USA > Connecticut > Representative citizens of Connecticut, biographical memorial > Part 12
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Peter Dobson
Peter Dobson and John Strong Dobson
T HE CAREER of two such men as Peter Dobson and his son, John Strong Dobson, could not very well occur without strongly influencing the community in which they lived, particularly a community like Vernon, Connecticut, where the elder man settled, just at the beginning of its growth, and the great industrial development of which is so largely attri- butable to his intelligent initiative and energy and that of his successor and son.
Peter Dobson was not a native of Connecticut or, indeed of this country, having emigrated to America from England as a young man, but he was one of essentially democratic feelings and principles, believing strongly in repub- lican institutions, and at once fell into the ways of his adopted land, in the future of which he had the strongest and most abiding faith. He was born August 5, 1784, in Preston, Lancashire, England, and there passed the first twenty-five years of his life, learning much about the cotton manufactur- ing industry, in that region where it forms so large and important an inter- est. He was a man who from his earliest youth displayed extraordinary scientific ability, to such an extent that even before coming to this country his attainments as a mathematician were recognized in scientific circles in England, and he had in his possession a letter from the well known mathe- matician and author, Hutton, stating that he had learned in recent publica- tions of his mathematical gifts and desiring him to take part in an examina- tion for an official position then open in the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. Upon his arrival in Vernon, it became Mr. Dobson's task to establish the manufacture of cotton in that region, a task which he success- fully accomplished, introducing the first cotton spinning machinery in the place, when in 1810, at the age of twenty-six, he with the assistance of several others whom he had interested in the project, built a mill on the spot in Vernon which is to this day known as "Dobson's Mills." The newly founded business was progressing favorably when it received a very serious blow which only the patient genius of Mr. Dobson made it possible for it to survive. This was the outbreak of the War of 1812 with England, with its accompanying bitterness of the Federals against the government and all American sympathies and interests. In the city of Hartford, which was the principal market for Vernon manufactures, this feeling was especially strong among the conservative and powerful merchants, who carried their prejudice to the point of declining to deal in American products. Mr. Dob- son, who was already a far better American and democrat than many of those born in the country, was hard pushed to find a market for the output of his mills. He was obliged to resort to selling to peddlers and all sorts of makeshifts to dispose of it. The storm blew over at length, however, and from that time onward the result was insured. Mr. Dobson's associates were all active and energetic men and the business flourished greatly not only during the long life of its founder, but down to the present time, though it now bears another name and is under other ownership. During his life Mr. Dobson witnessed the growth of the great homes of industrial enter-
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prises, many of which owed their origin in a measure to his own act in estab- lishing the cotton industry there. He witnessed the great development of Rockville and of Vernon, in which latter place he had his home.
While Mr. Dobson's work in the direction of industrial development was invaluable to his region, it was not by any means his only occupation, nor indeed the work for which he afterwards became well known. This lay rather in the direction of science, in which his achievements were of extreme importance, and received wide recognition both in this country and abroad, chiefly, perhaps, in the latter. He was a man of great powers of observation, and that of a close kind, and of original thought, the possessor of a mind well capable of classifying and relating the knowledge thus gained. Geology was the subject which, perhaps, shared the greater portion of his time and attention, together with mathematics. In the former he did some very valuable research work, and was the originator of the theory of the action of ice on rock during the glacial periods of geology, now in general accept- ance. Like the apple and Sir Isaac Newton, it was an apparently common- place phenomenon which first drew his thought in the right direction. At the time of excavating for the foundations of his cotton factory, he noticed a number of large boulders dug out from the clay and gravel of which the soil was composed. These boulders weighed all the way from ten hundred- weight to fifteen tons or more, and many of them were scratched and abraded on the under side in a manner at first sight very puzzling. Most men would not even have observed the fact, and of the comparatively few who did, the majority would have confessed themselves at a loss. Not so Mr. Dobson, however. He turned over carefully in his mind all his previous knowledge of geology, and after considerable thought came to the con- clusion by a process of elimination that the only way in which such curious parallel marks could have been made was for the rocks to have been dragged in a fixed position over other rocks or gravel. But what agency could hold rocks of that size fixed while it bore them along with sufficient force to crush and abrade their lower surfaces. Not water certainly, but at least a form of water-ice. Great masses of ice in movement would treat rocks held in suspension in precisely that manner, and even in the present day, the great alpine glaciers of the world were known to carry immense masses of soil and rocks from the heights to the plains below. These ideas Mr. Dobson com- municated to the "American Journal of Science" in an essay of scarcely more than a page in length, but in such terse and convincing terms that Mr. Silli- man, the publisher, printed it, without foreseeing, however, how great a revolution in glacial theories it would cause. Sixteen years later in an address delivered before the Geological Society of London, on the occasion of an anniversary meeting, Sir Roderick Murchison, president of the society, referred to this very brief article of Mr. Dobson, and after saying much in praise of both the theory and its author, closed his address with the follow- ing words :
Apologising, therefore, for having detained you so long, and for having previously too much extended a similar mode of reasoning, I take leave of the glacial theory in congratulating American science upon having the original author of the best glacial theory, though his name has escaped notice; and in recommending to you the terse arguments of Peter Dobson, a previous acquaintance with which might have saved volumes of disputation on both sides of the Atlantic.
John Strong Dobson
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Deter Dobson and John Strong Dobson
This utterance of Sir Robert Murchison, then regarded as one of the leading authorities in the world on the subject, quickly brought Mr. Dob- son's name into public notice, especially among geologists the world over. In this country he was especially praised by Professors Silliman and Hitch- cock, both well known authorities, as well as by many other men regarded as authorities in their several lines.
Mr. Dobson was twice married, the first time to Betsey Chapman, a native of Ellington, Connecticut. To them were born two children, William and Mary. Mrs. Dobson died in the year 1816, and in 1817 Mr. Dobson was married to Sophia Strong, a daughter of John and Lydia (Sumner) Strong, of East Windsor, Connecticut. The children of the second marriage were as follows: John Strong, mentioned at length below, and Charlotte, who became the wife of Dr. A. R. Goodrich, of Vernon, Connecticut.
Mr. Dobson lived many years in his adopted country, his death occur- ring on March 18, 1878, at the venerable age of ninety-three years and seven months. During that long period, he proved himself an ideal citizen, and no native-born American could have shown more faith in and devotion to American ideals and institutions. The terms Democrat and Republican were indiscriminately applied to the members of the Democratic party of that day, and in both names Mr. Dobson gloried. He was absolutely staunch in his Democratic beliefs and a stout champion of the contention that the common people were quite capable of managing their own affairs. Unfor- tunately for him, the region in which he lived was the very stronghold of the Whigs, who did not smile at all upon his sturdy independence, and he thus lost the opportunity to occupy the position in the world of public affairs to which his mind and capabilities, as well as his interest, entitled him. But in spite of even this disadvantage he was the recipient of many marks of his townsfolk's trust, which he well deserved and merited. His character was one of those straightforward, courageous ones, which scorned to be other than perfectly open and frank in the expression of its beliefs and opinions, and although this won him some enemies among those of different views, it won him many more friends and the admiration of the community generally. His personality was attractive; large and powerfully built, his physical char- acteristics seemed in harmony with his decided will and original mind, and added to the general impression of force which he gave. Rarely angry, always self-controlled, his very calmness made him a dangerous adversary, all his faculties being ever on the alert for attack and defence. But this trait was not that most strongly suggested by his appearance and manner. A strong sense of justice and the kindliest of hearts ever stood in the way of his using his uncommon powers in an aggressive or tyrannical manner ; his democracy was not one of belief only, but of nature, and he felt himself the brother and companion of all men, high and low.
John Strong Dobson, the only son of Peter Dobson by his second mar- riage, inherited many of his father's sterling virtues, and succeeded him in the work he did for the community. He was born May 18, 1818, in Vernon, Connecticut, and spent much of his childhood in his native place. When he came of age to attend school, he was sent away from home to institutions, first in East Hartford, Connecticut, and later in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, where he gained an excellent general education. Upon completing this schooling he returned to Vernon and at once entered his father's establish-
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ment, where he learned the business of cotton manufacture in every detail. In the year 1851 he took complete charge of the Vernon manufacturing interests, and continued the success which they had enjoyed under his father's able management. These interests were finally disposed of, and Mr. Dobson gave his time and attention to other matters. His position in the industrial world had been such that his influence was felt also through- out financial circles in that region, and he became directly connected with a number of institutions, among which may be mentioned the First National Bank of Rockville and the Savings Bank of Rockville.
A most impressive tribute to the character of Mr. Dobson, and a proof that sterling qualities and strong personality can overcome even the most untoward circumstances, is contained in his career in politics and public affairs. Like his father before him he was the staunchest of Democrats, in feelings and convictions, and was indeed a member of the Democratic party. Like his father, also, he was one of the most outspoken of men, expressing his opinions with perfect frankness on every question, while Vernon also continued in its almost violent anti-Democratic sentiment. In spite of the strong opposition against him on political grounds, the influence of his personality on the community and the admiration felt by all towards his strong integrity and good judgment was such that he was repeatedly elected to public office, and that though he never in any way sought it. In 1852 he was a State Senator, and served in that responsible office to the entire satisfaction of his district, winning for himself a reputation as a man of great power and the deepest convictions. He was the youngest member of the Senate during his term, but notwithstanding made a decided impres- sion upon that body. In 1876 he was appointed State Auditor of Public Institutions and in that same year was a Presidential Elector.
John Strong Dobson married, January 21, 1841, Julia Woodbridge White, a daughter of John J. White, of Hartford. Mr. White was a very well known instructor in his home city, and a mathematician of great ability, the author of a standard text-book of arithmetic, used in many schools throughout the country. He was of that courtly type of gentleman which seems to be passing from us to our great loss. He was of an unusually attrac- tive personality, possessed of the most polished manners, and with an un- usually keen sense of humor which found its chief expression in clever re- partee, which, however, he never used with malice or cruelty. He was a very prominent member of the Masonic order, and had reached a high degree therein. To Mr. and Mrs. Dobson was born one child, a daughter, Emma S., who became the wife of Rienzi B. Parker, a sketch of whom appears else- where in this work.
However great the achievement of Mr. Dobson in public life and busi- ness, his real success lay rather in the position he reached in the admiration and affection of his friends and neighbors, who had so keen a respect for his judgment and strong sense that they often approached him for the settle- ment of disputes and the distribution of estates, much as the patriarchs of olden days were sought. His death which occurred December 15, 1882, was a very real loss to the entire community, which as a whole had bene- fitted so greatly through his activities. The Dobsons, father and son, will long be remembered in that region as the two men who, perhaps more than any others, contributed to the general welfare of the place.
R & Parker
Rienzi Belcher Parker
T HE DEATH of Rienzi Belcher Parker on April 12, 1912, removed from the city of Hartford, Connecticut, one of its active and public-spirited citizens and a scion of one of the old New England families whose name has held an honored place in the annals of the community from the earliest Colo- nial times down to the present. Though not a native of Hart- ford, Mr. Parker and three generations of his forbears had lived in Connecticut, his great-grandfather, Ephraim Parker, moving to that State in his early youth, sometime prior to 1750. Before that time the Parkers had resided in Massachusetts from 1640 or earlier, when James Parker came from England and settled in Woburn, and from whom are sprung the family of which Rienzi B. Parker is a member. It is probable that this James Parker was related to some or all of the other men of that name who settled in that neighborhood at about the same time, who were also the progenitors of lines bearing the name. Certain it is that he was a man of energy and enterprise who took an active part in the stirring events of those days, and whether as a pious God-fearing church member, a wise counselor in public matters or a stout Indian fighter, was a leader in the community.
Lucius Parker, father of Rienzi B. Parker, was a native of Willington, Connecticut. As a young man he was employed in the factory of Peter Dobson, whose granddaughter, Emma S. Dobson, later became the wife of Rienzi B. Parker. Lucius Parker was connected all his life with cotton manufacture in Connecticut and became a wealthy man thereby. He mar- ried Bathsheba Belcher, and among their children was Rienzi Belcher, of whom further.
Rienzi Belcher Parker was born February 15, 1838, in South Coventry, Connecticut, and there passed his childhood up to nine years, when he re- moved to Manchester, Connecticut, where his father established cotton mills, and after completing his education at the local school and high-grade school in Ellington, began work in the cotton mill, in the year 1859. and remained in his father's employ for seven years. In 1866 he withdrew from this association, having determined to embark in a manufacturing enter- prise on his own account. For this purpose he removed to Vernon, Con- necticut, and there established a cotton manufactory, which he conducted with a high degree of success. In 1890 he removed to Hartford, Connec- ticut, where he became interested in the life insurance business, and three years after his removal there he was elected president of the Hartford Life Insurance Company, an office which he held until 1900, when after seven years' notable services he retired from active business life. He continued a director in the First National Bank of Hartford and of the Security Com- pany, both important Hartford concerns until the end of his life. His busi-
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Rienzi Belcher Parker
ness acumen was extraordinary, and he seemed to realize instinctively what would be successful as an enterprise.
Though interested theoretically in the political issues which were agitating the public in that day, and a keen observer of them, he did not take an active part in politics, or ally himself to any local party organization be- yond what was essential to the discharge of his duty as a citizen. He was a member of the Republican party, and believed in its general principles and policies, but was swayed by no partisan considerations in the formation of his independent judgment.
Mr. Parker was a man of the world, a successful business man, pro- gressive, keeping abreast of the quickly moving times in which he lived, yet possessed in the fullest measure of those sterling virtues which are perhaps more closely associated with an age that is passing than that now in its zenith, the virtues of the strictest business integrity, an integrity which would rather suffer personal reverses than fail one jot of its ideal, and of a courtesy which justly regarded itself as an expression of civilized life. Though deeply engaged in his business pursuits, he had time and the inclina- tion to give much of his attention to his home and family life, enjoying nothing more than that intimate intercourse which was to be had in those relations. He was a man of long and strong friendships and one whose example left an impress for good upon the community at large.
Mr. Parker married, September 13, 1865, Emma S. Dobson, of Vernon, Connecticut, daughter of John S. and Julia Woodbridge (White) Dobson, of that place. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Parker: I. John Dobson, born September 25, 1866; married Edith, daughter of the late Dr. P. W. Ells- worth, of Hartford, who bore him three children: John Dobson, Jr., Brad- ford Ellsworth, Robert Townshend. 2. Julia W., who became the wife of Collins W. Benton, of Hartford. 3. Lucius R., born December 21, 1872; married Marie Antonietta, of Turin, Italy, who died June 18, 1902, leaving one child, Rienzi Belcher, 2nd. Mrs. Rienzi B. Parker is a daughter of John S. Dobson, a prominent figure in Vernon and the region about, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work, and a granddaughter of Peter Dob- son. Mrs. Parker is a graduate of the once famous "Hartford Female Semi- nary," founded by Catherine Beecher, class of 1861. She still resides at No. 300 Farmington avenue, Hartford.
Walcott
A MONG the distinguished families in New England is that of the Talcotts of Hartford, which from the earliest Colonial times has been resident in that region, and one of whose members was a founder of the city. The name is a very old English one and is first found in Warwickshire, whence it made its way into Essex, where originated the line which forms the subject of this sketch. From that olden time has come down even to the present, through generation after generation, the arms of the family: Argent, on a pale sable, three roses of the field; and the crest, a demi-griffin erased, argent, wings endorsed collared sable, charged with three roses of the first ; and the proud motto: Virtus sola nobilitas.
During the earliest period of the stay in Essex, there is difficulty in trac- ing the descent of the members of the family, and a perfectly unbroken chain is only to be established from the time of one John Talcott, who lived in Colchester, Essex, about the middle of the sixteenth century. From the records it is known that he dwelt there before 1558, this fact and a number of others concerning him having come down to us. Among these is that he was twice married, together with the names of his wives and the date of death, approximately, as in the autumn of 1606. See pedigree chart given in vol. 50, p. 135, N. E. Hist. Gen. Register, taken from the Harleian MSS., 1137, p. 148. It is from his first wife that the American branch of the family is descended, she being a Miss Wells, by whom he had three children. A son of the first John Talcott, who inherited his name, died two years before his father, left a wife and five children, one of whom, a third John Talcott, was the immigrant ancestor, and the founder of the house in this country and State.
The third John Talcott was a man of parts who made an important place for himself in the life of the colony and left a very considerable fortune to his descendants. He sailed for America on the ship "Lion," June 22, 1632, landed in Boston and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he re- mained for a few years. He was admitted as a freeman and became a deputy to the General Court and a selectman. In 1636, only four years after his arrival, he sold his property in Cambridge, and joined the party of the Rev. Mr. Hooker, accompanying that leader to Connecticut, where the city of Hartford was founded by them. He was very prominent in the affairs of the new community, being a member of the committee that sat with the first Court of Magistrates, 1637-39, and became a deputy to the General Court, 1639-1652; assistant, 1652-1660, and finally treasurer of the colony from 1654 to 1660, as well as holding a number of minor offices at various times. "The Worshipful Mr. John Talcott," as he was called, was married to Doro- thy Mott, a daughter of John and Alice (Harrington) Mott, of Wiston, County Suffolk, England, and granddaughter of Mark Mott, of Braintree, County Essex. The elder of their two children was a fourth John Talcott, a.
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very distinguished man, and a great soldier, whose reputation as an Indian fighter extended throughout the New England Colonies. It was Lieutenant- Colonel John Talcott who brought about the abrupt end to King Philip's War in 1676, after the death of that redoubtable chief, by ambushing the Indians at a ford in the Housatonic river as they were retreating for protec- tion from their Indian allies in New York. The battle that was fought there has recently been commemorated by the dedication of a monument in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, at a point near the ford. Both the sons of the Worshipful John Talcott left descendants in Hartford, and also in Hartford county, and the Hon. Joseph Talcott, for seventeen years, 1724-1741, Gov- ernor of Connecticut, was a son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Talcott.
Although we have no positive record of the date and place of Captain Samuel Talcott's birth, it seems probable that it occurred in Cambridge toward the latter part of 1634 or the first of the following year. However this may have been, he undoubtedly spent all his mature life in Connecticut, though he returned to Cambridge to attend Harvard College, from which he graduated in the class of 1658. He did not live in Hartford for any great period of time, but settled in Wethersfield and became a prominent figure in the life of that community, and there his death occurred, November 11, 1691. He was deputy from Wethersfield to the General Court, 1669-1684; assistant, 1683-1691. In 1679 he was appointed lieutenant of the Hartford County Troop; October 16, 1681, captain. He commanded the company of dragoons sent to Deerfield at the outbreak of King William's War in 1690. He also commanded the Hartford County Troop when it escorted Sir Edmund Andros into Hartford in October, 1687. He was married to Hannah Hol- yoke, a daughter of Captain Elizur and Hannah (Pynchon) Holyoke, of Springfield, and granddaughter of William Pynchon, the founder of Spring- field, and they were the parents of ten children, eight sons and two daugh- ters. It was from this large family of sons that a number of the Talcott families, now living in Connecticut, are sprung.
One of the eight sons of Captain Samuel Talcott was Benjamin Talcott, known as Deacon and Lieutenant Benjamin Talcott, who was born at Wethersfield, March 1, 1674, removing from there to Glastonbury, Connec- ticut, in 1699, where he built him a house and continued to dwell until his death in 1727. This house on the main street was fortified and used as a garrison house. It stood until 1851, when it was pulled down. This farm, now owned by a great-grandson of the late Jared G. Talcott, has been owned by Benjamin and his descendants for over two centuries. Deacon Talcott was twice married, all his children being born of his first wife, who was Sarah (Hollister) Talcott, a daughter of John and Sarah (Goodrich) Hollis- ter, the Hollisters being an old Connecticut family of Wethersfield and Glastonbury. Among his descendants were Elijah Horatio Talcott, the well known business man of Torrington, Connecticut, and Allen Butler Talcott, the gifted artist and landscape painter.
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