USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume I > Part 67
USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume I > Part 67
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Three acres of land were purchased, November 22d, 1846, of Asahel Merriman, and the town was petitioned to open a street to the same. Soon after Hanover street was opened by the cemetery, which was enlarged by the addition of an acre in 1864. It is laid out with modern landscape effects, and contains about 800 family lots. There are numerous costly monuments, and the grounds are kept in good con- dition by the association. The officers in 1889 were: John D. Billard, president; Charles H. Collins, secretary and treasurer; P. J. Clark, H. J. Church and John D. Billard, directors. The association was duly incorporated June 14th, 1866.
Walnut Grove Cemetery, south of the city, in its area, beauty of location and possibility of development is the most important in the town. It had its origin in a purpose formed as long ago as 1868, when a committee was appointed to consider the wisdom of opening a new cemetery. It recommended that the town purchase the Nor- man B. Wood farm for $12,000, and in case a cemetery association was formed before January 1st, 1872, to transfer the same to such a corpor- ation. After some delay in arranging the details of such an organi- zation, the Meriden Cemetery Association was formed August 6th, 1875, Eli Butler, president, and John Ives, secretary, and the town transferred the property to that body, which became a legal corpora_ tion March 3d, 1876. On the 7th of October of that year the cemetery was appropriately dedicated, nearly all the clergy in the city partici- pating. The first interment was made soon after.
The original area of the Wood farm of 60 acres was diminished by locating the new South Meriden road through the western part, which cut off about ten acres, but the cemetery was subsequently en- larged by adding about the same number of acres to its area on the north end, and in 1889 it contained nearly 60 acres, about seven acres having been highly improved for burial purposes. Already some fine monuments have been erected, which add to the natural beauty of the cemetery. In 1889 the officers of the association were: William W. Lyman, president; O. B. Arnold, vice-president; John Ives, secretary and treasurer.
St. Patrick's Cemetery is the property of St. Rose Parish, of Meri- den. It has a beautiful and advantageous location on Wall street, and
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is finely improved. The blocks are 16 by 20 feet, and are carefully kept. Chaste memorials have been erected, and it is yearly becoming a more beautiful spot. St. Patrick's Cemetery was blessed by Bishop McFarland, May 8th, 1864. Previous Catholic interments at Meriden were made in a small lot on South Broad street, which was vacated when the present cemetery was opened.
CHAPTER XI.
MERIDEN .- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Nathaniel L. Bradley .- Eli Butler .- Andrew J. Coe .- Levi E. Coe .- Lemuel J. Curtis. -Charles H. S. Davis .- Seth J. Hall .- George E. Howe .- Emily J. Leonard .- Sax- ton B. Little .- William W. Lyman .- Edward B. Manning .- Edward Miller .- Samuel C. Paddock .- Charles Parker .- Cephas B. Rogers .- John Sutliff .- John Tait .- Henry K. White .- Horace C. Wilcox .- Grove H. Wilson .- Bertrand L. Yale. -Personal Paragraphs.
N. L. BRADLEY was born in Cheshire, Conn., December 27th, 1829. In Mr. Bradley we have a suggestive illustration of a successful man. The strong qualities which lay at the base of all his development he inherited largely from his parents. To the faithful exercise of these is to be attributed the abundant success which he has attained. The inheritance of character determines the trend of a man's life, and is the prophecy also of its end. Mr. Bradley's father and mother were Levi and Abigail Ann (Atwater) Bradley. Levi Bradley was a thrifty farmer and a man of large influence in his town, whose moral worth made for a wholesome and strong virtue in the community. In a con- scientions observance of all his religious duties he was most heartily joined by the entire family circle. His sympathies were decidedly Christian, as evidenced by the liberal support he accorded to the work of religion. He found abundant time also for the study of his- tory, in which he was much interested, even to the close of his life. Because of such an example, it would be natural to expect moral excellence and mental and physical soundness in the children.
N. L. Bradley was the youngest son among five children, whose names in order of birth are as follows: Emeline, wife of Alfred P. Curtis, of Meriden; Samuel A., of Cheshire; William L., of Boston; Nathaniel L., of Meriden; and Abby Ann, wife of Walter Hubbard, of Meriden. Of these only two are at present living-William L. and Nathaniel L. Mr. Bradley received his education in the academy at Meriden. His first principal was John D. Post, and Dexter R. Wright was the last. At the close of his academical studies he became a clerk with E. B. M. Hughes, hardware merchant, New Haven, Conn., for one year. Then, because of the strong desire of his parents, he returned home, very much to the regret of Mr. Hughes, and devoted himself to the work of the farm.
. L. Prodey
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
At twenty-one years of age Mr. Bradley had, as yet, conceived no other purpose in life than that of being a farmer. Farming was not remunerative and its toils not satisfying to his ambition. The little fortune he had accumulated he placed in a clock factory in Southing. ton, a town about four miles away. His compensation was $1.25 per diem. It was here that his genius for work discovered itself. Conse- quently he was offered the contract for making clocks in the factory, which he readily accepted. In the event of the great accumulation of goods, which necessitated the stopping of work, it was proposed to Mr. Bradley that he visit New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington for the purpose of selling the goods of the company. The success of his venture was so gratifying to the president that other salesmen were dismissed and Mr. Bradley was elected a director, and also the representative salesman of the company.
The year 1852 marked the inception of the great industry in Meriden with which Mr. Bradley's name has since been associated. A joint stock company was formed (Bradley, Hatch & Co.), with a + capital of $5,000. William L. Bradley and Walter Hubbard were members of the firm. So rapidly grew the business that after two years, in 1854, more capital became an imperative need. The Hatch brothers not having any money for investment chose to go out of the company. Walter Hubbard sold out his dry goods business, and with William L. and Nathaniel L. Bradley organized the company, under the corporation title of Bradley & Hubbard. The property of the joint stock company of Bradley, Hatch & Co. was purchased and a large business was permanently located where the immense factory plant now stands. The business was conducted under a copartnership until 1875, when a joint stock company was again formed. having the name of The Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company, and has since been so conducted.
The first factory consisted of a small wooden building without power. Now there is a large group of brick buildings, the area of whose floor space is equal to about seven acres. At first six workmen were employed: now fully 1.100 operatives are enrolled.
In the beginning of the business Mr. Bradley acted as manufacturer and salesman. In the course of time salesrooms were opened in New York, to the interest of which Mr. Hubbard gave attention quite ex- clusively. Offices and salesrooms are now established in New York, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia. Their products have a ready and large sale, not only in the United States, but in foreign countries as well. The most improved machinery is used. The closest attention is given to produce the best manner of work. The highest style of art is made subservient to the taste of the trade. Each succeeding year evidences the greatest possible skill in intelligent artisanship.
The showrooms of the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Com- pany is one of the beautiful places to which visitors to Meriden are
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taken. Here we have a true exponent of the city's industry and its mechanical ability. And it is a proof also of the enterprise of Messrs. Bradley and Hubbard, and of their efficient superintendent and sec- retary, Mr. C. F. Linsley. Their manufacture is in the line of chan- deliers and brackets for oil, gas and electric light, ornamental lamps, bronzes, stationers' hardware and tables, andirons and fenders, clocks in ornamental iron cases, taking the place of French marble cases, and a variety of elegant ware in brass and bronze which is not readily classified.
Mr. Bradley's life in Meriden covers the most important period of the city's growth, whose population at the time of his beginning busi- ness there was about 3,000 people. He has been intimately identified with the development of its municipal interests. The demands of his business, however, have not permitted him to accept many official burdens, although urged to do so. At one time he was elected alder- man, and acting mayor. He is a director in the First National Bank, the City Savings Bank, Meriden Fire Insurance Company, Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company, Meriden Horse Railroad Company and the Meriden Publishing Company. He is also interested in other financial enterprises in Meriden. He has been a liberal supporter of every public enterprise. In politics, charities and the religious life his influence is strong. He is not too busy to give attention to the improvement of his town in its physical features. The streets, parks and cemeteries are objects of his special care. He is president of the Meriden Park Company.
Any sketch of Mr. Bradley's life and character would be incom- plete without a reference to his interest in religious enterprises. He gives freely and constantly to proper objects of charity; every good work has his sympathy and aid. He was among the first to liberally provide for the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, to whose building he subscribed generously. He has been very closely related to the work of the First Congregational church, of which he is a member. For nearly twenty years he has been a member of the committee of the society, and through all that time has earnestly studied and labored to build up a harmonious and pros- perous fellowship.
On the 25th of October, 1860, Mr. Bradley married Hattie E., daughter of Selden and Lucy Hooker (Hart) Peck, of Kensington, Conn., a lady who encourages the good spirit of her husband and cooperates in his benevolent and religious designs. One son has been born to them, Clarence P. Bradley, who is a director in the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company.
The family estate and residence are among the richest and most beautiful in Meriden, on one of the principal streets of the city.
ELI BUTLER, banker, Meriden, Conn., was born July 6th, 1814, and died May 24th, 1881. The ancestry chart dates from the days of
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Richard and Elizabeth Butler, of Hartford, Conn., whose "will " was proved in 1684. Eli Butler was the second son in a family of six chil- dren born to Lemuel and Salina (Merriman) Butler. His boyhood was spent on the farm, except that in the winter, until he was about four- teen years of age, he attended the district school. Beyond that age his education was obtained in earning a living and in making money, rather than by the tuition of the pedagogue. But that form of educa- tion worked well in his case, for he was by nature a master mind which could find " sermons in stones, books in the running brooks, and good in everything."
Mr. Butler was not profuse in words, though they were at com- mand in abundance when he felt he had anything to say either in committees or in public: he was sometimes courtly in manner, giving an impression of being a little distant and yet free in the presence of his friends, and very fond of their company; quiet in disposition, but enjoying the social pleasantries of his neighbors; fond of reading and of games in the parlor. He was a man of indomitable will, and yet it was not stubborn, for it was intelligent. He was able to weigh matters on all sides, and possessed a judgment of unusual balance. His discriminations were accurate, and rarely were they ever faulty. When in conference with other men he was able to listen patiently to their opinions, and then positively, independently and clearly ex- pressing his own, to lead them in the courses of action which seemed to him wisest and best.
These qualities made him a born leader of men, and they shone conspicuously in him, for instance, in the erection of the First Con- gregational church of Meriden. That church, as much as anything else in his city, stands as a monument to him. It is a magnificent granite edifice of costly workmanship. He was chairman of both the building and finance committee from the time the church was com- menced until it was completed. With him were associated positive men of diverse natures, and leaders in the life of the city of Meriden. As might be supposed, there was a variety of opinion to get along with, and opinion positively expressed. But Mr. Butler, as chairman of the two efficient committees, kept all forces working in harmony from first to last, and the noble temple stands forth as the magnificent ecclesiastico-architectural ornament of the city of Meriden.
It is an interesting commentary on his ability as a leader of men that he voluntarily yielded up, in the last few years of his life, the final decision on many questions, to some trusted friends, giving as his reason that his convictions of the proper course to pursue were not so clear as they had been all his life. He had the uncommon sense to perceive a certain slight cloudiness of conviction coming over him, and the still more uncommon sense to declare that he would lead only when he knew he was right beyond any question in his own
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mind. Clear sight and clear conviction had always been conspicuous traits in him.
Like many prosperous Meriden men, Mr. Butler began his busi- ness career by selling goods in the West and South from a peddler's wagon. He afterward opened a dry goods store in Radfordsville, Alabama, a town about twenty miles from Selma. There he laid the foundation of his generous fortune. In 1853 he returned to Meriden and invested considerable of his property in the best paying home interests.
His business connections in Meriden were widely ramified. He was founder, director, stockholder or capitalist of many of the princi- pal business concerns of his city. Besides being chief executive officer in the Home Bank, he had been for years a director of the Hartford & New Haven Railroad Company, and continued to be a stockholder when it was merged in the Consolidated Railroad Com- pany. He was director of the Meriden Cutlery Company, director of Pratt, Reed & Co .; also of E. Miller & Co. He was one of the founders and president of the Meriden Gas Light Company; also president of the Meriden Fire Insurance Company. He was one of the founders and the president of the Walnut Grove Cemetery Association; also of the Butler & Lyman Land Company. He was one of the founders of the Meriden Malleable Iron Company, and of the Meriden Glass Works, and also of the Wilcox & White Organ Company, and besides a director of the Stanley Works, New Britain.
But Mr. Butler's name is most naturally associated with the Home Bank of Meriden, one of the chief business centers of the city. The bank was organized in 1855, Mr. Butler being the youngest director. One year later only he was chosen president of the bank, taking pre- cedence of older directors, and held the office until he died. It is not a little to his praise that when the business devastation of 1857 lay upon the country, and nearly every bank was closed, the Home Bank, under his guidance, was one of the very few which always kept open doors.
Mr. Butler was originally a whig, but at the campaign of Fremont and Buchanan came out a republican, and remained an ardent sup- porter of his party until the last. He declined various local political honors which his party wanted to thrust upon him, such as representa- tive to the general assembly and mayor of the city of Meriden. He consented to be made alderman and councilman for a few years, and was one of the ablest members of the city government. He was especially interested in three great departments of town and city affairs-the schools, the streets and the water service-for he thought that such matters as those determined the quality of the city and its excellence of standing among the cities of the land.
Mr. Butler was twice married. His first wife was Miss Juliette Ives, a Meriden lady, and connected with one of the oldest and most
d. R.t.
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honorable families. Four children were born to them, two sons and two daughters; the daughters were: Mary South, who died in in- fancy, September 27th, 1843; and Rose Salina, who died when seven- teen years of age, March 15th, 1866. The eldest son, Edwin Howell, whose patriotism made him a soldier in the late war, now lives in Kensington, and William O. resides in a spacious house, the gift of his father, and located quite near the homestead residence. Mrs. Butler died March 1st, 1855. The second wife was Miss Rachel Crampton, eldest daughter of William and Esther Crampton, of Farm- ington, Conn. Mr. Butler was married to her October 6th, 1858. She was a member of a much respected and long settled family of Farm- ington, and has been distinguished and beloved in Meriden for her many Christian works and virtues. Herself and husband found a delightful companionship in each other for 23 years, and their home was a most pleasant meeting place for all their friends.
Mr. Butler was a Congregationalist, and by the unanimous and hearty voice of the First Congregational church of Meriden held the office of deacon for many years. He was a warm supporter of his church, always present at its meetings and generous in his contribu- tions to its various objects of benevolence. The poor always found in him a friend and helper.
At the funeral of Mr. Butler a large concourse of prominent citi- zens gathered at his late residence, and his former pastor, Reverend T. M. Miles, of Lawrence, Mass., conducted the services. He reminded the many business comrades present that the strong staff against which they had heavily leaned was broken, and voiced the general estimate of the man by the choice of the Scripture text for the occa- sion, the words of David concerning Abner, II. Sam. 3:38: " Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel."
ANDREW J. COE was born in Meriden, Conn., September 15th, 1834. The name Coe is a common one in some of the eastern counties of England, and it is a noteworthy circumstance that in that country, as in this, it has given the name to various fruits originated by members of the family. Robert Coe, with his wife, Anna, and their three sons, came from Suffolk county, England, sailing April 10th, 1634, and reaching Boston in the following June. They settled in Watertown, near Boston, and Mr. Coe was made a freeman September 3d, 1634. The sons and grandsons in one of the lines of descent were Robert, 2d, John and Joseph, covering in all four generations. Joseph, in the fourth generation, married Abigail Robinson, and lived in Durham, Conn. To them were born five children, and Joseph, their eldest, born September 5th, 1713, married Abigail Curtis in 1739. They had ten children, and Joseph, the sixth in order, born May 31st, 1753, married Elizabeth Cornwell, and lived in Middlefield, Conn. Ten children were born to them, of whom the eighth was Calvin Coe, born April 11th, 1794. Calvin Coe was the father of Andrew J., the sub-
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ject of this sketch. His mother's maiden name was Harriet Rice. Calvin Coe purchased land in the town of Meriden, Conn., and settled there. Calvin and Harriet (Rice) Coe were married January 31st, 1820, and brought up a family of nine children, of whom eight sur- vive. Andrew J. was the sixth in order of birth.
The families of both father and mother were remarkable for lon- gevity, five of the father's family having reached an average age of about 92 years; and the mother's father having died at the age of 87, and her mother at nearly 97. Andrew J.'s father died in December, 1886, aged nearly 93 years, after a married life of nearly 67 years, and his mother, born in May, 1800, still survives.
Calvin Coe was an enterprising farmer, alert to adopt new methods and appliances, to procure improved breeds of animals, and to try every promising variety of fruit or other farm product. The first of any improved breed of cattle brought to the state were Devons, which he and Mr. Hurlbut, of Winchester, bought from the importers. Messrs. Coe and Hurlbut went to Baltimore for the purpose of get- ting the new breed. The respect shown him by his fellow-townsmen may be gathered from the fact that he served many years as first selectman of the town.
Harriet Rice Coe, the mother of Andrew J., is still living, and though lamed by paralysis on one side, is able to walk and ride out. Her memory is somewhat impaired, but though more than 90 years of age, she is still a cyclopedia of information upon historical subjects, sacred and profane, and upon all matters of local or family history. She is also a most competent adviser in practical affairs, and is still able to fortify her opinions by very apt quotations from Scripture, poetry or other literature, with which her mind is richly stored. She is still an infallible speller.
The Rice family were among the very earliest settlers in Meriden, and her father, Hezekiah Rice, was a thorough representative of that early type of which Lecky says, " It is probable that no nation ever started on its career with a larger proportion of strong characters or a higher level of moral conviction than the English colonies in Amer- ica." Mrs. Coe's mother, Lydia Stow Rice, was a philosophic and in- dependent reasoner upon all subjects, and had the intellectual gifts which characterized the Stow family. Early education coinciding with the natural bent of her mind, she had to a remarkable degree the habit of viewing all questions on both sides in the light of pure reason, uninfluenced by prejudice, feeling or interest. Her brother, Joshna Stow, commenced an address at their mother's grave by say- ing, "Here lies the best of mothers. She taught us not so much what to think as how to think." This same brother, Joshua Stow, was a member of the Connecticut constitutional convention of 1818, and was the author of the article in the constitution securing complete religious freedom to the inhabitants of the state, thus giving Con-
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necticut the distinction of being the first of the states to provide that religious opinions " shall be forever free to all persons." He was also the leader of the first party of settlers to the Western Reserve, or New Connecticut, of Ohio, overcoming many obstacles, among which was the refusal of the commandant of Fort Stanwix (the frontier post, now Rome, N. Y.) to let them pass. The commandant feared they would make trouble with the Indians; but Mr. Stow met the chiefs at Buffalo and secured their permission and friendship. Another brother, Silas Stow, presided over the first constitutional convention of New York, and his son, Horatio Stow, over the second constitutional convention of that state.
In the girlhood days of Mrs. Harriet Rice Coe, young girls were expected to be useful, and she has now a pair of fine linen sheets, the linen of which was spun by herself when she was nine years old. But such labors, though they may have left less time for frivolous amuse- ment, did not apparently interfere with the acquisition of knowledge and social cultivation. In her youth she was said to be, by a compe- tent observer, "company for young or old." While she acquired the manners that belonged to the old school, of dignity and repose, she was at the same time ready in conversation and a good listener. The foundations of character and womanhood must have been solidly laid in early years, for the woman who fulfilled, as well as she did, the duties incident to rearing a family of nine children, besides managing the household on a large farm, could give little time to anything else.
Andrew J. Coe's early education was received in the district school in Meriden, and in the academy located where now the Meriden Cor- ner school stands. That academy was taught by the life-long friend of Mr. Coe, Henry D. Smith, of Plantsville. Mr. Coe has always cher- ished profound esteem, in common with the general public, for his academic instructor. Full preparation for college was inade in a pri- vate school in Middletown, and in the year 1851 he entered Wesleyan University, and graduated in 1855.
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