USA > Connecticut > Illustrated popular biography of Connecticut > Part 27
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JAMES G. GREGORY, M.D., NORWALK.
Dr. Gregory was born in Norwalk in 1843. After a thorough course of preparatory training in the public schools of his native town, he entered Yale College, from which insti- tution he graduated with the class of 1865, and from the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1868. He was for two years connected with the medical staff of the Brook- lyn City Hospital. In 1870 he returned to Norwalk, where he has since resid- ed and been in almost constant practice. Dr. Gregory represented Nor- J. G. GREGORY. walk in the legislature in 1879, serving as chairman of the committee on fed- eral relations, and a member of the committee on claims. He was also on the staff of Governor Big- elow, as surgeon-general, in 1881-82. He has filled various local offices in Norwalk, including that of burgess and warden of the borough; and is a trus- tee on the part of Fairfield county of the Middle- town Asylum for the Insane. He has taken an act- ive part in educational interests, and has been in- strumental in securing many important advantages in this direction to the rising generation of his na- tive town.
OZIAS HOLMES KIRTLAND, OLD SAYBROOK: Town Clerk.
Ozias H. Kirtland has had three years of service in the general assembly of this state. He was first elected a member of the house in 1852, representing the town of Saybrook. That year the town of Old Saybrook was incor- porated by the legisla- ture. During the years of 1882 and 1883 he rep- resented Old Saybrook in the house, serving on the republican side. He was a member of decided in- fluence. He was born in Saybrook, Sept. 24, 1819, and received an academic education. His early life was spent in farming and O. H. KIRTLAND. in teaching. Subsequently, he became interested in fishing enterprises in the Connecticut river; also on Lake Ontario in Jefferson county, N. Y., and at Savannah, Ga. In 1860 he organized with David W. Clark the firm of Kirtland & Clark and engaged in shipping fish in large quantities to New York.
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In 1869 the lumber business was added, being re- tained until the present. In 1864 Mr. Kirtland was elected town elerk of Old Saybrook and has held the position continuously since that time. He is a member of the Congregational church and held the office of deacon from 1850 to 1890. He was in the state militia for ten years. Mr. Kirtland has been married twice, his first wife, who died Feb. 3, 1879, being Miss Elizabeth R. Clark. The second wife was Miss Elizabeth R. Whittlesey prior to her mar- riage. The family also includes two sons and one daughter.
BENNET. JERALDS, YALESVILLE: Contractor with the Charles Parker Company.
Bennet Jeralds was born in Watertown, October IO, 1818, and received a common school education. His life has been spent chiefly in the towns of Pros- pect and Wallingford. He has held various pub- lic offices in the town where he resides, and is at present a member of the board of relief. He is also a notary public and is a republican in politics. Years ago he was con- nected with the state mili- tia. At the age of 18 years Mr. Jeralds entered the employ of William Mix of Prospect, the first BENNET JERALDS. spoon manufacturer in the United States, and remained with him three years. When he attained his majority, he began the manufacture of britannia spoons on his own ac- count, and continued in the business in Prospect until 1848, when he formed a copartnership with Eli Ives of Meriden and prosecuted the business until 1853. During that year Mr. Jeralds bought out the interest of Mr. Ives and subsequently dis- posed of the plant to Mr. Charles Parker of Meri- den. He immediately became the superintendent of Mr. Parker's spoon factory in Yalesville and re- moved to that place in 1854. He retained the posi- tion of superintendent until 1876, when the contract system was inaugurated, and Mr. Jeralds became a contractor in the establishment. In politics Mr. Jeralds identified himself with the free-soil party and was defeated as a candidate for the legislature on the free-soil ticket in I851 by one vote. Since the organization of the republican party he has uni- formly voted for its candidates and interests. He was for years a justice of the peace in Wallingford and has been actively associated with school affairs in his community. The subject of this sketch has been married five times. The surviving wife was at the time of her marriage with Mr. Jeralds the
widow of Charles T. Sherman of West Haven. He has six children, five daughters and one son, twenty- five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Mr. Jeralds is a member of the Episcopal church in Yalesville.
COL. JULIUS W. KNOWLTON, BRIDGEPORT: Postmaster.
Julius W. Knowlton was born in Southbridge, Mass., November 28, 1838. He is the son of William S. Knowlton, and traces his American ancestry to Thomas Knowlton, who emigrated from England in 1632 and settled in Ipswich, Mass. When Julius W. was seven years of age his parents removed to Norwich, Conn., and three years later to Bridgeport, where he was educated in the public and private schools. In IS60 he engaged in busi- ness in Bridgeport, con- J. W. KNOWLTON. tinuing until the breaking out of the rebellion, when he enlisted as a private in Company A, Fourteenth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and upon the organization of the regi- ment was made commissary-sergeant. He was promoted to the second lieutenancy of Company C, and was in command of that company at the battle of Gettysburg. On the third day of that battle he was wounded, and remained in a hospital on the field eleven days, when he was removed to Balti- more, and soon after to his home in Bridgeport. The following January he returned to the front, but on account of his wounds was unable to per- form arduous military duty, and in 1864 was dis- charged for physical disability.
In October, 1866, Colonel Knowlton was one of three who purchased The Bridgeport Standard, organizing under the joint stock laws of Connecti- cut, with Mr. Knowlton as secretary and treasurer and business manager. He resigned this position in 1873, to take the superintendency of the Moore Car Wheel Company of Jersey City, N. J. In 1874 he accepted a position in the post-office department at Washington, D. C., and was later made chief clerk of the department by P. M .- General Marshall Jewell. In 1875 he received the appointment of postmaster at Bridgeport, which position he now occupies.
Colonel Knowlton is a republican, and is active and prominent in the councils of his party. He has served two terms in the legislature, has been a member of the republican state committee. and was on Governor Jewell's staff, with the rank of colonel.
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He is a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity, having taken all degrees to and including the thirty-second - Scottish Rite. He is a mem- ber of the military order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, the Army and Navy Club, Grand Army, and the Seaside Club. He has been assist- ant adjutant-general G. A. R., a member of the National Council, and in 1880 was a delegate to the National Encampment. He is a member of the First Universalist society of Bridgeport. He mar- ried, December 17, 1866, Miss Jennie E. Fairchild, of Newtown, Conn., and they have had two child- ren, neither of whom is at present living.
LEANDER Y. KETCHUM, WOODBURY : Post- master.
Leander Y. Ketchum was born at Clyde, Wayne county, N. Y., December 15, 1850, and was edu- cated at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and at Dickinson College, Car- lisle, Pa. His professional studies were pursued in the medical department of the University of New York. He also took a full course in the New York College of Pharma- cy, graduating from the latter in 1876. His father was Judge Leander S. Ketchum of Clyde, a law- yer of prominence in L. Y. KETCHUM. western New York, judge of the county court through successive terms, and member of the New York constitutional convention in 1860. Dr. Ketchum was educated for West Point originally, but owing to the death of his father that project was given up. Prior to 1876 he spent several years in Califor- nia. After receiving the degree of M.D., he prac- ticed in New York city, at Arcade, Wyoming Co., N. Y., and in Ansonia, finally settling at Wood- bury. He is, in addition to his medical practice, the proprietor of the leading drug store in the town, postmaster, having received his appointment from President Harrison, medical examiner, and post surgeon. He is a member of the Litchfield county and state medical societics. He also belongs to King Solomon's Lodge, No. 7, of Woodbury, which possesses one of the most interesting historical structures in the state. Dr. Ketchum has been mar- ried twice. His first wife was Miss M. Belle Coth- ren (daughter of the Hon. Wm. Cothren of Wood- bury), whose death occurred within a few years. The present wife was Miss Sophia Horton, niece of Prof. James L. Ensign of New Haven. The doc- tor has a large practice in the town. In politics he is a republican.
HON. JAMES L. HOWARD, HARTFORD: Manu- facturer, President James L. Howard & Com- pany and Hartford City Gas Light Company.
Hon. James L. Howard, Lieutenant-Governor of the State of Connecticut in 1887 and 1888, is the eldest son of the late Rev. Leland Howard, and was born in Windsor, Ver- mont, January 18, 1818. He received an academic education, and began his business career as a clerk in the city of New York. In 1838 he came to reside in Hartford, and in 1841 engaged in the manufac- turing business on his own account, and has been a manufacturer ever since. His firm was in- corporated in 1876 as James L. Howard & J. L. HOWARD. Company, of which he became and is now presi- dent. He is widely known to the railroad interests of the country as a manufacturer of railroad supplies.
Since his residence in Hartford, he has frequently been called to serve the city in various public capacities, having been a councilman, alderman, police commissioner, chairman of the board of park commissioners, member for many years of the high school committee, and one of the building committee in the erection of the fine high school building. In
all these capacities he has won the esteem of citi- zens irrespective of party. His exceptional busi- ness abilities have also met recognition from the institutions of the city. Additionally to his official connection with his own house, he is president of the Hartford City Gas Light Company, a director in the Phoenix National Bank, a director in the Traveler's Insurance Company ever since its forma- tion, and sustains the same relation to the Hartford County Fire Insurance Company, the Retreat for the Insane, the Farmington River Power Company, and several important manufacturing companies. He is also on the board of directors of the New York & New England Railroad Company. His election to the position of lieutenant-governor in 1887 was a recognition not only of his sterling qualities as a loyal and patriotic citizen, but of his practical business ability, his administrative tact, and his familiarity with parliamentary rules and usages.
Mr. Howard is a representative layman of the Baptist church of the country, his local connection being with the First Baptist church of Hartford, of which he is and has long been a deacon. He is held in high esteem and has been greatly honored by the denomination, which he represents in a wider than state limit. He was president of the Connec- ticut Baptist Convention from 1871 to 1876, and is
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BIOGRAPHY OF CONNECTICUT.
now a trustee and member of its executive commit- tee; he was one of the originators and first presi- dent (and re-elected additional terms) of the Baptist Social Union, and is now president of the board of trustees of the Connecticut Literary Institution, the leading educational corporation of the church in Connecticut; he was also president of the American Baptist Publication Society from 1873 to 1877, and of the American Baptist Home Mission Society from 1881 to 1884. He is now one of the trustees of Brown University.
Mr. Howard was originally a whig, and nat- urally became a republican when the party of " free men, free soil, and free speech " was organ- ized in 1856, and has always given earnest and active support to republican principles. He is distinctively a leader in everything that goes to „make up good citizenship, and in the tokens of con- fidence which his fellow-citizens have showered upon him.
Mr. Howard was married, June 1, 1842, to Miss Anna Gilbert, daughter of the late Joseph B. Gil- bert of Hartford. 'There have been five children, of whom three are living; the eldest, Alice, is now the wife of Judge E. B. Bennett of this city.
FRANCIS HAYDEN TODD, NORTH HAVEN: Farmer.
F. Hayden Todd was born in the town where he still resides, August 8, 1827. He was educated at public and private schools, and has followed agri- cultural pursuits all his life. He was one year in the New Haven Foot Guards, but boasts no other military record. He has held many public of- fices, including that of selectman for four years, grand juror for nearly thirty years, treasurer of the town for the last four- teen years, and various other town offices since 1864. In 1883 he repre- F. 11. TODD. sented North Haven in the legislature, serving on the committee on agri- culture, having been elected by the republicans. He is a Congregationalist by profession, also a member of the North Haven grange. He united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth M. Gill, who is still living, and they have three sons. Mr. Todd has had most of the grand juror business of the town since 1864, and is, with one exception, the longest in this office of any person in his part of New Haven county. His record is that of an hon- orable and useful citizen.
WILLIAM H. BULKELEY, HARTFORD: Dry-
Goods Merchant.
General William II. Bulkeley has been a promi- nent citizen of Hartford for many years, conspicu- ous beyond the limits of the city and county, in political and business cir- cles, first, as having occu- pied the second highest office within the gift of the state, and next as the proprietor of one of the most noted dry-goods houses in this section of New England. He is de- scended from one of the oldest New England fam- ilies, the representatives of which have invariably impressed themselves upon the moral, social, W. H. BULKELEY. and business life of the communities in which they have lived.
General Bulkeley was born in East Haddam, March 2, 1840. Seven years later, his father, the late Hon. Eliphalet A. Bulkeley, established his residence in Hartford, and remained here until his death a few years ago. The young man was edu- cated in the district and high schools of Hartford, principal T. W. T. Curtis being one of his instruct- ors. He left the high school before graduation, with an admirable record for scholarship and appli- cation, and entered an old and leading dry-goods establishment here as a clerk. In March, I857, he went to Brooklyn, N. Y., and engaged in the same business with H. P. Morgan & Co. Afterwards he entered the dry-goods trade for himself, and con- ducted a successful business for six years on Fulton Street, Brooklyn. In 1868 he returned to Hartford and organized the Kellogg & Bulkeley Company, lithographers, of which he has since been the pres- ident. He was for several years vice-president of the Ætna Life Insurance Company, and is at pres- ent a member of its board of directors. He is also a director or otherwise officially connected with a number of the banking, insurance, and other cor- porations of Hartford. In 1878 he purchased the " Bee Hive," a famous dry-goods establishment, which he has since managed with great success, it being the chief secular object of his attention.
General Bulkeley has had large experience in municipal and state politics, and has been both bur- dencd and honored with official positions. He was five years in the common council board of Hartford, serving one year as vice-president, and one as pres- ident of that body. At the expiration of his mem- bership in the council, lie was appointed a member of the board of street commissioners, retaining the position by successive appointments between seven
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and eight years, and proving one of the most effi- cient members the board has ever had. General Bulkeley was elected to the office of Lieutenant- Governor of Connecticut on the ticket with Governor Bigelow, and served through 1881 and 1882 with credit. As presiding officer of the senate, he won and received the approval of that body, irrespective of party.
General Bulkeley has a creditable war record, having been one of the first to respond to the call for troops after the attack on Fort Sumter. He was a member of the Brooklyn City Guard, G company, Thirteenth regiment, N. Y. N. G., and advanced to the front with his command, April 19, 1861. The organization was in service for four months. In 1862 he organized Company G, of the Fifty-sixth regiment, N. Y. N. G., and was elected captain. He was with his command through the Pennsylva- nia crisis of 1863, being in General "Baldy" Smith's division. The regiment was ordered home during the New York draft riots, after which it was disbanded, its term of service having expired.
General Bulkeley is an active member of Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R., of Hartford, and also of the Army and Navy Club of Connecticut. In private life he is a gentleman of superior traits of charac- ter; a member of the Pearl Street Congregational church, and a generous contributor to its charities.
S. C. BEERS, CORNWALL: Merchant.
Silas Curtis Beers was the judge of probate in the Cornwall district for four years from 1880, and occupied the position of town clerk and treasurer for fourteen consecutive years, discharging the du- ties of the place with great efficiency and suc- cess. In 1867 he was a member of the house from the town of Corn- wall, his colleagues from Litchfield county includ- ing Henry B. Graves of Litchfield, Seth Thomas of Plymouth, Nathaniel Smith of Woodbury, and S. C. BEERS. the Rev. John Churchill, also of Woodbury. In politics Mr. Beers is a republican. He is a member of the First Congregational church in Cornwall, in which he has held the office of deacon for a number of years. He is a member of the firm of M. Beers & Sons, and is engaged in mercantile pursuits. Mr. Beers is unmarried. He was born at Cornwall, March 13, 1827, and received a common school edu- cation. He is one of the most respected and hon- ored citizens of the town in which he lives.
ELISHA B. GILLETTE, CANAAN: Farmer.
Elisha B. Gillette was born in that town, Nov. 27, 1829, and received a common school education. His father, Joseph P. Gillette, was from Milford, and his grandfather, Ben- jamin Gillette, was a sol- dier of the revolutionary war. The subject of this
sketch was a member of the house of representa- tives in 1884 from Canaan, serving on the democratic side. He has been a member of the school board and school commit- tee, occupying the posi- tion of clerk and treas- urer. He has also been a justice of the peace. Mr. E. B. GILLETTE. Gillette is a member of the Methodist church. For the past thirty years he has been engaged in the lumber and charcoal business, and in farming. The wife of Mr. Gillette was Miss Sarah L. Abells before her marriage, and is still living. The family includes five children.
CHARLES BELKNAP, BRIDGEPORT: President of the Belknap Manufacturing Company.
Charles Belknap was born in East Randolph, Vermont, March 29, 1825. Brought up on a farm until 1841, he went to Chicopee Falls to work in a cotton mill. In 1844 he went to Cabotville (now Chicopee) to learn the machinist trade with the Ames Manufacturing Company. He was mar- ried in May, 1845, to Mar- cia C. Goddard. In 1849 he removed to Springfield and was employed in the United States Armory shops. In August, 1860, went to Bridgeport with Dwight Chapin & Co., manufacturers of brass CHARLES BELKNAP. and iron goods. In 1861 was engaged in the man- ufacture of army appendages. Did not go to the war and was not drafted, but wishing to be repre- sented sent a substitute. In 1863, in company with Mr. E. G. Burnham, he organized the Belknap & Burnham Manufacturing Company for the manu- facture of engineers' supplies, gas, steam, and water goods. From small beginnings this business grew to large proportions. and was afterward changed to the Eaton, Cole & Burnham Co., one of the largest of its kind in the country.
In 1875, having retired from the above corpora-
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BIOGRAPHY OF CONNECTICUT.
tion, and having associated with him several gen- tlemen who had held prominent positions in the old firm's employ, the Belknap Manufacturing Com- pany was organized to manufacture the same line of goods, in which he has held the position of presi- dent since its organization, owning the majority of the capital stock.
DAVID HENNEY, HARTFORD : President and
Treasurer Hartford Light and Power Company.
Alderman David Henney was born in Onslow, Ia., Oct. 7, 1855, his parents at the time being resi- dents of that state. One year later the family re- turned to Connecticut and settled in Willimantic. After a residence of seven years in that place, Mr. Henney, the father of the alderman, decided to re- move to this city, where he could give his children the best of educational opportunities. It was the question of education, in fact, that determined his return east from lowa. All of his children have been thoroughly educated, DAVID HENNEY. and each of the five sons occupies a responsible and influential position in the community where he re- sides. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools of this city, graduating from the Hartford High School in the class of 1874. He was a clerk in the Mechanics Savings Bank here for four years, after which he engaged in the broker- age business. In 1887 he organized the Hartford Light and Power Company and has been its presi- dent and treasurer from the start. At the session of the legislature in 1887 the company was incorpo- rated under a special charter and was the first to introduce the incandescent system in this city. It was also the first to establish electric motors, furnishing power for industries of various kinds. President Henney was mainly instrumental in getting the electric street railroad line established. He is also the originator of the project for running electric railroad lines from West Hartford Center by way of Farmington to Unionville and from the Windsor town line on North Main street to Poquon- ock and Rainbow. These plans will be carried into effect as soon as acts of incorporation are granted by the legislature. Mr. Henney is the president and treasurer of the Hartford Stcam Company. He also owns a valuable farm in Union- ville, which is carried on under his immediate supervision. He is one of the shrewdest business men in the city. Alderman Henney has been a member of the court of common council seven
years, six of the number being spent in the board of alderman. He was chairman of the ways and means committee for four years, the position being the most important one in city government and re- quiring special knowledge of municipal finances and management. Mr. Ilenney discharged the duties of the place with complete success. He is the chairman of the cighth ward republican com- mittee and is the only republican who has been able to win an election in that stronghold of de- mocracy for three consecutive terms. The alder- man is a member of the First Presbyterian church, and was for a number of years the president of the young people's association in that church. He has a wife and two children. The former was Miss Elizabeth Simonds of this city prior to her mar- riage. The brothers of the alderman are James B. Henney of Boston, formerly superintendent of mo- tive power on the New York & New England, John Henney, Jr., superintendent of motive power on the New York, New Haven & Hartford, Charles M. and Judge Wm. F. Henney, both of whom have held influential offices in the city. The only sister resides at the family home here. Alderman Hen- ney is a member of the Hartford Order of Elks. His career as a business man and citizen has enti- tled him to the honor and esteem of the entire com- munity.
E. H. BARTRAM, SHARON: Town Clerk and Treasurer.
Ezra Harris Bartram was born in the town of Sherman, Fairfield County, Conn., July 26. 1$20. He depended upon the district schools of his native town for his education, and at the age of fifteen quitted both the town and school and took ap his residence in Sharon, where he has since re- mained. He has followed mercantile pursuits for a considerable part of his life, and has otherwise been engaged in farming. At twenty-two years of age he was married to Miss Laura Williams, who died March 9, 1884. Six children survive her. Mr. Bartram is a member of E. H. BARTRAM. the Methodist Episcopal church of Sharon. He is also a democrat, and has, as the candidate of that party, been frequently chosen to fill public offices in his town. He has been constable, assessor, and was a justice of the peace until excluded from fur- ther ltolding that offiec by his age. He is still a notary public, and continues to fill the important position of town clerk and treasurer. Mr. Bartram
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