USA > Connecticut > Men of mark in Connecticut; ideals of American life told in biographies and autobiographies of eminent living Americans > Part 18
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OSCAR KUHNS
K UHNS, OSCAR, A.M., L.H.D., author and educator, pro- fessor of Romance languages at Wesleyan University, Middle- town, Connecticut, was born in Columbia, Lancaster County, . Pennsylvania, on February 21st, 1856. On both the paternal and the maternal sides he is descended from the oldest German and Swiss settlers of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the so-called Penn- sylvania Dutch. On his father's side his earliest ancestor in this country was Theobald Kuntz, as the name was then spelled, who was married at Lancaster, in 1745, to Maria Margaret Fortune, whose ancestors had left France at the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and had gone to Germany. This Theobald Kuntz was the son of Johann Francis Kuntz of Waldmohr, Zweibrucken, Germany. On his mother's side Oscar Kuhns traces his ancestry to Bishop John Herr, leader of the Swiss Quakers who made the first settlement of Lancaster in 1710. His great-grandfather, George Kuntz, was in the Revolutionary War and his maternal great-grandfather, Frederick Brown, was with General Arnold at the battle of Quebec and served all through the Revolution. Professor Kuhns is the youngest of four brothers, two of whom, George Washington and Walter Brown, died in childhood. It was the unselfishness and kindness of his other brother, Henry Clarence, that alone made possible an academic career for Oscar Kuhns. Professor Kuhns's father, William Kuhns, a blacksmith and inventor, was a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and a man of excellent mental endowment and strong religious convictions. He was interested in mechanics and applied science and was one of the first to work at photography, being a personal friend of Dr. John W. Draper, the founder of American photography. Professor Kuhns's mother was Rebecca Brown, a woman whose chief characteristic was intense piety, inherited from her Swiss-Quaker ancestors. He describes her as one "of a sweet and lovable disposition, who was universally loved and whose spiritual influence was very great."
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Though he was born in a village most of Oscar Kuhns's boyhood was spent in the city. He was exceedingly fond of reading and study and did not allow himself to be handicapped by lack of funds in secur- ing the best education. He prepared for college alone in the evenings after busy days at work as a clerk, and found time to become well acquainted with Homer, Shakespeare, Goethe, and Dante, whom he loved and admired with the passion of a true scholar. He was graduated from Wesleyan University in 1885 and three years later received the degree of Master of Arts. Since then he has studied at the universities of Berlin, Geneva, Paris, and Rome and was granted, in 1904, the degree of L.H.D. by Dickinson College. He seemed to have a "call" to the study and teaching of languages, in which he had been interested from childhood, and he began to teach at Wesleyan, after receiving his Master's degree.
In 1890 he became professor of Romance languages at Wesleyan and he still fills that chair. His chief work outside of his immediate professional duties in the lecture room has been in writing and some very genuine and valuable literature has come from his pen. In 1895 he published his scholarly "Treatment of Nature in Dante" which pro- claims the author to be a true student of that great master; indeed Professor Kuhns has been passionately fond of the great Italian poet since childhood. In 1904 he published "Dante and the English Poets," a most interesting piece of literary workmanship of which it has been said that "the amount of valuable material and data thus brought together is a matter for surprise and admiration." In 1903 appeared his well-known "Great Poets of Italy," an interesting history of Italian literature, which is thorough, accurate, and con- cise and covers material which most writers would have spread over many volumes. He is also the author of "German and Swiss Settlements of Colonial Pennsylvania, a Study of the so-called Penn- sylvania Dutch," an exhaustive history of those interesting colonists told in an entertaining and romantic but none the less authentic manner. He has also produced eight or ten successful text-books. His style is clear, coherent, and graceful and his method of writ- ing is that of a thorough and original student, who is capable of the finest discriminations, and of an artist in the power of selection and condensation of materials.
Professor Kuhns is a member of the college fraternity, Psi
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Upsilon, of the Lancaster County Historical Society, the Modern Language Association, and of the Sons of the American Revolution. In politics he is a Republican and in creed he affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal Church. On the sixth of April, 1892, he mar- ried Lillie B. Conn of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, by whom he has had one child, Austin Hubberd. Professor Kuhns makes his home in Middletown, the seat of Wesleyan, his Alma Mater, and the center of his professional activities.
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CHARLES SMITH DAVIDSON
D AVIDSON, CHARLES SMITH, retired superintendent of the Hartford Division of the New York, New Haven and Hart- ford Railroad, was born in East Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, November 9th, 1829, the son of Abijah Bradley David- son and Harriet Smith Davidson. His father was a farmer, who also conducted a public livery and was captain and commandant of the Second Cavalry, Governor's Horse Guard, and a man greatly in- terested in public affairs. Mr. Davidson's mother was a woman of firm and beautiful character, which had a lasting influence on her son's moral and spiritual life. The family trace their ancestry to Andrew Davidson, who came from England and was an early settler in East Haven, and their genealogy embraces many loyal Revolution- ary patriots and later defenders of their cause in the War of 1812.
Strong, vigorous, and active Charles Davidson found his great- est pleasure as a boy in outdoor sports. He was brought up in New Haven and educated at the Lancastrian School there, where he took second highest honors for excellent scholarship. He delighted in reading, inclining most strongly to historical and mechanical works. After leaving school he worked for two years at various occupations and during that time became more and more impressed with the importance of "learning a trade," which he resolved to do. In 1847 he went to work in a silver plating shop in New Haven. The follow- ing year he went to Springfield and served a three years' apprentice- ship in the American Machine Works, at the end of which he came to Hartford and entered the employ of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. His early resolution to be a master workman bore good fruit rapidly and he became mechanic, engineer, conductor, supervisor of construction, assistant superintendent and finally, in 1872, superintendent of the Hartford Division of the railroad. He beld this last highly responsible position with conspicuous capability and success until his retirement in December, 1903. The road is one of the largest, most important, and best managed in the country
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and the Hartford Division is one of its most important ones. Mr. Davidson's rare judgment, skill, faithfulness, and popularity have been great factors in promoting both public convenience and the financial standing of the road.
Mr. Davidson was identified with the Democratic party until the nomination of Bryan, when he voted with the Republicans on the "Sound Money Issue." He has held several civil offices-in 1878 he was fire commissioner, in 1890 he became street commissioner, and in 1893 he was a member of the police commission. He experienced a year's military service in the Second Company, Governor's Foot Guard, and is a veteran associate of that military organization now. He is a prominent thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Knights Templars, the Pyramid Temple, the Knights of Honor, the Order of Red Men, and the Order of The Mystic Shrine. He is past eminent commander of the Washington Commandery, Knights Templars, and past dictator of Pioneer Lodge, Knights of Honor. He is also a member of the Hartford Club, of the Republican Club, and of the Franklin Gun Club. Home pleasures, automobiling, and club life are his favorite relaxations from business. His religious connections are with the Park Congregational Church, Hartford.
On December 17th, 1857, Mr. Davidson married Catharine Anne Bartholomew, by whom he has had three children. One son, William Bartholomew, the only child still living, is cashier in the United States Bank, Hartford. Mr. Davidson believes that "young people will meet with success by living an honest, temperate, and upright life, with strict integrity in all business matters."
Miles Sure lock
MILES LEWIS PECK
P ECK, MILES LEWIS, of Bristol was born in that town July 24th, 1849. He is a descendant of Paul Peck, who came from England to Boston in 1635. In 1636 he moved to Hartford, where he owned a farm on Washington Street, near the present State Capitol, and was a deacon in the First Church of Hartford. William Lewis, another ancestor, emigrated from England in 1632. His great-grandson, Josiah Lewis, and Zebulon Peck, the great-grand- son of Paul Peck, moved to Bristol in 1748, mainly to receive the benefit of the ministrations of Rev. Samuel Newell, first pastor of the church in Bristol. Their descendants have always been prominent citizens of Bristol. Other ancestors of Mr. Peck are Josiah Wins- low, a brother of Governor Winslow of Massachusetts ; Henry Adams, of Braintree, Massachusetts, whose descendants include John Adams and John Quincy Adams, presidents of the United States; Gov- ernor William Bradford, who came over in the "Mayflower" in 1620; Governor John Webster, who was governor of Connecticut in 1656; John Marsh, who was one of the original proprietors of Hartford; Deacon John Buell, one of the original proprietors of Litchfield, and Lieutenant Thomas Tracy, who was one of the original proprietors of Norwich.
Mr. Peck's parents were Josiah Tracy Peck and Ellen Lewis Barnard. His father was an insurance agent in Bristol, and a man who was much interested in public affairs. He was deputy collector of internal revenue during the Civil War, and was conspicuous in all matters connected with the prosecution of the War. He was later judge of probate for the District of Bristol. He was a man who took a warm interest in his town and country, and in everything that pertained to their welfare.
Miles was not a strong boy, and spent much of his time on his father's farm, going to the local schools about six months every year. He attended Williston Seminary in Easthampton, Massachusetts, for a short time, and later the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut at
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Cheshire. He was a good scholar, being very fond of mathematics, and while in school took most of the higher mathematical courses, with a view to fitting himself for an engineer. In 1868 and 1869 he spent a year in Europe in study and travel. On returning from Europe he began his life work, assisting his father in the insurance business. He was appointed a county surveyor, and for about three years did much local surveying in Bristol.
In 1870, the Bristol Savings Bank was organized, mainly through the efforts of Mr. Peck and his father. His father was treasurer of the bank for the first year, but the son did most of the work. In 1871 Mr. Peck, then twenty-one years of age, became treasurer of the Bristol Savings Bank, a position which he has held up to the present time. Mr. Peck's main work in life has been the building up and management of the Bristol Savings Bank, and the great success of the bank has been chiefly due to his efforts.
In 1877, on the death of his father, Mr. Peck succeeded to the insurance agency which he has conducted ever since. In 1905 he was elected president of the Bristol and Plainville Tramway Company, of which he had been a director for some years. This company has a railway and electric lighting plant, and, in 1905, under Mr. Peck's direction, built a gas plant and laid gas mains in about twelve miles of streets in Bristol. The company also owns a public heating service with mains in about one mile of streets, supplying heat to stores and houses. He is also president of the Liberty Bell Company, manu- facturing bells, reels, trolley harps, and other small hardware. He is a director in the Bristol National Bank.
Mr. Peck was married October 18th, 1871, to Mary Harriet Seymour. They have had five children, all of whom are now living.
Mr. Peck has always been a Republican. He has been much interested in town matters and local politics, and was chair- man of the Republican Town Committee for a short time. In 1889 he was chairman of a special committee appointed by the town of Bristol to procure a site for the High School, and he has been a member of the High School Committee for many years. He has been a town assessor, and was a member of a special committee which appraised all the property in Bristol in 1897, as a basis for assessing all real estate at its full value for taxing purposes. He was warden of the borough of Bristol in 1895 and 1896, and
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rendered the borough valuable service. Prior to that time Bristol had had no sewer system. In view of the growth of the town, a sewer system had become a necessity, and, under Mr. Peck's lead, the present system was installed. The borough issued bonds to an amount sufficient to defray the cost, and these were floated by Mr. Peck. Sewers were built through all the principal streets of the borough, and to a large tract of sandy land about one and one- half miles from the center, where large filtration beds were con- structed. These beds were among the earliest built in this State. The procuring of the land and the rights of way, the building of the beds and laying of the pipes, and the assessment of sewer benefits on most of the property of the borough were, in the main, his work, and done under his direction. The difficult task of assessment of benefits and purchasing of rights of way was accomplished by Mr. Peck without involving the borough in any lawsuits, and with results satisfactory to the borough and the property holders. It has proved an excellent system, and of great value to the borough.
Mr. Peck is a Mason and was chairman of the committee which erected the Masonic Temple in Bristol in 1892. He is a member of the Congregational Church. He is very fond of music, and from 1872 to 1887 he played the organ and directed the music in the Congre- gational Church in Bristol. As a young man he played the cornet in the local band and the cello in the local orchestra. He has always been much interested in outdoor sports, playing baseball as a young man, and being fond of seeing games in later years. He has been for many years captain of the Bristol Wicket Team, an organization of much local fame. He is also an enthusiastic tennis player, and he is especially fond of a game of whist of an evening.
To young men Mr. Peck says: "Stick faithfully and constantly to your business, but do not neglect your duties to your church and country. Every citizen should do his part in caucuses, in voting and in promoting good government and righteousness in the community where he lives."
STEPHEN EBENEZER REED
R EED, STEPHEN EBENEZER, bank official and manufac- turer, was born in Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, December 12th, 1845. His father, John Bowden Reed, was a carriage manufacturer, burgess of the town of Stamford and treasurer of the school board. He was a strong churchman and prominent in the councils of St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal Church. He married Almira Ann, daughter of Benjamin and Laura Terpening Many of Newburgh, New York. Stephen Ebenezer Reed is of the seventh generation from John Reed, who was born in Cornwall, England, was a soldier in the army under Cromwell, and upon the restoration to the throne of Charles II., in 1660, he emigrated to New England and settled in Norwalk, Connecticut Col- ony, which was known as the New Haven Colony after 1664.
Stephen Ebenezer Reed was brought up in the village of Stam- ford, where he attended the public school and when fifteen years of age engaged as a clerk in the Stamford Bank, afterward the Stam- ford National Bank, taking the position at the request of Francis R. Leeds, at the time cashier of the bank. He served the bank as clerk and teller from July, 1860, to January, 1865, when he resigned to accept a clerkship in the office of the Stamford Manufacturing Company, where he remained from January, 1865, to January, 1887, as clerk, and since that date as a director and secretary of the corporation. He was a charter member of the Stamford Savings Bank and served as a member of its board of directors since 1880.
On October 17th, 1871, Mr. Reed was married to Jennie, daughter of Frederick J. and Mary A. Calhoun and the three children born of this marriage are Frank Calhoun, who died in infancy ; the second son, Herbert Calhoun Reed, was graduated at Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University, in the class of 1895, with honors in chemistry, and he became the chemist of the Stamford Manufacturing Company. He is recognized as one of the leading tanning chemists of the United States, and was elected president of the American
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Leather Chemists' Association in November, 1905. He was a member of the Board of Councilmen during the years 1903 and 1904 and ran for mayor of the city of Stamford in November, 1904, on the Republican ticket, but was defeated by Homer S. Cummings, the Democratic candidate. The third son, Clarence Marsh Reed, was graduated at Yale University, A.B., 1897, with the highest honors, and while at Yale he belonged to the university baseball nine. He studied law in the New York University Law School and was graduated with honors, LL.B., in 1899, after which he held a position with the law firm of Alexander & Greene, New York City, up to the time of his death. He died at his home in Stamford, May 24th, 1902, in the twenty-sixth year of his age.
From his eighteenth year (1863) Mr. S. E. Reed has been a mem- ber of St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal Church, a vestryman since 1868, junior warden since 1891, and senior warden since 1901. His political affiliation was with the Democratic party up to 1896, when he joined the Republican party on the issue of gold as a standard of value. His early manhood days found him an earnest worker in the gymnasium and to this physical culture he credits his vigorous physique.
WILLIAM WHEELWRIGHT SKIDDY
S KIDDY, WILLIAM WHEELWRIGHT, a leading manufac- turer of Stamford, was born in New York City, April 26th, 1845. He is of English ancestry and his forefathers came to this country before the Revolutionary War and settled in New York and Virginia. His father, a man of firm character and remarkable energy, was a naval architect, who, as such, did great service to his country in the War of 1812.
Mr. Skiddy was brought up in New York City and his parents were so situated as to be able to give him a good education before he started his business career. After attending the local public schools he was sent to the celebrated Russell Military School at New Haven. Later he went to Yale where he was graduated with the class of 1865, receiving the degree of Ph.B. After graduation he became a clerk in the Wall Street office of his uncle, Francis Skiddy, where he remained two years and became interested in the coal mining business, in which he was subsequently engaged for eight years. In 1875 he became connected with the Stamford Manufac- turing Company and, in 1887, he was made its president. He is also a director of the Stamford National Bank, of the Stamford Savings Bank, and of the Stamford Trust Company. These enter- prises have derived the benefit of his executive genius, his untiring energy, and his determination to overcome every obstacle to progress.
It is a well known fact that Mr. Skiddy's fruitful activities have not been confined to business life. He has been promi- nent in politics, in the state militia, and in church affairs. In 1884 and again in 1892 he was sent by the Democrats as a state delegate to the national convention. After a highly creditable service in the militia, he was made state commis- sary general during the administration of Governor Waller. Since 1875 he has been vestryman of St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church, and has several times been sent as a lay delegate from Con- necticut to the general convention and to the diocesan convention of
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his church, and has been for many years treasurer of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America. He is a member of several prominent clubs, among them the Church Club and the University Club of New York, and he is one of Yale's most active alumni. Although his business affairs take up a great portion of his time, he is fond of all outdoor athletic sports and finds them helpful as a relaxation from his daily work.
In 1867 Mr. Skiddy was married to Eleanor M. Gay. He has had three children, two of whom are living. William died in 1901; Lillie is now Mrs. Willard Parker, Jr., and Adele is now Mrs. R. W. Carle.
Honesty, truthfulness, courage, and, above all, character-these have been his ideals in life. They were traits well marked in his father, and ones which he himself inherited and has conscientiously cultivated. The early moral and spiritual teachings of his father and mother left a lasting impression on his life, and to their influence he attributes all the good he has accomplished in life. He is an ardent reader and has drawn many helpful inspirations from the lives of prominent men and from novels descriptive of character. He was fortunate in starting his active career equipped with a thorough education and under the guidance of his uncle; and, when he was thrown on his own resources, he soon displayed that high executive ability which has brought prosperity to himself and to all institutions with which he has been connected.
ARTHUR MORTIMER DICKINSON
D ICKINSON, COL. ARTHUR MORTIMER, manufacturer and military man, was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Decem- ber 23rd, 1859. His early ancestors were prominent in the Revolution and were especially active in the affairs at Saybrook Point. In later times members of the family have taken important parts in the manufacturing history of Waterbury. Colonel Dick- inson's father was Charles Dickinson, a manufacturer and president of the Benedict & Burnham Company, Waterbury's largest manu- facturing concern, of which Colonel Dickinson is now secretary. Charles Dickinson was a man of great business ability, public spirit, and geniality. He was alderman and police commissioner and president of the Middletown, Meriden and Waterbury Railroad. Col- onel Dickinson's mother was Sarah (Lynde) Dickinson.
A perfectly healthy boy, the Colonel in his youth was greatly interested in athletics and outdoor sports, was devoted to music and in later years has developed considerable musical ability. He was brought up in Waterbury and educated at the Episcopal Academy of Cheshire, the Waterbury English and Classical School and entered Yale with the class of '82.
In 1880 he left college and entered the employ of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company and ten years later he was its secretary. In addition to this position he holds that of assistant treasurer of the Holmes, Booth & Hayden Company of Waterbury. For twelve years Colonel Dickinson served in the Connecticut National Guard. In 1889 he was adjutant with the rank of captain on Colonel Doherty's staff in the Second Regiment, C. N. G. In 1893 he became Major of the Second Regiment and was afterwards promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, which he held until his resignation in July, 1900.
Colonel Dickinson is a member of many fraternal orders and social organizations, including Continental Lodge No. 76 F. and A. M., Eureka Chapter No. 22 R. A. M., Waterbury Council No. 21 R.
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and S. M., Clark Commandery No. 7 Knights Templar, Lafayette Sovereign Consistory A. A. S. R., in which he has taken the thirty- second degree, the Waterbury Club and the Quinnipiack Club of New Haven. In politics he has always been loyal to the Republican party. His religious connections are with the Protestant Episcopal Church. Colonel Dickinson has never married.
HENRY HART PECK
P ECK, HENRY HART, retired merchant, State senator, and the president of the Dime Savings Bank of Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut, was born in Berlin, Hartford County, Connecticut, December 25th, 1838. His father was Selden Peck, a farmer, who held numerous town offices, and his mother was Lucy Hart Peck, through whom he is a descendant of many dis- tinguished ancestors. One of the most distinguished of his maternal ancestors was Deacon Stephen Hart, who came from Braintree, Eng- land, and settled in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1632. He became later a deacon in the Rev. Thomas Hooker's Church at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and came with his band to Hartford, was a proprietor of Hartford in 1639 and of Farmington in 1672. He was twice a prominent member of the General Court. Mr. Peck may also trace his ancestry to the noted divine, Rev. Thomas Hooker, so famous for his part in Colonial history. Another ancestor, Gen. Selah Heart, was an officer in the Revolutionary army and served throughout the War, except for a two years' imprisonment in New York. Another ancestor, Deacon Powel Peck, came from England to America in 1635 and was another member of Hooker's band. He was one of the leading men of the colony and held many important public offices.
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