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 6
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A quarter of a century of this line of endeavor having been crowned with gratifying success, Mr. Keeney decided to follow an industry, which had claimed his mind and which he had been investigating for many months.
This new direction was the thoroughly modern enterprise of dairy farming. Milk, the life-giver, the sustenance of the tender young, supersedes all other articles of diet in its vast importance. Through poor milk, that is, milk produced under unfavorable conditions, thousands of lives have been ruthlessly and needlessly sacrificed.
The minds of eminent physicians and philanthropists have turned in the direction of bettering these conditions, for the life of the young must be guarded and preserved, in the broad interests of humanity.
Mr. Keeney had given the subject deep thought and prepared a model dairy farm, large. finely equipped and absolutely and scientifically clean and healthy. The farm was planned on an extensive scale. 1
Soon the fame of the farm spread, the quality of milk was a marvel, and people gladly paid the high price which it commanded. The production has reached the figures of five hundred quarts every day.
This is shipped to Springfield, Mass., where it is retailed under Mr. Keeney's super- vision, and is rated as the finest milk sold in that city, commanding the highest price.
To achieve such notable results, perfect equipment must be accompanied by eternal vig- ilance on the part of the dairy owner, and Mr. Keeney's hours are constantly devoted to this immensely successful industry, and he has had no time or inclination for lodge or fraternal affiliations.
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The call of the outer world has always struck a responsive chord in Mr. Keeney's heart since the days of his childhood when he was the champion baseball player among thie boys of his home town. Baseball, which is so often characterized as the great American game, and assuredly has a fascination for man and youth second to no other sport, was his great hobby.
With many it remains as a hobby, but lacking skill, they are never able to participate in the game. Mr. Keeney had both the love and skill for the game, and in 1880 was engaged as a member of the Rockville baseball team.
For five years he played important positions with this team, recognized as one of the best semi-professional teams in the state, and then graduated into the State League. He put all of the enthusiasm of his nature into baseball, and since retiring as a player has been a close student and loyal friend of the game, his intense interest never relaxing.
Another of his favorite recreations and diversions has been horses, and he became a respected judge of horseflesh. He has always been fond of riding and driving, and became quite an expert horseman.
A truly representative man of his town and life in that vicinity, he was selected to represent Somers in the Legislative Session of 1903, being elected by a large plurality. Dur- ing that term, he served as a member of the finance committee, and took an important part in debates and discussions.
At the next election, he was re-chosen and went back to the Capitol for two years more. This time he was appointed to the chairmanship of the finance committee,-his previous expe- rience added to natural qualifications, making him invaluable in such a position.
His townspeople so openly proclaimed their satisfaction in their representative and his achievements, the neighboring small towns of Andover, Bolton, Columbia, Coventry, Ellington, Hebron, Mansfield, Stafford, Tolland, Union, Vernon and Willington heard the story and decided that he would make a very creditable representative for the Thirty-Fifth District in the State Senate Chamber.
So in 1906, when the convention was held, the name of Mayro Keeney was presented to the Republican voters of that district, for their support and allegiance.
His election to the Senate followed and his term began in 1907.
In the Senate he became chairman of the banking committee, chairman of the commit- tee on school fund and a member of the labor committee. In each, he was an influential member and took a deep interest in the questions involved which covered quite a wide range.
Senator Keeney married December 10, 1885, Miss Alice Billings of Somers and four children have been born to them. In their future, is his main interest in life. Through them, he hopes to achieve much more than he has already done, although men who know him best and have been in closest communion with his warmth of soul and breadth of character, feel that Senator Keeney is the type of man of whom the state can be justifiably proud.
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POATE 02
Senator ANDREW N. SHEPARD
SENATOR ANDREW N. SHEPARD, PORTLAND
One of the most prominent farmers in the County of Middlesex, as well as one of the most active and successful business men in Portland, is Mr. Andrew N. Shepard. The name of Shepard has been well known in the Connecticut River Valley these two hundred years. While Mr. Shepard is as democratic in his principles as most Connecticut Yankees are, and believes that "The rank is but the guinea's stamp, the man's the gowd for a' that," yet he takes a legitimate pride in knowing that his people, back through their ten genera- tions, have always been hard at work to increase the material well-being, now of the colony, now of the struggling young state, not only too glad to ply the arts of peace, but ready to withstand oppression when the call came. Say what you will, the sentiment of patriotism is enhanced for him who can feel that he is bound to the soil he treads by such a long chair of associations as must be his who can say, "My ancestors tilled this field, gazed on those hills, played as children in yon brook, or sailed on the 'Long River."" Mr. Shepard par- takes of two natures-that of the planter who lives a large, independent, hospitable life on his broad acres, blessed with the opulence of Nature, and the health that communion with her brings; the other side of the shield shows us the keen business man, the city dweller, bank director, associating in business or social relations with those who represent urban life in its highest complexity. Is not this an ideal way to live? To choose what is best in both modes of life, without being a slave to either? You may ask, which does Mr. Shepard pre- fer? Probably his city life is with him a matter of the head, an acquired environment to correspond to intellectual needs, while the taste for the agricultural life is a matter of the heart. Hasn't he inherited the instinct from those ten generations, several of whom lived out their span on the very estate which his father handed on to him? There is an enchantment in the owning of a farm, in watching the forces of nature co-operate for one's enrichment, to see one's crops and herds multiply, to receive the wealth of Nature first- hand from her lap, to which few of the most hardened flat-dwellers are immune. Mark you, two-thirds of the men of New York City dream the dream of owning a place in the country, and of retiring there some day, so as to get "back to Nature" once more. Not back to the pinching poverty of their boyhood days, where a spare living was wrested from a few acres of niggard soil, but back to the easy opulence of the gentleman farmer, whose stables resound to the lowing of fat kine, whose board groans beneath the profusion of the harvest, and whose hearth flames high with warm hospitality-and that is why the most of them remain in New York City. Still it is a splendid dream, and happy are those who, like Mr. Shepard, can carry it into realization.
Mr. Shepard lords it over three hundred acres of splendid farm-land in the northern section of Portland. Many acres of tobacco grow there, corn and rye wave in the summer breezes, while fully one hundred acres of meadow and upland support a herd of forty cows. Altogether, it is quite a farm, as farms go in New England. Incidentally, it may be men- tioned that Mr. Shepard is one of the heaviest taxpayers of Portland.
Mr. Shepard was born May 5th, 1862, in the north end of Portland, on the old home- stead, the son of Nelson and Elizabeth Tryon Shepard. He attended the district school
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near his home, and when he had absorbed all the knowledge which that bulwark of the nation could afford, he pursued higher subjects, first in the academy at South Glastonbury, where at that time Professor J. J. Jennings, now a prominent attorney in Bristol, was in charge. This was followed by a two years' course at Cheshire Military Academy.
His vacations were spent at home on the farm, where, under the tutelage of his father, he became versed in all the phases of the culture of the soil and the rearing of stock. His father was reckoned as one of the most able farmers in the countryside and succeeded in firing young Andrew with his own enthusiasm for the rural life, inspiring in him that love of the soil without which success rarely comes. From his experience here he gained a wholesomeness of disposition which has made him so companionable; a calm optimism that insures business success in these days of fret and worry, and a gentility of soul that the veneer of urban conventionality could neither improve nor conceal, marking him as one of Nature's noblemen.
"To him who in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language."
Mr. Nelson Shepard had long had a marked success in the culture of tobacco, so it was natural for the son Andrew to specialize on that staple, with no less success. Also, too, when the trading instinct began to assert itself imperatively, it was to the tobacco trade and manufacture that his attention was turned. He began buying in 1887, making the Connecticut Valley his principal field of operations. This business has steadily grown under his able management, until to-day he has large dealings with important tobacco grow- ers in all parts of the state. For a number of years-from 1888 to 1901, to be exact-he maintained a partnership with Mr. J. F. Convey, at Gildersleeve, for the manufacture of cigars. This enterprise was quite distinct from his business as a buyer and packer of tobacco, which he continues up to the present, although he sold his interest in the cigar manufactory to his partner.
His wide business experience has made him a man whose judgment is eagerly sought by his less experienced fellow townsmen, so he gives them the benefit of his knowledge as director of the Freestone Savings Bank and the First National Bank of Portland.
Mr. Shepard was married in Windsor Locks on the first of May, 1889, to Miss Harriet Stockwell. She is a native of that place and a daughter of one of its leading business men, Mr. A. B. Stockwell. To them have been born two children, Dorothea and Nelson A. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard is a vestryman of Trinity Church. He is interested in many lodges, among which are the Masons, in the Warren Lodge, No. 53 ; a Knight Templar, the Church Club of the diocese of Connecticut, and to the A. O. U. W. He also belongs to the Port- land Lodge of Odd Fellows, of which he is a charter member ; the "Sphinx Temple," Mys- tic Shrine of Hartford, and the Middletown Lodge, No. 771, B. P. O. Elks.
Naturally political honors followed business success, and he served his town as audi- tor for the long term of ten years. He was equally long a member of the board of relief.
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Then he was sent for several terms to represent his community in the General Assembly. In the Legislature Mr. Shepard made and carried a great fight for the railroad indebted towns, securing a bill by which the state assumed a part of the indebtedness and thus eased the bur- den on many of the county towns.
In the fall of 1906, Mr. Shepard began a campaign for the senatorship for the Thirty- fourth District. After a strong fight in the Republican Convention, he won the nomination, which the people sealed with their approval at the polls. As a Senator, Mr. Shepard follows the same straightforward course in which his feet have trod as a business man. During the last session, the Free Bridge bill, to free the bridges across the Connecticut River, received his personal attention, and the bill was passed after a hard-fought battle.
Luckily, there are enough grafters and under-handed politicians in the Hartford lobby to prevent the application to him of the Biblical phrase, "Woe unto you when all men speak well of you!"
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Senator D. LUTHER BRIGGS
SENATOR D. LUTHER BRIGGS, MIDDLETOWN
America is the land of hope, opportunity and achievement for the man born under another flag and the story of the rise of our country, of her glory and triumph, contains the name of thousands whose childhood allegiance went to another country, but whose patriot- ism and love for the land of their adoption often far outweighs that of the American born.
Under English rule in the beautiful province of New Brunswick was born a boy who has strikingly illustrated these facts, whose devotion to the country and the state in which his manhood has been spent, is remarkable and whose sole ambition is to advance the interests of the people, city and country.
That boy is Senator D. Luther Briggs of Middletown, whose life began in Sackville, New Brunswick, January 12, 1849. He was the son of Edward and Elizabeth (Quinlin) Briggs.
He attended the schools of his native town and came to Middletown when a young man, and has forged his way to a prominent place in the community, to a position in which he commands the honor and respect of his fellow-men.
On June 27, 1877, he married Elizabeth L. Hayes, daughter of Seth and Mary L. Hayes. To them have been born six children, of whom three are living, Anna May, born September 9, 1878, Louis G., born September 26, 1881, and Elizabeth M., born September 3, 1883.
Mr. Briggs followed the business life, engaging in the retail meat business for three years and entering the wholesale beef business in 1874, remaining in that line ever since. He has been remarkably successful, winning countless friends by his square dealing, pleasant manner and skill as a business man. His prosperity came in direct ratio to his admirable qualities of management and his has been assured and built on a firm foundation.
The Republican party claimed his attention and allegiance and he has never wavered in his loyalty. He has always been considered a valuable worker and a natural leader.
For two years he has held the position of president of the Republican State League and become widely known throughout Connecticut as a parliamentarian, a man of easy. pleasant address and with a thorough grasp of public affairs.
As chairman of the Republican town committee for eight years he knew the voters of his city and was able to engineer many a successful campaign in behalf of others. Such a man, so admirably equipped, could not long remain unsought as a candidate for public office, however, and he was prevailed upon to accept the nomination for alderman.
He was elected and served so well during his term of two years that the city asked him to act as their mayor. He made an admirable chief executive, fulfilling the duties of that honorable position with distinction and credit for four years.
He has also served the people of Middletown as their representative in the General Assembly of 1897 and did valiant service for them in the House. His influence was strong and he did many things for Middletown during his term. Among other positions which he has filled is that of justice of the peace.
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An important task which fell to the lot of Senator Briggs was in connection with the beautiful municipal building erected in Middletown. He was chosen chairman of the com- mittee who had in charge the planning and erection of the building and when the handsome structure was completed at a cost of $118,000 he was heartily congratulated on the work performed, and the city is deeply proud in the possession of such a municipal home.
In the campaign of 1906, he was nominated by the Republicans of the Thirty-third District to represent them in the State Senate and was elected. He served on the commit- tee on fisheries and game of which he was chairman, also on the committees on manual and roll, and woman suffrage and was recognized as an able and well-informed member of the Senate. He has also been sent as a delegate to several national conventions.
The character and calibre of the man can be in no more striking way revealed than through the announcement that he has been an agent of the Humane Society for a quar- ter of a century. Tact, tenderness, a broad understanding of human nature and deep sym- pathies, guided by clean, ripe judgment, all are essential for success in such a post, and in the possession of all these qualities is Senator Briggs blessed. Endowed with the natural qualifications, twenty-five years' experience have made him a wonderful success in humane work.
His business affiliations include beside the meat line, his position as president of the Briggs Manufacturing Company of Portland, who manufacture wire goods and sell them all over the country. This company owes very much of its growth and importance to the personal force and skill of its president.
Senator Briggs is a director and trustee of the City Savings Bank of Middletown and a director of the Middletown Board of Trade. Fraternally his connection is with the Red Men and the Knights of Pythias.
He is a member of the Cromwell Baptist Church and his life is a broad one touching that of other people at many points and making him one of the best known men in his county and state.
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Senator CHARLES W. BARNUM
SENATOR CHARLES W. BARNUM, LIME ROCK
A son of Connecticut whose success in life has come in the very town where he was born, and who by native gifts and admirable perseverance has advanced himself to a leading position in that little town is Senator Charles W. Barnum, who represented District number Thirty-one in the last session of the General Assembly. Senator Barnum was born in Lime Rock, a section of the beautiful town of Salisbury, October 30, 1853.
Great natural beauty marked his childish environment, and amid the enchanting hills, roads and valleys of Northern Connecticut, near the border linc of the Nutmeg and Bay States, he reached the age of school days. He became a pupil in the public schools and advanced rapidly until the grammar grades had been passed and then entered the select school of the late John H. Hurlbutt, from which he was graduated.
A young man of great energy, the world of action attracted him with powerful force, and in his early manhood, he entered manufacturing lines. His was the persistence and force which wrest success from the most adverse conditions, and one by one he conquered each difficulty as it appeared in his path.
New positions of honor and trust werc offered, and each showed the faith reposed in the young man by employers and men versed in dealing with their fellow-men.
By quick rises, he has attained some very important positions in the manufacturing and financial enterprises of his town. Conspicuous among these is the Barnum Richardson Com- pany, of Salisbury, one of the best known pig iron and car wheel factories in New England, of which he is vice-president and director. This firm has a long and honorable record, having been established in 1734 and incorporated in 1864.
Under Senator Barnum's able direction it has prospered exceedingly well. This com- pany by no means confines its activities to New England, but has a standing all over the United States. Senator Barnum also has the distinction of serving as vice-president of the Barnum Richardson Company of Chicago, Ill.
Like all men of the executive bent who have made their lives count for much in their home town, Senator Barnum has extended his field of usefulness considerably beyond his daily surroundings.
He has been chosen as director of the Railway Steel Spring Company of New York City, and the New England Lime Company, and the Canaan National Bank. In all financial enterprises of any moment, action is always deferred until the sound common sense of Senator Barnum shall have an opportunity of expression, and his opinion is rightly adjudged of great value, and his judgment acts as a guiding star.
Students of the hour are frequently commenting on the power exerted by country boys on all the great happenings in the city life; and it is men of the type of Scnator Barnum who raisc such reflections. Trained in the country where air, speech and custom are free from restraint, where the natural man has a chance to develop, their souls are unafraid of the great crises of life, and they speak and act boldly as men should do.
Senator Barnum was united in marriage to Miss Mary Nicholls, May 27, 1875, and two children have been born to them, Richard N., born April 1, 1876; and Charlotte, born October 12, 1879.
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He united himself with the Episcopal Church at an early age and has always been one of its most faithful adherents and strongest bulwarks.
His prominence in business life made him conspicuous in the public mind long before he took any special part in politics.
From the time he became a voter, he was a loyal Republican, supporting the candidates of his party with a steadfast devotion.
He was often besought to accept political honors, but business cares overwhelmed him, and he could find no time in which to serve his town in the manner which he deemed right.
Having attained his position in life,-his grasp of business and finance, by never ceas- ing attention to detail,-he felt that the public official should serve his constitutents in no less earnest and absorbed manner than he had given to his life work.
Of course, it is just such a man whom the American people delight in honoring; and they gave him no peace until he consented to stand as Republican candidate from the Thirty- first District.
This is one of those districts in which are grouped a number of small towns and into every one of these had the fame of Senator Barnum travelled, so that he was elected by a won- derfully large majority, his vote nearly doubling that of his Democratic adversary.
The towns of Barkhamsted, Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Kent, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon and Winchester all contributed to his decisive victory.
In the Senate he was honored with two Chairmanships, that of the committee on incor- porations, and that of Senate appointments. During the session his sterling characteristics won the respect and high regard of all with whom he dealt. His standing was high with all of his associates in the Senate, and he served his District and his State, with faithful and never subsiding energy. He was the type of legislator of whom no State can have too great a number, and he has left a record of which all who know him may justifiably be proud.
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Senator ANDREW G. BARNES
SENATOR ANDREW G. BARNES, NEW MILFORD
The Litchfield hills with their far-famed, invigorating air and their glorious natural beauty have produced more men of distinctioni to the square inch than any other corner of Connecticut. In the open, with the beautiful hills and lakes about them, the boys and girls born in that section of the state lead the ideally simple life which makes a firm foundation for the character.
In the summer they work on the farms if they desire, and physical strength is the result: In the winter they trudge through mammoth snow drifts to the village school house, often many miles from home, to gain their schooling, and all year round they are students at nature's school, learning the birds, trees and flowers.
In such surroundings was Senator Andrew G. Barnes of New Milford, born and reared. His birthplace was a charming little town called Sherman, and he first saw the light of day November 15, 1838, being the son of Albert and Catherine (Gaylord) Barnes.
He went to school in Sherman, and when he had mastered the course at the local school, went to Danbury and Madison, N. Y., to complete his education.
Tobacco is grown extensively in that section of the State, and when a lad of thirteen years, Senator Barnes aided in its cultivation, being skilled in out-of-door work, for which he had a natural taste.
At the age of 19 years he was engaged in burning bricks at his father's farm. Later he again took up tobacco raising in connection with farming.
He always had a strong love for cattle and became expert in knowledge of all that per- tained to them. He began buying cattle for the market and has become an extensive dealer in Western cattle, doing an immense volume of business in this line. He has five farms and fifty full-blooded Holsteins and ships a large amount of milk daily to New York City.
He married Miss Hattie Seeley, and one son, Albert Sherwood, was the result of their union. Both died, and Mr. Barnes took as his second wife, Miss Jennie Weaver, daughter of Sheldon Baker.
Senator Barnes is a member of the Congregational Church in New Milford and one of the best workers in its cause in the town.
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