USA > Connecticut > Illustrated popular biography of Connecticut > Part 59
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CALVIN M. LEETE, GUILFORD : Farmer.
Calvin M. Leete of Leete's Island, in the town of Guilford, has served three terms in the legislature from that town, representing that constituency in the house in 1856, 1862, and 1878. He is a repub- lican in politics, and has held the office of registrar of voters for twenty-two years. He is a farmer by avocation and is one of the trustees of the Guil- ford Savings Bank. With the exception of two years in Meriden his life has been passed on Leete's Island, where he was born October 18, 1816. He is at present a mem- C. M. LEETE. ber of the school board in Guilford and belongs to the Third Congregational church in that place. His wife, who is still living, was Miss Lucy M. Leete. There is one son in the family. The sub- ject of this sketch is widely known throughout the state on account of his legislative associations. He is one of the oldest and most respected residents in Guilford.
HON. CYRUS G. BECKWITH, NEW LONDON : Merchant.
Cyrus Grosvenor Beckwith was born at Water- ford, Conn., December 3, 1841. In early boyhood he studied in the common schools of his native town, and graduated in 1858 from the Bartlett High school at New Lon- don. He gradually be- came interested in mer- cantile pursuits, and was a commercial traveler for fourteen years, up to ISSo, when he established his present business, the firm now being Beckwith & Keefe. In 1864 he was elected a member of the New London court of C. G. BECKWITH. common council, and in 1884 elected again for a term of three years. I11 1886 he was clected to represent the Ninth sena- torial district in the upper house of the state legis- lature, serving on the democratic side. Mr. Beck- with has membership with the Free Masons, Odd Fellows, and Red Men. He some years ago mar- ried Miss Augusta A. Dart, and they now have one child. His business and public career have been such as to entitle him to the respect and gratitude of his fellow-citizens.
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PRENTICE O. SMITH, FRANKLIN.
Prentice O. Smith, born August 3, 1817, in that part of Groton which is now Ledyard, moved in early manhood to Franklin, Conn., where he has since resided. Having learned the trade of car- riage-making, he carried on the business in part- nership with his brother for about twenty years in Franklin. He then took the general agency for New York city for the successive editions of the atlas published by Mitch- ell & Bradley, holding the field to the satisfac- P. O. SMITH. tion of all parties for a full quarter of a century. He married, April 29, 1840, Miss Eliza J. King of Lebanon, Goshen society. They have two sons and two daughters.
Mr. Smith was a member of the Connecticut legislature in 1865. He has always been active in forwarding every measure which has given fair promise of benefiting the community, and has been especially earnest in sustaining the local church. A few such men in each of our country towns would soon arrest the decadence of which many complain.
JOHN N. LEWIS, VOLUNTOWN: Accountant.
Mr. Lewis was born in Exeter, R. I., April 23, 1847. He is a son of Deacon James Lewis, a prosperous farmer, and a grandson of Colonel Nathan B. Lewis, a vete- ran of the war of 1812. In his boyhood he worked on the farm summers and attended school winters, receiving his education in the public schools, select schools, and at Schofield's Commercial college. Af- ter leaving school he taught for several terms with good success. In 1870 he was United States J. N. LEWIS. census gatherer for Exe- ter, and in 1872 was elected justice of the peace by the Rhode Island legislature. In October of that year he came to Voluntown, where he has been with the firm of Ira G. Briggs & Co. and their successors, to the present time.
He was postmaster of Voluntown under the Hayes and Garfield and Arthur administrations, but was removed by President Cleveland. He has been a member of the school board of the town for
many years, and is now town clerk and treasurer, and registrar of voters. He was elected to the lower house of the Connecticut legislature for 1889, by 99 majority out of 203 votes, and served on the committee on appropriations. He was returned to the house at the last election, and is now a mem- ber of that body, and chairman of the committee on unfinished business. Mr. Lewis is an ardent republican and a worker for the success of the party. He professes no religion, classifying him- self as a materialist. He is a Mason and an Odd Fellow and stands high in those orders. His wife was Nietta Lee prior to marriage, and they have one child. Mr. Lewis is one of the active business and political forces in his part of the state.
WILLIAM HENRY FISHER, NEW HAVEN : Locomotive Engineer.
William H. Fisher, one of the best known lay preachers and workers in the state, was born in New York, Sept. 25, 1836, and when he was eleven years of age his parents removed to New Haven. His education was in the public schools of New York, and the famous Lancasterian school of New Haven, under the veteran educator John E. Lovell. He has followed the profession of a loco- motive engineer, and is well known to railroad men in all parts of the state. For several years W. H. FISHER. he was engaged in the work of an evangelist in the city of New Haven, and his labors were blessed by a great deal of last- ing good. For the past eight years he has confined his public efforts to speaking in connection with the gospel temperance work. He is connected with the Methodist church, and the work in which he has been engaged is a guarantee that he is an honor to that body. During the civil war he was connected with the Union League of the United States of America, holding the highest office in the council to which he belonged and preserving, as a memento, its charter. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Sons of Temperance, O. U. A. M., Temple of Honor, and Masonic orders. He is an engineer on the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- road, and is also a chaplain in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. His wife was Agnes Hitchen Miller, daughter of Doctor Richard Miller, and granddaughter of Captain Samuel Hitchen, founder of " Wheel of Fortune " Copper Mine, in Cornwall, England. They have one son and a daughter. He is a republican.
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REV. EUGENE F. ATWOOD, BLOOMFIELD : Pastor of Congregational Church.
Rev. E. F. Atwood is a descendant of Dr. Thomas Atwood, who came from Essex, England, in 1640, to Plymouth, Mass., and settled in Wethersfield, Conn., about 1660. On one line he is a direct descendant from Solomon Stoddard of North Hamp- ton, Mass., and Rev. John Warham, the first pastor of Windsor. He was born in Woodbury March 14, 1847. He is married and has two children, a boy and a girl. He enlisted at fifteen years of age from the district school July 14, 1862, in Company E. F. ATWOOD. A, Fifteenth Connecticut Volunteers. He has served two years as state chaplain of the G. A. R., was also commander of D. S. Cowles Post, and delegate to the national en- eampment of the G. A. R. in California.
After the war he began a course, preparatory to entering college, in a private school in Woodbury. In 1868 he entered Madison University (now Col- gate), Hamilton, N. Y. In 1870 he removed to Oberlin, Ohio. After two years in the college he entered the Theological Department, and graduated in August, 1875. In December, 1875, he was ordained and installed pastor of the Congregational church at Arcade, N. Y. In the summer of 1877 the society voted to tear down the old church and build a new one at a cost of $6,000, and granted Mr. Atwood a leave of absence for six months. He immediately entered the government employ as assistant superintendent of construction, and with a party he assisted in laying out Fort Keogh on the Yellowstone river. In the fall he returned, and, finding some dissatisfaction arising from his activity in raising the money for the new church, he at once resigned his pastorate to accept a call to Rodman, N. Y. Here a great revival followed his labors, and the church was repaired at a cost of $3,000. The Home Missionary Society extended him a call to the pastorate of the Congregational church at Deadwood, Dakota, and to supervise their new work in the Black Hills. In the fall of IS78 he accepted this call. Here he found full opportunity for the exercise of his natural organizing and finan- cial ability. He assisted in organizing and procur- ing pastors for nine churches. This association of churches voted to locate a college in that region and appointed Mr. Atwood their financial agent. A college charter was secured, the first granted by the territory of Dakota. A preparatory school was sustained, forty acres of land secured at a value of
$8,000, and a building erected at a cost of $3,000 more. A bill was introduced in the territorial legislature to establish a Normal school in connec- tion with this school at Spearfish. The bill was so amended as to include three other Normal schools, locating two in North and two in South Dakota; these are now in successful operation.
The position of county superintendent of schools was offered Mr. Atwood, but his health began to fail under his multiplied labors, and he was obliged to resign his pastorate and to return East. After a few months' rest he accepted a call to a small country church in Bridgewater in this state, where he remained three years, and then accepted a call to the church in East Canaan. A division in the society as to location of the church arose, and Mr. Atwood resigned. Soon after one party withdrew and formed the Plymouth church of North Canaan.
After supplying a few months in Harwinton, he accepted the call to his present pastorate in Bloom- field in May, 1887. Mr. Atwood has taken much interest in photographing the historic homes of old Connecticut, and is at present the accredited lecturer of the Connecticut Historical Society. He is fre- quently called to read papers pertaining to the history of Connecticut before learned societies in other states, and is much in demand for memorial and other addresses in locations where he is known.
EDWIN AYER, OLD SAYBROOK : Farmer.
Edwin Ayer was born in Saybrook (now Old Saybrook), Oct. 15, 1824, and is of the seventh gen- eration in direct descent from John Eyre (pro- nounced Ayer ), who mi- grated from Norwich, in England, to Newbury, Mass., in 1637. He re- ceived his education in the common schools of his town, and at the acade- mies of Saybrook and Es- sex. He has followed farming through life to some extent, and also lumbering; is now presi- dent of the Saybrook Bank of Essex.
EDWIN AVER.
In 1849 he went with the crowd to California by way of Cape Horn, and was absent about three years. Was married in October, 1852, to Miss Abbie M. Youngs of Farm- ington, who died in ISS2, leaving three sons and two daughters; two of the sons and one daughter are now residents of the state of Washington. He married for his second wife, in 1883, Miss Carrie E. Youngs, who is now living. He held the military office of major of the Sixth regiment Conn. militia
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when he left for California, and has subsequently held various civil offices, such as selectman, asses- sor, chairman of school board, and justice of the peace for some twenty-five years, and represented his town in the legislatures of 1872 and 1873. He is now living at his ancestral home, of which his family have held successive title since its first occu- pation by the English colonists.
HON. JOHN ALLEN, OLD SAYBROOK : Senator.
John Allen of Old Saybrook, Middlesex county, Conn., was born in Meriden on the 6th day of Feb- ruary, 1815. He was the eldest of four children of Levi Allen, a farmer and prominent citizen of that place. He is a lineal de- scendant of Roger Allen of New Haven, who was a contemporary of Rev. John Davenport and dea- con in his church. His grandfathers, Archelaus Allen and Aaron Hall of Wallingford, were patri- ots of the revolution, and served in the war for our JOHN ALLEN. national independence. After receiving a good academic education he was placed in the store of Major Elisha A. Cowles, in his native town, where, under the several changes in the style of the firm, he served a clerkship from the age of fourteen to twenty. In the spring of 1836 he removed to New York, and entered the employ of Perkins, Hopkins & White, wholesale inerchants, then extensively engaged in the dry-goods jobbing business with the South. He remained with that firm in confidential relations through a period of unusual instability and difficulty in the mercantile affairs of the coun- try, during which time, by active participation in the business, he gained valuable experience in lay- ing the foundation of his future prosperity. Upon the re-organization of that firm in 1842, he became interested as a partner with Perkins & Hopkins ; and upon a subsequent re-organization, was of the house of Hopkins, Allen & Co. It was, however, as a member of the last-named firm, whose high reputation was a fitting tribute to its enterprise, in- tegrity, and success, that he became prominently known to the business world.
On the 10th day of November, 1847, he was mar- ried to Mary Ann Phelps, daughter of the late Hon. Elisha Phelps of Simsbury. His intercourse with the people of the South made him familiar with their views and policy in reference to the institution of slavery, and perceiving the growing antagonism between free and slave-labor, which foreshadowed
serious difficulty to the country, he resolved to withdraw from mercantile business (then conducted largely upon credit), and established a residence in the town of Old Saybrook, where his family now resides. Being in active sympathy with the gov- ernment of the United States in its efforts to main- tain its integrity and suppress the rebellion, he re- ceived an unsought nomination to represent the nineteenth senatorial district in the state senate of Connecticut, and was elected thereto in 1863, and again in 1864, and in both years was chairman of the joint standing committee on finance, whose la- bors were of the highest importance in that critical period of public affairs, when the state was raising money for the war. The financial measures rec- ommended by that committee and adopted by the legislature, not only enabled the state to creditably place its full quota of men in the field, but estab- lished a policy in the revision of the tax laws which has met the approval of the people of the state for twenty years, and reduced to a minimum amount the public debt. The present equitable method of taxing railroad property, on the basis of what it will sell for, by which the market value of its stock and bonds is made the measure of value of such property for purposes of taxation, was suggested by him.
On the 17th day of June, 1864, Mr. Allen intro- duced into the Connecticut legislature the first res- olution in favor of the abolition of slavery by con- stitutional amendment. He was one of the dele- gates from Connecticut to meet a convention of loyal Southerners at Philadelphia, on the third day of September, 1866, called to give expression to the sentiments of the people in support of congress against the defection of Andrew Johnson. He was prominent in the movement that arrested the " peace flag " heresy at Saybrook, or the raising of any flag not representing all the states of the Union. He was one of the fellows of the corpora- tion of Yale College while he was senator, in the years aforesaid, the old law being that the six sen- ior senators were members ex oficio of that corpo- ration. In the Hayes presidential campaign of 1876, Mr. Allen was a republican presidential elec- tor in this state. In 1867 he was elected president of the Peoria, Pekin & Jacksonville Railroad Com- pany, of the state of Illinois, which position he held in the active administration of the property for twelve years.
In 1883 he was again elected to the state senate from the 21st district, formerly the 19th, and served during the sessions of 1884 and 1885 as chairman of the joint standing committee on railroads. He was chairman of the legislative committee in charge of the public services at the inauguration of Warner's statue of William A. Buckingham in the battle-flag vestibule of the capitol. For many years he has
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been identified with the public library in Old Say- brook, and president of the organization.
In matters of church government he is a Congre- gationalist, in theology a Unitarian, but he attends the Episcopal church with his excellent wife. In politics he is a republican. He has two sons and four daughters. His second daughter is the wife of Hon. William Hamersley of Hartford.
WILLIAM WALES PECK, WOODBRIDGE: Farmer.
The subject of this sketch was born in the town of Woodbridge, June 29, 1832, where his entire life has been spent. He has been a farmer from his youth, but managed to get a good education at the common schools, and at the Literary Institute in Suffield. He repre- sented Woodbridge in the legislature in 1880 and 1881, being elected by the republicans. For seven years he was a selectman and town agent, and for ten years grand juror. He was prevented by sickness from personally W. W. PECK. joining the military ser- vice of the country during the war of the rebellion, but did the next best thing by providing and send- ing a substitute. Mr. Peck is a member of the Congregational church. His family consists of a wife and five children. Mrs. Peck, who is still living, was Miss Mary Jane Fairchild before their marriage.
HON. DAVID TORRANCE, DERBY : Judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut.
Judge David Torrance was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, March 3, 1840, and removed to this country in 1849. He received a common school education. His active life was commenced as a paper maker, that avocation be- ing given up in the end for the law. In July, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company A of the Eigh- teenth Connecticut, and served as second sergeant until December 22, 1863, when he was appointed to the captaincy of Com- pany A of the Twenty- ninth Connecticut colored regiment. He received DAVID TORRANCE. the appointment of major in July, 1864, and lieu- tenant-colonel in November of that year. He was
mustered out of the service at Brownsville, Tex., October, 1865. While a member of the Eighteenth he was taken prisoner and was confined in Libby prison and on Belle Island for a short period. Judge Torrance is a distinguished member of the Army and Navy Club of Connecticut and is con- nected with the Grand Army. He represented the town of Derby in the legislature during the years of 1871 and 1872, and was secretary of state under Governor Charles B. Andrews, the present chief justice of the state. He was appointed judge of the New Haven county court of common pleas for the four-years term, beginning in 1881. In 1885 he was advanced to the superior court bench and in 1890 was appointed a judge of the supreme court of errors by Governor Bulkeley. His term will not expire until 1898. Judge Torrance is a member of the Congregational church and a republican in politics. He is also a member of King Hiram Lodge, No. 12, F. and A. M., of Birmingham, and is recognized as one of the most valued members of the fraternity in this state. His wife was Miss Annie France prior to her marriage. There are three children in the family.
WILLIAM R. HARTIGAN, BURLINGTON: Manu- facturer.
William Robert Hartigan was born in Burling- ton, March 10, 1852, and was educated in the Unionville High school. The education which he received was the result of his personal efforts, the funds necessary for his maintenance in the High school being earned and saved during the sum- mers. At the age of four- teen he commenced the trade of wood-turning un- der John N. Bunnell of Unionville. When he was seventeen he estab- lished himself in business W. R. HARTIGAN. in the town of Burling- ton. After six years of success, he met with the loss of every dollar which he had placed in the enterprise, the establishment being destroyed by fire. Undaunted in courage, he resumed the old lines, and gradually recovered from the misfortune. He is a skilled mechanic and inventor, being especially successful in wood turn- ing, machine work, forging and enameling in all colors on wood or metal. Mr. Hartigan is now the owner of a prosperous and successful plant. In politics he is a republican, and is town registrar. He is a member of the Episcopal church. He has a wife and one child. The former was Miss Annie S. Barnes prior to her marriage.
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CHARLES H. PINNEY, M.D., DERBY: Physician and Surgeon.
Dr. Charles Hitchcock Pinney was born in South Windsor, April 25, 1831, and received a collegiate training. He prepared for Harvard at the Rogers Academy in East Hart- ford, and matriculated in 1850. From Harvard he went to New York, be- coming a student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in that city. He was also a private pupil of Dr. Willard Par- ker. He graduated and received his diploma from the New York institution in 1853, and commenced C. H. PINNEY. the practice of his profes- sion immediately at Der- by. His wife, who is still living, was Miss Maria Watson, daughter of Royal I. Watson of New Hartford. There is one son, Dr. Royal Watson Pinney, who is associated with the subject of this sketch as a practitioner. The doctor is a member of the New Haven County and State Medical Societies, and of the American National Medical Association. In politics he is a republican. He has invariably declined office, devoting the whole of his time to the duties of his profession. Dr. Pinney is universally honored in Derby, and is a gentleman of exceptionally agreeable personality.
R. W. PINNEY, M.D., DERBY: Physician and Surgeon.
Dr. Royal Watson Pinney was born in the town of Derby, Dec. 25, 1863, and prepared for Yale at the Birmingham High school, and under the pri- vate tutorship of John W. Peck. He graduated from the Sheffield Scientific department in the class of 1885, receiving the university diploma at the June commencement. In September of that year he entered the college of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city, and graduated in April, 1888. He sailed for Europe im- mediately after gradu- R. W. PINNEY. ation, and spent the re- mainder of the year until December at Vienna, where he pursued a special course of study in the hospitals of that European metropolis. In Decem- ber he returned to New York to take the place of
house surgeon at Bellevue Hospital, having re- ceived the appointment prior to his departure for Vienna. From April, 1886, to October of that year, he had studied with Dr. Gustave Bögel in Lünebirg, Germany, not only to familiarize himself with the language, but also with German methods of treatment. In July, 1890, he left Bellevue Hos- pital, and has since been associated with his father, Dr. Charles H. Pinney, in the practice of medicine at Derby.
JULIUS CONVERSE, STAFFORD SPRINGS: Treas- urer Mineral Springs Manufacturing Company.
Julius Converse, himself one of the leading man- facturers of Stafford, is the son of Solva Converse, who was one of the pioneers in the manufacture of woolens in Connecticut. He is a descendant from Asa Converse of Hugue- not stock, who settled in Stafford about the middle of the last century. Julius Converse is a native of Stafford, born there March 1, 1827. After leav- ing the public school he attended the Ellington High school and the Qua- boag Seminary at Warren, JULIUS CONVERSE. Mass. Later he entered the employ of the Mineral Springs Manufacturing Company, and acquired a thorough practical knowledge of manufacturing. He was then transferred to the office as clerk, sub- sequently became both agent and treasurer, and finally the sole owner of the property. In addi- tion to his manufacturing interests, he is promi- nently connected with many other important busi- ness concerns. He was one of the incorporators of the Stafford National Bank; also of the Savings Bank of Stafford Springs ; and is a director in the Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Com- pany.
Mr. Converse is a prominent member of the re- publican party, by whom he has been elevated to various public positions. He represented Stafford in the state legislature in 1865-66, was a Grant elector in 1872, elected to the state senate from the twenty-fourth district in 1877, was candidate for state treasurer in 1884, and delegate to the national republican convention at Chicago in 1888. He has a wife, who was Miss Myra C. Lord prior to her marriage, and four children living. His religious connections are with the Methodist Episcopal church of Stafford Springs, of which he is a gen- erous supporter by his personal influence and pri- vate means. He is a man of eminent public spirit, as is evidenced in his large and frequent contribu-
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