USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > Noted men of Connecticut as they look in life : as published in the columns of The Evening Leader of New Haven : being a collection of portraits and biographical sketches of representative men of Connecticut who have made and are making the history of the states > Part 16
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The business was originally carried on by Henry Hotchkiss, who handled freight between Waterbury and New Haven, before the days of the Naugatuck railway. Mr. Hotchkiss sold out to C. B. Webster, and Mr. Webster sold to Mr. Beardsley, the sale including nine horses. Mr. Beardsley conducted the business for fifteen years. Mr. Blakeslee's purchase, made in the Fall of 1879, included twenty-eight horses; the number he now uses is II0; the number of men he employs from 100 to 150. Throughout the 26 years of Mr. Blakeslee's ownership, the growth of the business has been very gradual, and has resulted largely from the introduction of systematic methods in all his departments. There is probably no other concern devoted to the business of teaming that is so thoroughly systematized as this. All kinds of teaming are included, but the larger part of the business consists in the transfer of freight to and from the railroad station. In recent years the larger brass manufacturers of Waterbury have established switch-tracks of their own, so that that the products of their mills are loaded directly on the freight cars and Mr. Blakeslee does only their "overflow" work. But the growth of the brass industry has been so great, the output of these mills so enormous, that the Blakeslee teaming business has steadily increased from year to year. It has at the same time developed into several departments. That such a concern should have stables of its own is a matter of course, but Mr. Blakeslee has of late years established his own blacksmith shop, his own harness-shop and his own wagon factory, and in these does horse-shoeing, harness-making and wagon- building not only for himself, but for others. To meet the wants of wholesale dealers in other cities who in some cases desire storage by the year, he had erected a large store- house, so large that there is probably no other of equal dimensions in New England outside of Boston. A business so varied as this, and at the same time so closely connected with a railroad whose rules are of necessity rigid, and its demands exacting, must require not only system, but promptness, energy, close attention to detail, and sometimes a large sup- ply of patience, hopefulness and courage. And anyone who should see Mr. Blakeslee in a crowded freight-house of the Naugatuck railroad directing the shipment or transfer of
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goods, would realize how these qualities, embodied in one man, have been brought to bear in the development of an immense and steadily enlarging business.
He has been made president of the Waterbury Business Men's Association. It might be supposed that Mr. Blakeslee, absorbed as he is in the management of his proper work, would have little or no time, and little or no strength, to bestow upon anything else, out- side, at least, of the duties and pleasures of his own home. His energy, however, is so great, and the range of his interests so wide, that his fellow-citizens find him ready to take part in all that concerns the public welfare, and make use of him accordingly. It would be somewhat absurd to call him a politician, but he has always been an earnest believer in the principles of the Republican party, and has been repeatedly chosen to represent that party in public service.
He was an alderman of the city of Waterbury from 1899 to 1906. In this position he served first as a member of the board of public works, and afterwards, having become president of the board of aldermen, was a member in the office of the board of finance. From 1903 to 1906 he represented his city in the legislature, where he was made House Chairman of the Committee on Roads and Bridges. In 1905 he was Republican nominee for Mayor of Waterbury, but in the close contest with William E. Thoms, failed to carry the day. Mr. Blakeslee is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities, but his tastes are so largely domestic that he has not attained or sought a prominent position in
either of them. On the other hand, he has been greatly interested in such of our modern philanthropies as have a very practical side to them. For several years he was the main support of the wood-yard conducted by the Salvation Army in Waterbury. He has also been, and continues to be, director in the Waterbury Boys' Club, widely known as a successful philantropic enterprise. But his interest in the rising generation has not limited itself to organized channels. For the past ten or twelve years he has been making a place for himself in the hearts of the little folks, and also in those who are no longer little, by the sleigh-rides he has arranged from winter to winter, for the children of the city, for the hospital nurses, for the telephone girls, for the Young Women's Friendly League, and for the old ladies of the Southmayd Home. The last sleigh-ride was held in the winter of 1907, when fully 6,000 children had the time of their lives. The children of the Waterbury Boys' Club, Waterbury Girls' Club, Water- bury Industrial Schools, St. John's Sewing School, Trinity Sewing School, Waterbury Day Nursery, Sunday School of the A. M. E. Zion (colored) Church, children of the Bap- tist (colored) Church, Salvation Army children, children of the employes of railroads, of the employes of the Ralph N. Blakeslee Company, and all children that could be picked up on the way were taken, and the ladies of the Southmayd Home acted as chaperons. It was a noted day in the Waterbury year when the long procession of sleighs moved through the city streets and out across the wintry landscape to the music of sleigh-bells and the happy children's voices, and every one in the city understands that this unique festival is the offspring of one man's loving kindness and liberality. Although Mr. Blakeslee is descended from the old New England stock, he is far removed from the Puritan
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type. His ethical standards, however, are high, and his interest in practical religion reveals itself in many ways. He became a church member in his youth, and lately has taken an active interest in church affairs, and particularly in church music, as chairman of the society's committee of the First Congregational church. At the beginning of 1907 he was also made superintendent of the Sunday school.
On. Aug. 14, 1888, Mr. Blakeslee married Miss Jessie M. Wadhams. In their quiet home two daughters are growing up to womanhood under influences that are at once sweet and strong. The wife is a devoted mother, fond of music and of all good things. The husband is a man of vigorous health and buoyant spirits. He has never been ill excepting once, and then as the result of a serious and apparently fatal accident. At that critical time. when his life seemed to be hanging in the balance, the sombre friends who gathered about him were taken back by his cheerfulness and joviality, and these characteristics have continued to reveal themselves through all the years.
He is not a sentimentalist, but he is full of good cheer and hope, a lover of his fellow- men, a helper of the needy. He is frank to the point of bluntness, his honesty is above all compromise, he loves justice and hates meanness, his energy knows no limit. As a plain man, he carries on an everyday sort of work in a large and bold, a useful and an exemplary way, and in the meantime makes use of his opportunities to impart to others comfort and happiness. And so, in the vigor of his prime, he stands forth before his fellows as a wor- thy type of a Twentieth Century New England man.
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Representative WATSON S. WOODRUFF
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REPRESENTATIVE WATSON S. WOODRUFF, ORANGE
Of the younger generation, Watson S. Woodruff of Orange, Conn., is among those who amount to more than the average. He rises head and shoulders above the ordinary man. From the start, he was of the rank and file of those who are talked about because they accomplish things. Yet it is given to but few to arrive at the front as rapidly as Mr. Woodruff has.
Mr. Woodruff comes from good old New England stock. His parents' ideals were high both for themselves and their children. Integrity and self-respect were among the foundation stones of their character. The same set of principles were inoculated upon the minds of their children. It was natural then for Mr. Woodruff, whose early life was lived in the free atmosphere of their farm, to grow up with their ideals his own.
After graduating from the Hillhouse High School in 1889, Mr. Woodruff entered the seed store of Frank S. Platt of New Haven. This was that he might learn the seed business from the bottom. His parents were anxious he should go through Yale, but Mr. Woodruff wanted to get at the practical side of life as soon as possible. He qualified for the Sheffield Scientific School, but did not enter. The boy was bent on a business life and to that end he urged every energy. The result finds him to-day at the age of thirty-eight, one of the best known and successful seed merchants in the country. The reputation of his firm is national. It operates many large warehouses and seed stores, one at Orange, one in New York City, one at Queens, Long Island, with half a dozen or more in Maine. Its stock is confined chiefly to various varieties of garden seeds, for the quality of which it stands at the top. Far and wide the firm of S. D. Woodruff & Sons is well and favorably known. Incorporated in the firm with him is his brother, Mr. F. C. Woodruff. His father, who was the head of the firm, died a year and a half ago.
A man of absolutely artistic temperament, with a talent for music, both instrumental and vocal, that if cultivated, would in themselves have brought him a comfortable living, the fact that Mr. Woodruff has made such a success of his business life is all the more credita- ble. Yet while not making music his profession, Mr. Woodruff has given much time and thought to it for his own pleasure, and that of his family and friends. For twenty years he has been organist in the Congregational Church at Orange. He has a baritone voice of good range and splendid quality.
When the Orange Agricultural Society was incorporated some seven or eight years ago, Mr. Woodruff was chosen its president. The Orange Fair is one of the annual events of the State, with each year adding to its popularity. Much of its success and its increasing vogue, is due to Mr. Woodruff's wise and tactful leadership. A noticeable absence of fakirs and gambling, with the sale of liquors absolutely prohibited, puts this fair in a niche by itself, giving it the patronage of the quality rather than the mob. Mr. Woodruff's moral status may be gauged somewhat by this one little incident.
It was a few years ago that a bill was introduced to legalize pool selling at agricul- tural fairs. Mr. Woodruff, when he heard of it, at once wrote to the chairman of the judiciary committee to the effect that he and his community were opposed to the bill, that no
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pool selling was allowed at that time, and that none would be, even though it were legalized. His firm stand in this matter is characteristic of his nature throughout. He is for righteous- ness in both public and private life, and there is no law that can swerve him one jot from the tenor of his opinion where justice prevaileth on his side.
While Republican from principle, he is like many another good Republican, more desirous of political purity and good government than for party success.
Mr. Woodruff, who was born in Orange in April of 1869, is the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Stiles D. Woodruff. His is one of the oldest and most prominent families in the town of Orange. It may be Mr. Woodruff inherits his tact and happy faculty of getting on from his father, who was, at one time, Representative in the General Assembly, and who all his life held local positions of trust, and public offices, the gift of the people.
During the Civil War, the elder Woodruff was a corporal in the 27th Infantry. He was thrown into Libby Prison, but fortunately only for a brief time, when an exchange of prisoners was made that gave him his freedom.
Mr. Watson Woodruff was elected to the General Assembly as a Representative from the town of Orange in 1906. He is one of the youngest men in the Assembly. The elec- tion came as an unexpected honor, his party seeking him for the office scarcely without con- sulting him as to whether he desired it or not.
In January, 1893, Mr. Woodruff married Miss Harriette Hotchkiss of Derby, Conn. They have five children ranging from seven to thirteen years of age, two of them twin girls, who are so much alike that the members of their family are sometimes confused as to which is which.
An honored member of the Orange Congregational Church, of which he is clerk, Mr. Woodruff has for many years contributed to its support. His services as organist were given with no thought of compensation other than the pleasure the playing affords him.
For two years Mr. Woodruff was Master of the Grange of which he has long been a member.
Briefly summing this man up, one has only to quote a fellow townsman, a man who has known him intimately all his life. He said of him with a heartiness that had the true ring to it-"Watson Woodruff ! Why, he is one of the best fellows in the world, an 'all-around' man of high ability and character. If you don't know him, you should, for he is made of the stuff that is worth while, and you will hear from him some day. He is one of the men whose progress is continual and increasingly important."
And this one man's opinion of Mr. Woodruff is pretty evenly reflected wherever he is known.
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Hon. JAMES R. LANYON
HON. JAMES R. LANYON, CHESHIRE
The making of friends Who are real friends, Is the best token We have of a man's Success in life.
-E. E. Hale.
Friendship is to-day, as it was at the time the above was penned, surely the token of a man's success in life. "What is the secret of your life?" asked Mrs. Browning of Charles Kingsley, "tell me that I may make mine beautiful, too." He replied, "I had a friend."
What a simple answer-and yet how deep. To have a friend in the ordinary sense of the word seems not much, but to have a true friend, no matter how powerful we may become, is something of which anyone of us may well be proud. If, as E. E. Hale infers, the num- ber of friends a person has is the degree by which we judge his success in life, surely the Hon. James R. Lanyon of Cheshire must be ranked as one of Connecticut's most success- ful men.
Emerson has truly said that "The only way to have a friend is to be one," and this seems to account for the popularity of Mr. Lanyon, for, kindly of nature, sympathetic in his views, and always willing to do as much to assist his fellow-man as lays within his power, he has gathered to himself a host of friends who have shown their friendship and loyalty to his standard by their votes, and unless something unforeseen should occur it is very likely that Mr. Lanyon will not only retain the friendships which he has secured in the town of Cheshire, but as each year passes and we find him raised to a higher pinnacle politically, he will still continue as in the past to gain for himself the good will of all his associates.
Mr. Lanyon was born in New Hamburg, N. Y., on Nov. 28, 1870. He obtained his education in the Episcopal Academy, Cheshire, and at the Seabury Institute, Saybrook. Mr. Lanyon's many favorable characteristics early brought him to public notice, and having given his allegiance to the Republican party, and they in turn discovering in him the many qualities that go to make a successful leader and devoted to the desire to promote the welfare of his fellow-citizens, brought him forward into many prominent places.
In 1894 he was chosen town clerk of Cheshire and established in that office many new ideas which have made for it a reputation as a model business office. His business dealings (as town clerk) with the inhabitants of Cheshire have demonstrated to them his thoroughly capable mind, and his sound judgment has at all times shown the results of perfect business ability. In 1898 he was elected a Representative in the General Assembly, and in that body gathered to himself (as in the office of town clerk), a host of well-wishers. In 1900 he was elected to the Senate and there added to his reputation as an efficient and able legislator. In 1903 he was again a member of the House, his constituents feeling that his efforts in their behalf and prior to that time warranted his election to the highest office within the power of their votes.
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Ruskin has laid down a good and safe rule for us to follow which in the life of the Hon. James R. Lanyon is well exemplified. "It is a good and safe rule," said he, "to sojourn in many places, as if you meant to spend your life there, never omitting an opportu- nity of doing a kindness or speaking a true word or making a friend."
Mr. Lanyon has in each capacity to which he has been elected, given a glowing account of himself, has performed his duties, no matter how humble, in such a manner as to cast the light of good-fellowship about him, and at all times may be depended upon to give to that office with which his fellow-citizens may honor him, all that can be desired by even those who may, for political reasons, prefer that another should represent them.
Senator Lanyon is a whole-souled, clean thinking, well balanced inan. The town in which he resides has honored him because he has honored them. He is a young man who has done things in the past and will do more in the future-a man whom all who know believe in, and recognize as a man deserving of every confidence and the good will of all.
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Hon. L. M. PHELPS
HON. L. M. PHELPS, WALLINGFORD
In the days when New England was but a group of infant colonies, typifying the land of promise to the persecuted Puritan, when the Mayflower still existed and men's every act made history, three brothers came over from England to seek a home, a haven, and an opportunity to realize the forces that they felt within them. The three brothers bore the surname of Phelps and when they reached the "stern and rock-bound coast," they parted company. one going to Vermont, another to Massachusetts and the third to Connecticut.
From the Massachusetts settler descended Judge Lewis Monroe Phelps, the man of whom we write, one of the most highly respected citizens of Wallingford and of his State.
He descends in a direct line from Ebenezer Phelps, born in Northampton, Mass., and one of its enterprising and widely known farmers. He was a man of thrift and progress and acquired, during his lifetime, large lands.
One of the large tracts which came into his possession is to-day the center of the city of Northampton. Business activity succeeds the quiet which fell over his acres in the olden days.
To Ebenezer Phelps and his wife ( Kezia Parsons) were born eight children, one of whom was Spencer Phelps, born September, 1797, and who died 1873.
Spencer Phelps was a versatile worker and engaged in the butchering business as well as attending to large farming interests.
Thoroughly imbued with Whig principles, he took an active part in politics and when the Republican party was organized, he was one of the first in his section to embrace that political faith. He was also active in the First Congregational Church of which he was a member.
In 1823 he married Miss Annie Harris of Northampton, who was at that time 21 years of age and a former native of Norwich. Mrs. Phelps lived to the age of 71 years and eight children came to add happiness to their life.
They were ( I) George S., who has a carriage business at Northampton, Mass .; (2), Anna Maria, married Enos Wright of Northampton: (3), Edward, died in infancy; (4), Edward H., retired tinsmith in Northampton; (5), Martha, married Henry Cobb of Sax- tor's River. Vt .: (6), Henry S., was a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving as a member of Company C. Eleventh United States regulars, was taken prisoner and died in Andersonville : (7), Charles W., died at the age of 18 years; and (8). Lewis Monroc. the present judge in Wallingford.
Under the shadow of Mt. Tom. inspired by favorable environment, this youngest member of the flock spent a pleasant boyhood and youth, studying in the village school lintil he reached the age of 14 years.
Work called the youth and he left school to obtain employment in several of the neighboring farms which kept him occupied for three years.
Like most young men of New England free to go. he obeyed the impulse to go West and spent two years in Illinois and Iowa.
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Yet a youth he came home to Northampton, having satisfied his taste for farm life, and decided to become a carriage-maker. He quickly learned the trade and was successful in his chosen line.
Civil strife came to his country and again he went forth from his home to defend the Union. As a member of Company G, Fifty-Second Massachusetts V. I., he enlisted in August, 1862, serving for a year. Among the notable battles of the war in which he par- ticipated was that of Port Hudson.
At the age of 24 years he advanced to the contracting business. For six years he acted as foreman in charge of a large gang of men in the employ of the Wesson Manufac- turing Company. Later he did similar work in the shops of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company.
His life in Wallingford dates back to 1875, when he came to the town and engaged in the tinning, plumbing, heating and stove business. His success has been great and con- stant. Business acumen and personal popularity soon made him a well-known figure in the business life of the community.
His store occupies the Wallace Block. Twelve years ago he leased a portion of this block as his headquarters, and ten years ago he bought the entire block. Through this and the real estate business in which he is largely interested. Judge Phelps has gained a substan- tial fortune.
It is not strange that a man of so much activity crowned with such a large measure of success should turn to politics and should be sought as a public servant.
True to his ancestry, Judge Phelps early enrolled himself as a Republican and his voice was heeded in the councils of his party.
His first public service was as sealer of weights and measures, and for years he served with credit and gave valuable service to his town as a member of the court of burgesses.
In October, 1901, he was appointed electrical commissioner and fulfilled the duties for a term of three years. He is at present a Justice of the Peace, and is in demand for other public offices.
The first day of June, 1864, he married Miss Jennie M. Hastings of South Deerfield, Mass., daughter of Samuel Hastings.
He is fond of social life and is a member of many lodges. Among his fraternal and social affiliations are Arthur Dutton Post, G. A. R., Compass Lodge, F. and A. M. In the Odd Fellows he has taken a special interest and has passed all the chairs of the subordinate lodge, and for a number of years has been a member of the Grand Lodge of the state. He is also a member of the Encampment, Rebekah and Canta branches of the order.
He was a prime mover in the organization of Accanant Lodge and was its first vice- grand. He has served as treasurer of Friendship Encampment, and is now a member of the board of trustees.
Judge Phelps is a man abreast of the times, a man of force and energy, and a power for good in the community in which he lives.
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Hon. JAMES N. STATES
HON. JAMES N. STATES, NEW HAVEN
The world of iron and steel is producing some of the master careers among men of affairs in New Haven to-day, and in that great world of iron and steel in action,-the line of railroading,-man's natural ability accompanied by sheer pluck and dogged determination are the forces which make the rise of a man inevitable, even he who starts on the lowest round of the ladder.
These manly and much admired qualities have been directly responsible for the pros- perity and high position attained by Honorable James Noyes States of New Haven, who has given to the railroad and the public so many years of continuous and valuable service.
Mr. States is a Connecticut boy, having been born in the quaint little town of Stoning- ton just outside the city of New London, May 18, 1839. In that historic town he grew to young manhood.
His parents were Benjamin Franklin and Harriet Palmer States, and they watched with interest the rapidly growing intellect and development of the physique of their promis- ing son. His environment was favorable for the development of energetic faculties, as Stonington although small, is somewhat of a railroad centre and is in the heart of the ship- building and launching district, as well as being a manufacturing town.
After graduating from the public schools, Mr. States became a student in the Wood- bridge Academy of Stonington, where his education was completed.
His spare moments were spent among the railroad men for it was this industry which fascinated the youth and which he determined to follow as soon as working days should arrive.
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