USA > Connecticut > Representative citizens of Connecticut, biographical memorial > Part 2
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John Howard Wabittemore
brokers. It would have been difficult to find two more capable preceptors in all matters pertaining to the principles and detail of business procedure than the two members of this firm, they being Elliott F. Shepard and Edwin D. Morgan Jr., and it is very obvious that the young man profited by their instructions in a degree which drew their favorable attention to him. It is obvious from the fact that, upon the dissolution of Shepard & Morgan in 1857, Mr. Whittemore was at once offered a position in the house of the elder Mr. Morgan, well known as the "war governor" of New York. He did not remain long in this employ, however, removing his residence to Naugatuck, Connecticut, as he supposed temporarily, though as a matter of fact it was to continue his home for the remainder of his life.
It was here, in the following year, 1858, while Mr. Whittemore yet lacked something of his twenty-first birthday, that he formed an association which was to continue through life, and introduced him to the industrial career with which his name is so closely identified. This is the great mal- leable iron business in the development of which he was so important a figure, that his history might almost be said to be that of the industry for many years. His manner of entrance into this line was through securing employment with the E. C. Tuttle Company. This work he supposed was but temporary, but his handling of it gave so much ground for satisfaction that he was still in the firm's service when a few months later the plant was destroyed by fire. How great was the favor he had already won in that short employment may be gathered from the request of Bronson B. Tuttle, a son of E. C. Tuttle, that Mr. Whittemore join him as partner in a new firm to be founded. Mr. Whittemore had not desired or intended to remain in Naugatuck, his great fondness for New York City urging him to return there, but in the light of the serious depression at that time in the business world, he felt that it was the part of wisdom to accept this offer, and accord- ingly the firm of Tuttle & Whittemore was constituted. The art of making malleable iron castings was just beginning to receive attention, and the firm of Tuttle & Whittemore was among the first in the country to take up the invention in a practical manner. The attempt prospered from the outset and the concern grew as did the malleable iron industry, until it became one of the largest of its kind in the country. In 1871 it was incorporated under the name of the Tuttle & Whittemore Company, and in 1881 it became the Naugatuck Malleable Iron Company, with Mr. Whittemore as president, an office which he held for upwards of twenty years. As the business of the company increased, Mr. Whittemore's influence and prominence in the industrial world of the country became very great, and his interests gradu- ally widened until they embraced foundries and manufacturies throughout the United States. Besides those in Bridgeport these included concerns at New York, New Britain, Troy, Sharon, Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Toledo, in the management of all of which he took an active part, and acted as a director of each.
It was not merely in the malleable iron industry that Mr. Whittemore's business intrests lay, however, but throughout the financial world generally that his influence was felt. He was a director in the Landers, Frary & Clark Corporation and the North and Judd Manufacturing Company, both of New
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John Howard Cabittemore
Britain, a founder and director of the Naugatuck National Bank, a trustee of the Naugatuck Savings Bank, and he served as president of the Colonial Trust Company of Waterbury. He was also the owner of very large real estate interests in Chicago and other places. Perhaps the office which gave him the most satisfaction, because of the immense concerns at stake, was his directorship in the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, and his membership upon its executive board. He was a man of very powerful per- sonality and the most progressive designs, and after the year 1905 he occu- pied a leading place among his fellow directors of the railroad. It was to him that the great improvements made in the service after that period were due, and especially in the facilities given the people of Naugatuck and Waterbury, and the Naugatuck Valley generally.
Great as were his services to the industrial development of his State and the country at large, it is an open question if his most characteristic, and even his most important work was not of a more local nature. His great efforts toward the beautifying and embellishing of the communities in which he lived are of course referred to, efforts occupying a large portion of his time during the latter half of his life, and crowned with the most splendid success. He was a man of the keenest appreciation of nature, and coming in contact with the notable work of Charles Eliot, a son of Dr. Charles Eliot. of Harvard, in the direction of landscape architecture, he had his attention strongly turned toward that delightful art. He at once conceived the idea of applying its principles on a great scale to the problem presented by the town of Naugatuck and of Middlebury, where he had established a beautiful summer home. These two places and the whole region between were the subject of the most extensive operations, designed to increase the beauty of the neighborhood and utilize every natural advantage already enjoyed there. In Mr. Eliot, and after that gentleman's death in Mr. Warren H. Manning, of Boston, Mr. Whittemore found most able lieutenants and assistants in the carrying out of his schemes, which in their completion have given a unique character to the places involved. Taking his Naugatuck and Middle- bury homes as starting points, he gradually put into operation plans which involved the cutting of new streets, the planting of trees, the constructing of new and the reconstructing of old buildings for public use, all with the end of creating and developing a civic centre and the shaping of the entire neigh- borhood to an artistic unity with reference to this. Nor was it merely the two communities in which his homes were situated that were subjected to this treatment. His plans of an even larger mold, contemplated the beauti- fying of the whole region. Large tracts of land were acquired to insure the continuance of attractive outlooks, entire neighborhoods were cleared or planted to increase the natural beauty of the prospects offered by the coun- tryside, and changes on a large scale instituted along the line of the Nauga- tuck and Middlebury highroad. Under the influence of these far-reaching operations, the entire section of country has taken on a new and unique beauty, a beauty due to the brilliant mind which conceived and the energetic will which carried into effect so large and original an idea. In regard to the actual influence for good wrought by all this it would be appropriate to quote from the very interesting account of the work written by Mr. Man-
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John Howard dabittemore
ning, who, as above noted, had it in charge after the death of Mr. Eliot. Says Mr. Manning :
Although his field of effort was intentionally limited, the indirect influence of the man and his work upon business associates, friends, and observers cannot be measured. It has been and will continue to be an important factor in fostering the widespread inter- est in civic improvement, the great increase in which is evident to those who during the past twenty years have observed the local improvement activities carried on in so many places, of which Mr. Whittemore's manifold work is more than typical. I think if we were to know how far his breadth of view, his good taste, and his sound business judg- ment affected the action of others associated with him, we should find that his influence was really a very important one.
Among the individual benefactions of Mr. Whittemore should be men- tioned his gift of a large building and site to the hospital valued at $350,000, and the endowment of the Howard Whittemore Memorial Library.
Mr. Whittemore never took an active part in political life, although keenly alive to the great issues which agitated the country during his time. He was a strong Republican, whose beliefs had been fixed during the Civil War period, when he saw something of slavery in the "underground rail- way" activities, heard Abraham Lincoln speak, and cast his first ballot for that great man. But although he took no active part in politics, his sound judgment and perspicacity were so generally recognized that, much to his satisfaction, he was appointed a member of the Connecticut Constitutional Convention in 1902. He was also a representative to the Republican State Convention of 1908, in which, however, the aims for which he labored were defeated. In religion Mr. Whittemore was a Congregationalist of a very broad and tolerant type.
Mr. Whittemore married, June 10, 1863, Julia Anna Spencer, a daughter of Harris and Thirza (Buckingham) Spencer, of Naugatuck, Connecticut. To them were born four children, two sons and two daughters: I. Harris, born November 24, 1864, married Justine Morgan Brockway, of New York City, September 21, 1892; they have three children: Harris, Jr., Helen Brockway and Gentrude Spencer. 2. Gertrude Buckingham. 3. Julia, who died in infancy. 4. John Howard, who died in his sixteenth year.
Robert Wakeman Lull
R OBERT WAKEMAN HILL, whose death on July 16. 1909, removed from Waterbury one of the most conspicuous figures in the life of the community, and one of her most prominent and influential citizens, was a member of a well known and highly respected family which had resided in that region for a number of generations. The coat-of-arms of the Hill family: Sable. On a fesse between three leopards passant guardant or, spotted of the field, as many escallops, gules. His grandfather, Jared Hill, and his father, Samuel Hill, were both import- ant men in Waterbury, Connecticut, during their lives, and bequeathed to their descendant, Robert Wakeman Hill, the high standards of honor and worth it has long been New England's privilege and office to preserve, together with the character to maintain them.
Robert Wakeman Hill was born September 20, 1828, in Waterbury, Connecticut, and there lived the better part of his life, although he made several extended absences during his youth. He received the elementary portion of his education in Waterbury, but later removed to New Haven and attended the Young Men's Institute of that place. Upon completing his studies he decided to engage in the profession of architecture, and for this purpose entered the office of Mr. Henry Austin at New Haven as a student, to learn the business of architecture After he had thoroughly mastered the details of this business he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he prac- ticed with success for several years, then came to Waterbury, Connecticut, where he continued to practice with great success. He was the pioneer architect in this section and did much public work for the State, erect- ing many of the public buildings, etc. After a most successful career, Mr. Hill finally retired from business, and spent the later years of his life at his charming home in Waterbury. He had attained the leadership of his pro- fession in Connecticut and held it for a number of years before his retire- ment.
Mr. Hill was a conspicuous figure in the general life of Waterbury, his sympathies being of too broad a nature to perinit him to narrow himself within the limits of his own personal interests. He was a member of the Republican party, and a keen and intelligent observer of the march of polit- ical events, both general and local. In the affairs of the community his voice was an influential one, though purely from its persuasive power, for he took no direct part in the game of politics, nor possessed any political authority as it is now conceived. Mr. Hill took a prominent part in the Manufacturers' Bank of Waterbury, was on the board of directors and vice- president at the time of his death. He was very fond of social life and was an active participant in a number of important clubs and organizations, having been one of the first members of the Waterbury Club, and a member of the Mason Clark Commandery, at Waterbury. He was a faithful com- municant of St. John's Episcopal Church, in Waterbury, aiding materially
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Robert Wakeman Dill
with the work of the parish and giving generously to the many benevolences connected therewith.
His death occurred about two months before the completion of his eighty-first year, and was a loss not only to the host of personal friends, sincere and devoted, which his lovable and admirable character had gath- ered about him, but also to the community at large, which collectively had received a legacy of growth and advancement from his busy life. Mr. Hill was unmarried.
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Charles Buckingham Merriman
O HARLES BUCKINGHAM MERRIMAN, in whose death, on March 15, 1889, the city of Waterbury, Connecticut, lost one of her most prominent and highly respected citizens, was a member of one of the old Connecticut families, a family which since early Colonial times has occupied an enviable position in the regard of the community. The Merriman arms are as follows: A chevron cotised, charged with three crescents, between three ravens. Crest. A cubit arm entwined with a ser- pent and bearing a sword. Motto: Terar dum prosim.
The first of the name to live in this country was Captain Nathaniel Mer- riman, one of the founders of Wallingford, Connecticut, in the year 1670. The Merrimans continued to live in Wallingford for four generations, taking part in those stirring events which marked the Colonial period in New England, one of them lost a wife and daughter killed by Indians, and finally in the time of Charles Merriman, who enlisted in the Revolution as a drummer, changed their abode to Watertown in the same State. This Charles Merriman was the grandfather of Charles Buckingham Merriman, of this sketch, and his son was William H. Merriman, father of Charles Buckingham Merriman. William H. Merriman was a prosperous merchant of Watertown, Connecticut, spent most of his life in that town, but eventually removed from there to Waterbury, where he lived for the remainder of his years, and where the family has since resided. He married Sarah Bucking- ham, of Watertown, a daughter of David and Chloe (Merrill) Buckingham, of that place, and member of another eminent New England family.
Charles Buckingham Merriman, the eldest child of William H. and Sarah (Buckingham) Merriman, was born October 9, 1809, in Watertown, Connecticut, and there passed his childhood and youth. He received the elementary portion of his education in the excellent public schools of Water- town, and later attended the Leonard Daggett School, in New Haven. He accompanied his parents when they removed to Waterbury. in the year 1839, and from that time to his death made that city his home. He was thirty years of age at the time this move was made, and before that time he had been associated with his father in the latter's business. On his arrival in Waterbury he entered into a partnership with Ezra Stiles, who was engaged in a dry goods business in Waterbury, on the corner of Center square and Leavenworth street. He continued in this association and enjoyed a good business until the year 1843, when he withdrew in order to form a partnership with Julius Hotchkiss, under the firm name of the Hotchkiss & Merriman Manufacturing Company, succeeding the firm of Hotchkiss & Prichard. The Hotchkiss & Merriman Manufacturing Com- pany was engaged in the manufacture of suspenders and carried on this industry on a large scale until January, 1857, when it was merged with another concern, the Warren & Newton Manufacturing Company, in the same business, into the American Suspender Company. This large corpora-
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Charles Buckingham Herriman
tion finally discontinued its business in 1879, after a most successful career, which was in no small degree due to the resourceful business management of Mr. Merriman, who occupied the office of president in the Hotchkiss & Merriman Manufacturing Company for a considerable period. As years went on Mr. Merriman became a power in the industrial world of Water- bury, and his interests gradually broadened to include many of the most important institutions in the city. He became the president of the Water- bury Gaslight Company, president of the Waterbury Savings Bank and a director of the Citizens' National Bank.
In spite of his large and varied industrial and business interests, which might well be supposed to tax most men's abilities, Mr. Merriman found time and energy to devote to many other departments of the community's life. Of these particularly may be mentioned politics, in which he was an active participant. He was a member of the Republican party and from early youth had taken a keen and intelligent interest in all questions of public polity, alike the most general and the most local. His high sense of right was another force which impelled him to take a hand in the conduct of the city's affairs, while his zeal, his prominence and general popularity, quickly impressed his party with his availability as a candidate. It thus came about that he was elected to the Waterbury Common Council for a number of terms, and in 1869 was elected mayor of the city, serving from June 14, of that year for a one-year term. His administration was one which redounded greatly to his own credit and to the good of the community at large. Mr. Merriman was a prominent member of St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church of Waterbury for many years, and served for a consid- erable period as vestryman. He was an indefatigable worker for the aims of the church and the parish and did much to aid the many benevolences con- nected therewith. He was a man of most generous instincts and one who could not hear unmoved the plea of distress, but his aid was of so unostenta- tious a kind, that few if any realized the extent of his benefactions.
Mr. Merriman married, June 30, 1841, Mary Margaret Field, a daughter of Dr. Edward Field, of Waterbury, Connecticut. Dr. Edward Field was born July 1, 1777, at Enfield, Connecticut, where Mrs. Merriman was born March 12, 1817. Mrs. Merriman's death occurred October 5, 1866. To Mr. and Mrs. Merriman were born six children, as follows: Charlotte Bucking- ham. August 21, 1843, died February 9, 1911 ; Sarah Morton, born August 7, 1845, died February 20, 1903; Helen, born January 19, 1848; Margaret Field, born March 16, 1850, became the wife of Dr. Frank E. Castle, died January 23, 1911 ; William Buckingham, born June 11, 1853, married Sarah Kings- bury Parsons ; Edward Field, born September 1, 1854, died June 28, 1909.
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Frederick Benjamin Rice
F REDERICK BENJAMIN RICE, in whose death on April 22, 1905, the city of Waterbury, Connecticut, lost one of the most prominent and public spirited of its citizens, was by origin and every association a New Englander, although his actual birth occurred in the middle west. He was descended on both sides of the house from old and highly respected Connecticut families, whose honorable records, it was his privilege to sustain and even add to. The earliest paternal ancestor who can be positively traced was Isaac Rice, who took a creditable and active part in the American Revolution, but it seems reasonably certain that the family name before that period was Royce, which would prolong the line much further. On the maternal side Mr. Rice was able to trace his descent back through the well known Bronson family to Richard Bronson who lived in England and died as early as 1478. Mr. Rice's parents, who were Archibald Elijah and Susan (Bronson) Rice, were natives of Waterbury, and had passed their youth in that place, but moved to Hudson, Ohio, where Fred- erick Benjamin Rice was born, September 30, 1843. His parents, however, did not prolong their stay in Ohio for a great period after his birth, but returned to Waterbury while he was a mere child, so that all his youthful associations were with the home of his ancestors. It was there that he was educated, in the local public schools, and it was there that he spent prac- tically his whole life, the only exceptions being short absences such as that in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he took a course in Eastman's Business College, and his stay in the South with the Union Army during the Civil War. Upon the return from the former, Mr. Rice began his business career by taking a position as clerk in the employ of the L. D. Smith Company, a Waterbury concern in which his father was a stockholder. He later accepted a better position, although also clerical. with the Apothecaries Hall Com- pany. a large company doing a wholesale and retail drug business. It was while thus employed that the Civil War broke out, and in 1862, he enlisted in the Union Army. He served for a period of thirteen months, most of which time his regiment was in Louisiana in the command of General Banks. He enjoyed one well deserved promotion to the rank of corporal in Company A, Twenty-third Regiment, Connecticut National Guard. In the month of August, 1863, he received his honorable discharge and returning to Waterbury, resumed his connection with the Apothecaries Hall Company, this time in the capacity of secretary. Mr. Rice's next business connection was with the Waterbury Lumber and Coal Company, in which he took the position of secretary, resigning his similar office with the Apothecaries Hall Company for the purpose. He remained with the lumber concern during a period of several years, and in the meantime his father, who was interested in the lumber and coal business secured a controlling interest in the con- pany, the elder Mr. Rice and his son finally selling out their interests to a New Britain syndicate. It was while an officer in the Waterbury Lumber
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Frederick Benjamin Rice
and Coal Company that Mr. Rice had his attention directed to that line of business which he finally followed with so much success. The rapid growth and development of Waterbury were raising the prices of real estate throughout the neighborhood to higher and higher levels, and this fact could not fail to be apparent to a man of Mr. Rice's perspicacity, nor the correlated fact of the great opportunity offered to investment by this property. He at once engaged in real estate operations, and the building business on a very large scale, and his exertions were undoubtedly a very important factor in the development of the city. He particularly directed his attention to the development of new tracts of property in the region of the city, and was able to foretell the direction of the latter with such accuracy that he never made a serious mistake in his operations. These grew to great proportions and included several large areas of land of which that known as the "Glebe Land" was typical. In the case of the "Glebe Land" Mr. Rice selected a tract of what had previously been agricultural land, although agricultural land of an extremely ungenerous and difficult character. It was situated to the northwest of the city and Mr. Rice believed that properly handled, it might be turned into a splendid and attractive residence section. Accord- ingly he spared neither effort nor expense, and in the first place he had removed a solid bed of rock some thirty-four feet in height which sur- rounded the whole property, an operation which cost him no less than twenty-five thousand dollars. The event amply justified him, however, as he had at his disposal sixty-five building lots situated on three streets, upon which he erected residences of a high type. At present the "Glebe Land" forms the flourishing northwest section of the city of Waterbury. During the carrying out of this and many other similar operations, Mr. Rice contin- ued his building business, with an equal degree of success. From the time of his entrance upon this line until his death, he built in all seven hundred and twenty-four buildings including all types from dwellings costing as little as eighteen hundred dollars, to great business blocks costing one hundred thousand. Among the largest and most prominent of these were the Con- cordia Hall, the Grand Army of the Republic building, a number of large apartment houses. In the "Elton," one of the largest and handsomest hotels in New England, he was deeply interested. In the case of the last named structure it was erected by a company known as the Waterbury Hotel Corporation, of which Mr. Rice was the president. Mr. Rice himself gave the whole operation his most careful supervision, to which fact is attribu- table in large measure the perfection of its fittings and appurtenances, but he was not destined to witness its completion, his death intervening shortly before. During the latter years of his life Mr. Rice assumed a position of great importance in the Waterbury business world, and exercised a great power in financial circles in that part of the State. He became president of a number of large organizations, besides the Waterbury Hotel Corporation, notably the Apothecaries Hall Company, in which he had been clerk and secretary years before, and the F. B. Rice Company, a corporation organized by himself for the more efficient carrying on of his own great business. Besides this he was a director of the Manufacturers' National Bank of Waterbury.
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