History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 92

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 92

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J. HENRY CAREY

Selecting a congenial line of work at the outset of his commercial career, J. Henry Carey has wisely continued therein and his close application and constantly expanding powers have placed him with the leading insurance men of Hartford, while he also figures conspicuously in local musical circles. A native of this city, he was born on Charter Oak avenue October 29, 1886, a son of John H. and Mary (Dahill) Carey, the former a native of Hoosick Falls, New York, and the latter of Hartford. The father followed the trade of blacksmithing and designed a horseshoe which prevented horses from slipping, securing a patent on his invention. He passed away in 1904 and the mother died in 1915. Her sister, Miss Margaret Dahill, still lives in Hartford. Mr. and Mrs. Carey are survived by eight children: Dr. Thomas C. Carey, who in 1924 won the B. S. degree from Trinity College, afterward matriculating in the Yale Medical School, from which he was graduated in 1928, and is now an interne in St. Francis' Hospital; William and J. Henry Carey, of Hartford; Miss Mollie Carey; Mrs. Margaret Raynes; Mrs. John J. Manion, a resident of this city; Mrs. James J. Manion; and Mrs. John O'Brien, whose home is in Providence, Rhode Island.

J. Henry Carey was graduated from St. Peter's parochial school in 1900 and then entered St. Thomas' Seminary, which he attended for a year. He was a high school student for three years and in September, 1904, became an employe of the Aetna Life Insurance Company. At first he was assigned to the shipping room on the fifth floor of the old building and zealously applied himself to his tasks. Gradually he prog- ressed through the various departments, acquiring a detailed knowledge of the busi- ness, and while connected with the liability claim division he rose to the position of chief adjuster for the state of Connecticut. In 1918 he severed his relations with the company, opening an insurance office in Hartford, and in the intervening period of ten

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years has developed a large business. He writes all forms of insurance, representing the strongest and most reliable companies in the field, and broad experience enables him to give to his clients the benefit of expert advice in the selection of policies.

Mr. Carey was married January 16, 1908, to Miss Margaret Doolan, of Hartford, and they have become the parents of four children: Virginia, who is a student in New Rochelle College of New York; Thomas B .; John H., Jr., a pupil in the Fern street school; and Robert. Thomas B. Carey, the eldest son, was president of the Glee Club of the junior high school and during his first year in the senior high school was presi- dent of his class. When the students presented the opera of "Pinafore" in the audi- torium of the William Hall high school in West Hartford, he was selected for the leading tenor role, being but fourteen years of age at that time. He plays on the baseball, football and basketball teams at the William Hall high school.

J. H. Carey, Sr., early displayed a talent for music and took a course in the Hartford Conservatory, studying under Theodore Van York. Gifted with a beautiful tenor voicc, Mr. Carey has sung in a number of churches in Hartford and was soloist in St. John's church for several years. He has been a member of the Hartford Choral Club for about eighteen years and has done much to foster the city's growth along musical and cultural lines. In West Hartford he joined the Home Guard and later was transferred to a machine gun battalion. Liberally endowed with the qualities of energy, perseverance and determination, he has pressed steadily onward toward his goal and in winning success he has also gained the esteem and good will of his fellow- men, for a high standard of conduct has constituted his guide throughout life.

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EMANUEL M. HARTMAN

Emanuel M. Hartman, president of The Hartman Tobacco Company, doing bus- iness at 231 State street in Hartford, is a forceful, enterprising man whose well developed plans have found their culmination in substantial success. A native of New York city, he was born May 15, 1881, and is a son of Adolph and Mary (Leven- thal) Hartman, the former a native of Austria and the latter of New York city. The father came to America about 1874 and settled in the eastern metropolis, where he first engaged in mercantile business but later turned his attention to the tobacco trade. On his removal to Hartford county he first located in Manchester in 1882 and in 1902 established his home and business in Hartford, where he became one of the founders of the firm of A. & S. Hartman, in which connection he was active in the development of a very large and profitable business.

It was but natural that the attention and activities of Emanuel M. Hartman were directed to the tobacco trade when he had completed his schooling and started out in the business world. He had the example of his father in this connection and the stimulating influence of his father's successful career. It was in 1906 that the firm of Steane, Hartman & Company, Inc., was organized by the late Gustave Hartman and Emanuel M. Hartman, both sons of Adolph Hartman, together with Frank H. Whipple, I. J. Steane and Alfred A. Olds. The last two have since passed away. From the outset the business enjoyed a rapid and sustained growth and in addition to its own plantation the corporation came to control the output of the Windsor Tobacco Company and numerous other shade-grown interests, thereby becoming one of the leading factors in the shade-grown industry. In addition the company extensively packs the Connecticut broadleaf and Havana seed tobacco. Upon the death of Gustave Hartman in 1926, Emanuel M. Hartman succeeded to the presidency of the company and manager of its operations.

In March, 1928, a consolidation was formed by Steane, Hartman & Company, A. & L. Hartman, and Sol Kohn & Company, all successful leaf tobacco concerns in this city, and resulted in establishing The Hartman Tobacco Company, of which Mr. Hartman was elected president. This concern operates many tobacco warehouses and plantations throughout the state, and is a foremost factor in the industry.

On the 12th of October, 1915, Mr. Hartman was united in marriage to Estelle F. Stein, of New York city. They are the parents of two children, Margery C. and Joseph Adolph.

Mr. Hartman is a member and one of the directors of the Tumble Brook Country

(Photograph by John Haley>

EMANUEL M. HARTMAN

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Club and is identified with various fraternal organizations, including St. John's Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M. He is appreciative of the social amenities of life and enjoys the companionship of a large circle of friends. He has chiefly concentrated his activity upon his business affairs, which, wisely directed, have grown in volume and import- ance as the years have passed.

GEORGE BROOKS ARMSTEAD

George Brooks Armstead, the managing editor of The Hartford Courant, began newspaper work as a reporter while an undergraduate at Yale, in this manner earning money for his college expenditures. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, May 30, 1883, the son of James B. Armstead, a carriage maker, and Louisa Matilda (Brooks) Armstead. His parents were of families directly descendant from early settlers of the colonial days, and he is a nephew of the late George H. Story, the artist.

Mr. Armstead was graduated at Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University in 1906, where he was a member of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity. He continued news- paper work after graduation and in 1909 went to Lynn, Massachusetts, as editor of The Evening News. Late in 1910 he became Sunday editor of the New Haven Union and from 1913 to 1917 was chief editorial writer for this paper. He then became city editor of the New Haven Journal-Courier, leaving to go abroad in 1918 with the Ameri- can Expeditionary Forces. He served in France, Egypt and Palestine, being discharged in July, 1920. At that time he joined the editorial staff of The Courant and in 1921 was appointed assistant managing editor, becoming managing editor in 1923.

October 7, 1908, Mr. Armstead married Miss Marion Gorham of Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of an army engineer, and on August 9, 1909, a son, James G., was born. He is a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the class of 1931. Mrs. Armstead died in 1912. Mr. Armstead and Miss Frances J. Lakin, of Oak Park, Illi- nois, a University of Michigan graduate, were married January 5, 1927. They have one child, George Brooks, Jr., born November 27, 1927.

Mr. Armstead is a member of the Hartford Club and the University Club of this city, is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Yale Alumni Association and Yale Engineering Society.

FRANK CHENEY, JR.

Endowed with the qualities of the leader, Frank Cheney, Jr., has left the deep impress of his individuality upon the history of South Manchester's development, bend- ing his energies to administrative direction and executive control, and wields an in- fluence that is potent, benefical and far-reaching. A son of Frank and Susan (Jarvis) Cheney, he was born August 14, 1860, and is a native of this community. His ancestral record has been traced to the time of the Norman conquest of England and the American progenitor of the family was John Cheney, of whom Frank Cheney, Jr., is a descendant in the eighth generation.

The local schools afforded Mr. Cheney his early education and his high school studies were pursued in Hartford. Later he entered the mechanical engineering de- partment of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was graduated with the class of 1882. For a time he was superintendent of repairs and construction in the local mills of Cheney Brothers, afterward becoming vice president, and subsequently was elected president, and in 1927 was elected chairman of the board of directors, which office he now holds. In these connections he has worked to increase the scope of the industry, which is conducted by the Cheney Brothers Silk Manufacturing Com- pany, a firm of national repute. As a financier he has also become well known, ably controlling the operations of the Savings Bank of Manchester, of which he is the president, and represents the Phoenix State Bank & Trust Company of Hartford in the capacity of a director. He is also a director of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company of Hartford. To the many problems presented to him for solution he brings the poise, the resourcefulness, the foresight and unerring judgment characteristic of the man of large affairs, who is always clear-headed, prepared for every emergency.

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In the management of public utilities he has been equally successful and is presi- dent of the South Manchester Water Company, the Manchester Electric Company, and the South Manchester Sanitary & Sewer District. Since its organization in 1897 Mr. Cheney has been president of the South Manchester fire district and he was also the first chief of the South Manchester fire department, witnessing the transformation of its equipment from the inadequate hand-drawn apparatus to its present highly Inotorized state with four modern, well managed fire houses. As a legislator he also rendered important service to his town, which he represented in the general assembly of Connecticut for two terms-1905 and 1907. When the plans were first initiated for the Centennial of Manchester, Mr. Cheney's name was immediately put forward as chairman of the executive committee, which in 1923 staged the largest celebration ever held in Manchester since its incorporation in 1823. He has manifested his public spirit by effective service for the general good and is a citizen who would be a valuable acquisition to any community.

Mr. Cheney was married in Baltimore, Maryland, January 7, 1897, to Florence White Wade, daughter of Dr. David and Eliza (White) Wade, of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Cheney have a daughter, Frances Virginia, at home.

FRANK EDWARD AMIDON

Frank Edward Amidon, assistant secretary of the Rossia Insurance Company, was born in Hartford, June 25, 1894, his parents, William Henry and Rose Ellen (Ellison) Amidon, being also natives of Connecticut. After acquiring a public school education he enlisted for service in the World war in connection with the aviation branch of the army and went to San Antonio, Texas, while at the close of the conflict he was stationed with the Thirty-first Balloon Company at Camp Knox, having been made a sergeant. Before entering the army he secured a position with the Hartford Fire Insurance Company, with which he remained from 1913 until 1923 save for the period of his military experience. On the 1st of April of the latter year he became connected with the Rossia Insurance Company in its statistical division and was made assistant secretary in September, 1928, his promotion being a merited recognition of his faithfulness and efficient work.

In 1922 Mr. Amidon married Miss Dorothy Wilcox, of Weathersfield, and they have one child, Dorothy Elizabeth Smith. The family residence is at Rocky Hill.

WALTER P. SCHWABE

There is nothing that so clearly indicates the trend of progress and the change of conditions as the public utility systems which have come into existence throughout the length and breadth of this land. Great indeed are the changes since the days when each household furnished its own illumination and when hand power was the only source of activity. Today there is scarcely a community in which light and power are not furnished by an efficiently organized and highly developed plant meet- ing the modern requirements of present-day life. Thoroughly acquainted with demands of this character, Walter P. Schwabe is directing the activities of the Northern Connecticut Power Company of Thompsonville as its president and general manager, and his association with the electrical industry covers more than a third of a century.

A native of New York, he was born December 20, 1874, and is a son of Bernard H. and Theresa (Lietzow) Schwabe, both of whom were of German ancestry, and the father became a manufacturer of jewelry cases in New York city. It was there that Walter P. Schwabe acquired a public school education and he also supplemented his early training by various correspondence courses and by night study at Cooper Union in New York, where he specialized on electrical and engineering and light and power subjects. He was keenly interested in that field and found large satisfaction in his operations of that character when he was able to become identified therewith. However, when but nineteen years of age he obtained his initial business experience with a bond and stock brokerage house of New York, but after a brief period he entered the wholesale commission house of Oelbermann & Dommerich Company of

(Photograph by the Johnstone Studio)

WALTER P. SCHWABE

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New York, with which he continued for a year. It was in 1893 that he entered the field of electricity, with which he has since been associated. He was with the Rutherford Electric Light Company as an apprentice at their central station until he had thoroughly acquainted himself with the various phases of the business and had steadily worked his way upward step by step until his various well earned pro- motions had brought him to the superintendency of that company before it was merged with the Gas and Electric Company of Bergen county, New Jersey. He was then appointed superintendent of the electric and gas departments of the Rutherford districts, and when in keeping with the tendency of the times to consolidate business enterprises of this character and thus promote and extend the service, the Gas and Electric Company was taken over by the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey, Mr. Schwabe was appointed superintendent and commercial agent with executive headquarters at Rutherford. There he continued until 1908, at which time he was filling the responsible position of agent and district superintendent. He also was a partner in an electrical contracting concern and was secretary of the board of educa- tion in East Rutherford. In that year he removed to Windsor Locks, Connecticut, where he entered into active association with the Northern Connecticut Light & Power Company as general manager and superintendent, and in 1913 was called to further executive office in his election to the vice presidency. The year 1925 brought him advancement to the position of president and general manager and he is thus serving at the present time. In 1914 he became president and general manager of the Thompsonville Water Company, in 1916 was made president and general manager of the Stafford Springs Aqueduct Company, and in December, 1925, was elected to the presidency of the Connecticut River Company. All three of these were merged into the Northern Connecticut Power Company on the 1st of April, 1926, and Mr. Schwabe was made president of the consolidated organization. Since he assumed active connection with the Northern Connecticut Power Company its expansion has been continuous. The Financial Digest of March, 1928, said: "The Northern Con- necticut Power Company has a remarkable record in several ways. It operates its electric service, an extensive gas business, and a water supply and water service business under one management. Incidentally, the company has built itself around the personality of one man-and that man is Walter P. Schwabe. When Mr. Schwabe took over the management of the old Northern Connecticut Light & Power Company twenty years ago, it was a small and obscure company transacting a limited business in a few communities. The best indication of the change which has taken place under Mr. Schwabe's direction lies in the fact that the revenue of the present company is approximately twenty times the income of the original company of twenty years ago." It has largely been through the efficiency of the operations of the Northern Con- necticut Power Company that electricity is almost universally used in this section of the country. The corporation has shown a pioneer spirit in recognizing and utilizing the newer type of electrical appliances, including electrified radio sets, electric refrigeration and a variety of other appliances and recently has inaugurated a cam- paign to promote the use of electric clocks throughout its territory. Statistics perhaps best show the steady and continued growth and expansion of the business. In 1908 the total revenue of the company was thirty-seven thousand, three hundred and eighty- four dollars and eight cents and its operating expense was twenty thousand, four hundred and forty-three dollars and seventy-five cents and its operating income sixteen thousand, nine hundred and forty dollars and thirty-three cents. Each year marked a steady increase in the business until in 1925 the total revenue had reached four hundred and seventeen thousand, seven hundred and nineteen dollars and eighty- nine cents, its operating expense two hundred and ninety-two thousand, eight hundred and twenty-nine dollars and forty-nine cents, and its operating income one hundred and twenty-four thousand, eight hundred and ninety dollars and forty cents. The increase in electric meters in this period was from four hundred and forty to five thousand, three hundred and thirteen, and gas meters from four hundred and ten to three thousand, six hundred and thirty-two. Then came the consolidation with the Thompsonville Water Company, the Stafford Springs Aqueduct Company and the Connecticut River Company, whereby the scope of activities was greatly extended. In 1927 the total revenue was six hundred and nineteen thousand, four hundred and sixty dollars and thirty-four cents, with operating expense of three hundred and fifty-eight thousand, one hundred and eighteen dollars and ninety-five cents, and operating income of two hundred and sixty-one thousand, three hundred and forty-

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one dollars and thirty-nine cents. The number of consumers, as represented in electric meters, had reached six thousand and thirty-five, gas meters three thousand, nine hundred and thirty-eight, and water meters three thousand, one hundred and sixty-four. In 1927 the Power Company acquired its fourth waterworks, The Windsor Locks Water Company, bringing the water meters up to approximately four thousand. Still the business is being further developed and a recent announcement in 1928 shows that a federal permit has been granted to the Northern Connecticut Power & Water Company for the erection of a dam and power station above Windsor Locks on the Connecticut river. The work will be carried forward at an approximate cost of five million, five hundred thousand dollars. The license granted to the company is for a period of fifty years and gives the company full power to carry out its proposed dam and power plant erection. This project, as approved by the federal power commis- sion, calls for the construction of two concrete dams in the river, one on each side of King's Island, creating' a reservoir extending to Holyoke; a power and navigation channel approximately two thousand feet in length along the west bank of the river from the power-house site to the reservoir, with lock for navigation, and a power- house in which will ultimately be installed six units with a fifty thousand horse power total capacity. Ranking with the premier developments of the northeastern states, Windsor Locks Station will be a substantial contribution to the economic interests of Connecticut.

As has been stated, the mammoth business has grown up around the activities of Walter P. Schwabe. Each step in his forward career has been well earned. He has thoroughly mastered every task assigned him and every phase of the business under his control until eventually he is at the head of important and far-reaching interests and has become an acknowledged authority on matters relating to electrical industry. The articles which he has written for the Electrical World have been widely read and he has been called upon to make appraisals of light and power, rail- way and water properties. He has also been chosen as an expert witness in damage cases involving water power value and was likewise called upon to testify in connection with a fatal injury resulting from an electrical burn. His example and his methods are regarded as a stimulating influence in matters pertaining to electric, gas and water utilities management.

It would seem that his activities in this field alone would have fully occupied his time and efforts, but his resourcefulness and his powers of concentration have enabled him to do equally effective work in still other fields. He is president and director of the Thompsonville Building & Loan Association, which he organized in 1916, and its assets have grown to half a million dollars under his leadership. This association now has one thousand shareholders. He is also a director of the Windsor Locks Building & Loan Association, state director for the Thompsonville Board of Trade in the Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, and in the field of finance is known as a director of the Thompsonville Trust Company and a director of the Collateral Bankers, Inc., of New York city. He became vice president of the New England Division of the National Electric Light Association and was its president from 1926 until 1927. He is also president of the Connecticut Water Works Association, has membership in the New England Water Works Association and is president for the term of 1927-28. He belongs to the American Water Works Association, was elected president of the Connecticut Water Works Association in 1926, and in the same year became president of the Industrial Development Corporation of Thompsonville, of which he is also a director. He also has membership in the American Gas Association, the New England Gas Association, the National Electric Light Association, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the Academy of Political Science of New York, the Calumet Club of Thompsonville, and the Suffield Country Club. In the scientific field which has to do with the line of his chosen life work he is largely considered an authority by reason of the broad scope of his experience and the com- prehensive knowledge which he has acquired through practice, study and research.

The pleasant home life of Mr. Schwabe had its inception in his marriage November 14, 1900, to Miss Anna Orlofski, of Rutherford, New Jersey, and they have a son, Herbert B., now engaged in the insurance business in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Schwabe reside in Enfield, while Mr. Schwabe directs his business activities from his office at 15 Central street, in Thompsonville. He is not unmindful of the duties of citizenship and votes with the republican party. During the World war he was active in Liberty Loan campaigns and was selected general chairman of the town's committee in charge of the Soldiers' Welcome Home celebration. He organized

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History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928. Volume III, Part 92

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