as a law student, gaining his LL. B. degree in 1903. The same year he was admitted to the Maryland bar and also in that year he became secretary to Hon. Charles E. Phelps, a jurist, with whom he continued until 1906. From April of the latter year until July, 1911, he was with the American Bonding Company of Baltimore, first as manager of the city department and later as manager of its New York city office. He was then made vice president and New York manager of the Equitable Surety Company of St. Louis, Missouri, and continued to act in that official connection until February 1, 1914, when he joined the newly organized Hartford Accident Company. In March following he was elected secretary of the Hartford Accident & Indemnity Company, in February, 1920, was elected vice president, and on September 4, 1928, he was elected vice president and general manager and a director of the corporation. He is likewise secretary and a director of the Hartford Live Stock Company of New York and thus has important association with insurance activities and in this field is making gratifying progress as the result of close appli- cation, thoroughness, capability and intelligently directed labor.

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On the 17th of December, 1907, Mr. Kearney was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Tilden Owings, of Baltimore county, Maryland. They are the parents of a daughter and two sons-Margaret Dwen, James L. D., Jr., and Franklin P.

Mr. Kearney is a member of the Insurance Institute of America, of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Farmington Country Club, and he finds interest and recrea- tion in outdoor sports, to which he devotes his attention when his duties in the insur- ance field are so arranged as to permit of leisure.

JAMES H. BREWSTER, JR.

James H. Brewster, Jr., vice president and treasurer of the Aetna Life Insurance Company of Hartford, was born in this city, June 7, 1882, a son of James H. and Mary E. (Folts) Brewster, mentioned elsewhere in this work. His education was acquired in public and high schools of Hartford and in Yale University, from which he was graduated with the B. A. degree in 1904. In the same year he entered the employ of Vermilye & Company, conducting a leading banking and brokerage busi- ness in New York city, his connection with that house continuing until 1907. He then entered the service of Kissell-Kinnicutt Company of New York, there remaining until 1910, when he became associated with E. B. Smith & Company, also well known in banking and brokerage circles in the metropolis. From 1912 until September, 1925,. he was a partner in the firm of Rhoades & Company, bankers and brokers of New York, and then came to Hartford to accept the vice presidency of the Aetna Life Insurance Company, with which he has remained in this executive position to the present time. He is also a director of the Rye Trust Company of Rye, New York, and a director of the Hartford National Bank & Trust Company and of the Standard Fire Insurance Company of Hartford.

On the 1st of June, 1910, Mr. Brewster was married to Miss Margaret Barstow, a daughter of George E. and Clara (Symonds) Barstow, of Providence, Rhode Island. Their children are: Mary Drew, born November 15, 1911; and James H. (III), born March 23, 1914. Mr. Brewster belongs to the Downtown Association, the University Club and the Yale Club, of New York, the Manursing Island Club of Rye, New York, the Apawamis Club, also of Rye, the Graduates Club of New Haven, the Hartford

- Club, the Hartford Golf Club and the Wampanoag Country Club of Hartford.

LE VERNE HOLMES, M. D.

Since 1910 Manchester has been the scene of the professional activities of Dr. Le Verne Holmes, who also has to his credit an excellent military record. In the time of greatest need he stepped forth for national service and has proven his patriotism and devotion to country both by word and deed. He was born in Rich- mondville, New York, August 22, 1879, and is a son of Reuben R. and Sarah (Pitcher) Holmes. His father followed agricultural pursuits for many years and is now living retired in Blenheim, New York.

Dr. Holmes was reared on his father's farm and in 1896 completed a course in the high school at Oneonta, New York. His first military experience was gained in May, 1896, when he enlisted in Company G, First Regiment of the New York Na- tional Guard, with which he served for five years. This company was mustered in during the Spanish-American war and saw service in the Hawaiian Islands, Dr. Holmes remaining with the command until mustered out of the federal service in February, 1899. With his return home he resumed his studies and was graduated from the State Normal School at Oneonta in 1900 and 1904 was graduated from the Boston University Medical College. For two years he was connected with the Homeo- pathic Hospital at Boston and commenced practice at Arlington, Massachusetts. After about one year he located in West Stewartstown, New Hampshire, where he followed his profession for a year. In 1910 he came to Manchester and practiced here until October, 1917, when he volunteered for service in the World war. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the medical corps of the United States Army and was assigned to the department of orthopedic surgery. Dr. Holmes was stationed at

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DR. LE VERNE HOLMES

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Camp Upton, New York, and other training points maintained by the government in this country and in August, 1918, was ordered overseas with Base Hospital No. 64. In February, 1919, he was detailed for duty at Evacuation Hospital No. 19 and in August, 1919, sailed for the United States. Merit won him promotion to the rank of captain and he now has the rank of major in the Medical Reserve Corps, being the commanding officer of Hospital Battalion, Three Hundred and First Medical Regi- ment. After receiving his honorable discharge Dr. Holmes returned to Manchester and has since specialized in orthopedic surgery. His skill was greatly enhanced by his military experience and his pronounced ability has brought him an extensive practice. He is a member of the medical staff of the Memorial Hospital of Manchester and physician for school districts 1 to 8.

In 1907 Dr. Holmes married Miss Ruth C. Wiswall, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, daughter of Edward F. and Elmina B. (Townsend) Wiswall. They have one child, Esther W., who was born in 1913 and is attending high school. The parents are affili- ated with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which the Doctor is a trustee, and he is allied with the republican party. His public spirit is expressed through his service as school physician, which position he has filled continuously since 1914 save for the period of his service in the World war. He is also identified with the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and along fraternal lines he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of The Maccabees. He is a member of Dilworth Cornell Post, No. 102, of the American Legion, the Hartford County and Connecticut State Medical Societies and the Amer- ican Medical Association. Dr. Holmes has chosen for his life work a field of broad usefulness and ranks with the foremost specialists of this part of the state. He is deeply interested in the humanitarian as well as the scientific phases of his work and enjoys the esteem and respect of all with whom he has been associated because of his devotion to duty and admirable qualities of heart and mind.

SAMUEL A. FASSLER

In those trade circles where tobacco growing and packing engage the efforts and attention of its representatives Samuel A. Fassler is well known, having developed a substantial business since starting out independently in January, 1925. Through the intervening period of a little more than three years he has developed his interests and enjoyed the profits that result from close application and intelligently directed effort. Born in New York city on the 1st of July, 1880, he is a son of William L. and Razie (Tellerman) Fassler, who were natives of Austria but crossed the Atlantic to the new world about 1879, establishing their home in New York city, where the father engaged in business as a clothier. He there passed away in 1913 but is yet survived by his widow, who still makes her home in New York at the advanced age of ninety years.

It was there that Samuel A. Fassler pursued a public school education and later attended the City College of New York, devoting one year to study in the school of Social Economics. At the age of eighteen he engaged in the tobacco trade as a repre- sentative of the firm of P. & S. Loewenthal of New York, remaining with that house until 1910, when he entered into partnership with Colonel Andrew N. Shepard under the firm style of Fassler & Shepard, with offices in the metropolis. On the 7th of April, 1914, the business was moved to Hartford and the firm continued its existence until January, 1919, when it was dissolved by mutual consent. Mr. Fassler was then joined by Alfred Silberman under the firm style of Fassler & Silberman, Inc., and this connection was continued until January, 1925, when Mr. Fassler established an independent business, remaining as sole owner until June, 1927, when he admitted his son, Victor Fassler, to a partnership. They raise shade, broadleaf and Havana seed tobacco and have several warehouses conveniently situated for the trade, which has steadily grown, making theirs one of the important enterprises of the kind in Hart- ford.

On the 22d of May, 1904, Mr. Fassler was united in marriage to Miss Kate Faeder, of New York city. They are the parents of two daughters and a son, namely: Victor, who is a graduate of the Noah Webster school and the Hartford high school and who was graduated from Yale College with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1927; Ruth,

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who is attending St. Joseph Academy; and Annette, a student in the Hartford high school.

Mr. Fassler is a director of the United Jewish Charities and takes active and helpful interest in promoting the benevolent work of the city. He is also one of the directors of Mount Sinai Hospital and is found frequently but unostentatiously ex- tending a helping hand where aid is needed. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the Tumble Brook Country Club and during the period of his residence in Hartford has not only won a place among the substantial business men but has also reached an enviable social position.

THOMAS FERGUSON

A pioneer newspaper man of Manchester, Thomas Ferguson has long occupied an enviable position in local business circles and is also well known through his ac- tivities in the field of public service. He was born January 3, 1871, in Belfast, Ireland, and when a boy of eight came to Connecticut with his parents, James and Elizabeth (Templeton) Ferguson, who settled in Talcottville. There he attended the public schools and on October 1, 1889, he began learning the printer's trade in the plant of the Manchester Evening Herald, then a weekly journal issued each Saturday. He advanced as the business grew, becoming a solicitor for the paper, of which Elwood A. Ela was the founder and for many years its treasurer and general manager. In 1905 Mr. Ferguson was elected secretary of the Herald Publishing Company and also became mechanical engineer of the plant. After the death of Mr. Ela in 1924, Mr. Ferguson became general manager. He understands every phase of the newspaper business, which has constituted his life work, and his name is inseparably associated with the history of the Herald's growth and prosperity. The paper is a valuable news and advertising medium, embodying the best elements of modern journalism, and has a wide circulation.

Mr. Ferguson was married December 25, 1894, in Manchester to Miss Elizabeth Hall, a daughter of Alexander and Ellen Hall. They have a son, Ronald H., who while attending Cornell University joined the Students Army Training Corps and after the World war took a course in Amherst College. Since leaving that institution he has devoted his talents to journalism and is city editor of the Manchester Herald. He married Miss Bernice Burke and they have become the parents of two sons, Thomas and Walter.

During the conflict with Germany, Thomas Ferguson took an active part in local Red Cross campaign and also promoted the sale of Liberty bonds. In local politics he has long been a recognized leader, acting as treasurer of the republican town committee for twenty-eight years and as registrar of voters for twenty years. He was made deputy judge and clerk of court for the town of Manchester and for twenty- three years was tax collector of the eighth school district, discharging these varied duties in a manner which won for him strong commendation. Mr. Ferguson belongs to the Kiwanis Club and his fraternal affiliations are with Manchester Lodge, No. 73, F. & A. M., and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Throughout life he has been faithful to every trust reposed in him, whether of a public or private nature, and stands deservedly high in the esteem of his fellowmen.

RALPH B. COX, M. D.

Dr. Ralph B. Cox, one of Hartford county's best known physicians, has success- fully followed his profession in Collinsville for many years and is also classed with its leading business men. A native of Canada, he was born in the province of Nova Scotia in 1876, a son of Daniel D. and Anna (Borden) Cox. His father was an iron worker and was also employed for many years as a ship builder. About 1895 he crossed the border into the United States and located in Collinsville, Connecticut, be- coming identified with the Collins Company.

After the completion of his high school course Dr. Cox attended Dalhousie Col- lege of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was next a student in McGill University, from

DR. RALPH B. COX

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which he was graduated in 1902 with the degree of M. D. He served as an interne in hospitals in New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, and in the winter of 1903 opened an office in Collinsville. Here he has engaged in the practice of medicine and emergency surgery for a quarter of a century and in years of continuous service is the oldest physician in this locality. In 1915 he took a postgraduate course in New York city and has utilized every opportunity to perfect himself in his profession. His ministrations have been attended with gratifying results and his services are in constant demand. During the World war he was for two years in the medical corps of the Canadian army and won a captain's commission. He was attached to a base hospital for seven months and for nine months was stationed on a hospital ship. In addition to his professional duties he successfully conducts the business known as Cox's Shops, Inc., of which he is president and treasurer, while George Grondin fills the offices of vice president and general manager. The firm manufactures ukuleles and other musical instruments, machete handles and folding chairs, all of which are made with care and skill. The plant is completely equipped and its products are shipped to many parts of the country. Dr. Cox is a forceful executive and his busi- ness is conducted with system and efficiency.

In 1905 Dr. Cox was married in Collinsville to Miss Florence Hough, a native of the town, and they have one child, Sarah, now a senior in McGill University at Montreal, Canada. Mrs. Cox is a Congregationalist and a church worker, also figur- ing prominently in social affairs. The Doctor is a republican and lends the weight of his support to all worthy civic projects. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1927 he was elected president of the Avon Country Club, of which he is now a director, and also belongs to the Canadian Club of New York city, the Alumni Association of McGill University and Edith Cavell Post of British World War Veterans. He is a member of the Hartford County and Connecticut State Medical Societies and the American Medical Associ- ation. Holding to high standards in the field of professional service, Dr. Cox has established an enviable reputation as a physician and surgeon and his industrial activi- ties have also been of direct benefit to Collinsville, which numbers him among its most useful, influential and valuable citizens. He has a wide acquaintance and is endowed with those qualities which inspire esteem and friendship.

EDWARD H. HEZLETT

Edward H. Hezlett, vice president and actuary of the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, who at all times has been prompt and accurate in the solution of the ofttimes complex problems which have to do with the management of insurance interests, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 19, 1892. His parents, Andrew J. and Lottie B. (Ayers) Hezlett, are also natives of Cambridge. The Hezlett family is of Holland descent and the first of the name in America came in 1830. The Ayers line is traced back in the new world to about the year 1630, when settlement was made in Maine, while the Hezlett family took up their abode in Massachusetts, and the Ayers were represented in the Revolutionary war. Andrew J. Hezlett is now residing in Boston, Massachusetts, where he is conducting business as a decorator.

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 86

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