USA > Connecticut > Representative citizens of Connecticut, biographical memorial > Part 21
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62
But Mr. Migeon's activities, though chiefly directed to the situation around Torrington, were not confined to it exclusively. Wherever the in- dustrial opportunity seemed to warrant it his interest was awakened. He became president of the Bridgeport Copper Company of Connecticut, and the vice-president of the Parott Silver and Copper Company of Butte, Mon- tana. Beginning in almost all of these cases in a very small way, Mr. Migeon and his various associates were responsible for a general industrial
170
Achille Francois Migeon
development, and took the initiative in what has, more than any other single factor, caused the growth of Torrington from its rank as a small rural town to its present great importance. As little Wolcottville owed its exist- ence largely to the Wolcott family, so Torrington of the present day owes its prosperity in a great measure to the energy and enterprise of Achille Francois Migeon.
Mr. Migeon was married, September 1, 1858, to Elizabeth Farrell, a native of Waterbury, a daughter of Almon and Ruth E. (Warner) Farrell. To them were born two children, as follows: Virginia Baudelot, now the wife of Dr. Edwin E. Swift, of New York City; and Clara Louise, now Mrs. Robert C. Swayze, of Torrington. Mr. Migeon's wife and children survive him.
Mr. Migeon's death occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, whither he had gone to spend the winter for the sake of his health. It seems appropriate to close this sketch with the words printed at the time of his death by the Torrington "Evening Register." The local organ says in part :
With the dawning of the new year came the news of the passing away of this man, whose strong identification with the business interests of Torrington together with his sweet and graceful charm as a citizen and friend make his loss a personal one to the community.
Orsamus Roman Fpler
O RSAMUS ROMAN FYLLER, in whose death on November 22, 1909, Torrington, Connecticut, lost one of her most dis- tinguished citizens and one who played an active and influ- ential part in the affairs of the State of Connecticut, was typical of a large class of successful men of affairs, who in the past generation had so much to do with the phenomenal development of New England during that period. He was a member of an ancient and respected New England family which had come to this country in the earliest colonial times and from that time onward had occupied a prominent position in the life of the new land.
The immigrant ancestor of the Fylers in America was Lieutenant Wal- ter Fyler, a native of England, who came to the colonies as early as the year 1634 and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where the early records show him to have been a freeman on May 14, of that year. In later life he removed to Windsor, Connecticut. The representative of the family in Revolutionary times was one Stephen Fyler, the grandfather of Orsamus R. Fyler, and a prominent man in the community at that date. He served in the war for independence, and although the records are somewhat vague on the point, it seems probable that his term of service lasted from imme- diately after his marriage to Polly Collier, of Windsor, in July, 1778, until the end of the struggle. He received a pension for many years. He was a very energetic man and engaged in all manner of enterprises, besides his farming, and operated all manner of mills. He was a man possessed, not only of physical courage, but of the moral kind as well, as is well illustrated in an episode related of him among his descendants. He was according to this account one of a jury before whom a trial was prosecuted. The other jurors were seemingly moved by interested motives to attempt to bring about a miscarriage of justice, which was only prevented by Mr. Fyler's refusal to concur in a verdict which he felt to be iniquitous, and in holding out in this for week after week under the most severe pressure, until the judge was finally obliged to discharge the jury.
The father of Orsamus R. Fyler was Harlow Fyler, a son of the above Stephen Fyler, and a man who inherited his many fine qualities. He was a most capable business man and carried on many of his father's enterprises, including a factory for the manufacture of cheese, and a brick kiln. He grew very well-to-do and wielded a great influence in the course of events in his community. He married for his second wife Sibyl R. Tolles, a daughter of Joseph and Rosannah (Peck) Tolles, of Montague, Massachusetts.
Orsamus Roman Fyler, the eighth and youngest child of Harlow and Sibyl R. (Tolles) Fyler, was born January 17, 1840, at Torrington, Connec- ticut, and there passed his childhood and youth until the outbreak of the Civil War when he was a young man of twenty-one. He obtained the more elementary portion of his education at the local public schools, and later completed his studies at Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts.
172
Drsamus Roman Fpler
Shortly after his graduation from this institution came the call from Presi- dent Lincoln for volunteers in the cause of the Union, a call to which Mr. Fyler readily responded. He enlisted in the Nineteenth Regiment of Con- necticut Volunteers and was mustered into service. His regiment was later transformed into an artillery regiment, as the Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery, and Mr. Fyler was appointed to aid in recruiting the ranks. He was extremely successful in this undertaking, and with the assistance of a number of others, succeeded in raising the roll of the regiment to eighteen hundred men. He was commissioned a second lieutenant on February 6, 1864, mustered in at Arlington, Virginia, on March 4 of the same year, and soon thereafter saw active service. His regiment, under the command of Colonel Leverett W. Wessells, took part in a number of important actions, among them being those of North Anna, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Welden Railroad and Winchester. In many of these great encounters, the Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery saw some severe fighting, but in none more so than in the battles of Cold Harbor and Winchester. In the former the regi- ment came into direct contact with the forces under General Longstreet and after a desperate struggle were repulsed, though not until they had left three hundred and twenty-three of their number on the field, one hundred and twenty-nine of whom were either killed or mortally wounded. In this action Lieutenant Fyler came off unscathed, but he was not so fortunate at Win- chester. In the latter engagement the regiment played a most important part and was largely instrumental in saving the day for the Union army. The lost numbered one hundred and thirty-six killed and mortally wounded, fourteen of whom were officers, including a number of his fellow lieutenants. Lieutenant Fyler himself received a wound in his leg of a most serious nature, which crippled him for life, so that he was ever after obliged to use a crutch. This accident of course rendered him unfit for further service, but it was some time before he could return home, the wound confining him in a military hospital. Before it was possible to leave for the North, two events occurred which were in some measure a compensation for what he had suffered. The first was his commission as first lieutenant, which he received while on his back, and which was awarded for gallantry in the field at Winchester. The second occurrence was the casting of his first ballot for the candidacy of Abraham Lincoln for President. Lieutenant Fyler recov- ered at length sufficiently to return to his home in Torrington, but some idea of the seriousness of his wound may be gathered from the fact that a year elapsed after his return before he was able to engage in active business of any kind.
His first enterprise in the business world was the establishment of a flour and grain trade under the firm name of O. R. Fyler & Company. He conducted this business with considerable success for a matter of about two years, when he received a political appointment which materially altered the course of his career. After this event, which occurred in 1866, although Mr. Fyler was associated with other important business and financial institu- tions, these became of secondary importance and outside the main work of his life, that of his service to the State. Such business enterprises as he was later connected with were of a semi-public nature, such as the introduction
173
Drsamus Roman Fpler
of a city water supply into Torrington, in which he was one of the prime movers. He served with Senator Isaac W. Brooks and Charles F. Brooker on the committee appointed by the town to conduct the original investiga- tions regarding the proposed water works, and later with the same asso- ciates had charge of the securing of subscriptions and the work of construc- tion. He was also appointed superintendent of the work and it was under his supervision that the plant was installed. Another such enterprise was the organization and putting into operation of an electric railway between Torrington and Winsted, Connecticut, the success of which enterprise was largely due to his efforts. It was his energy and perseverance which suc- ceeded in forming the corporation known as the Torrington and Winches- ter Tramway Company by which the road was constructed. It was later absorbed by the great Connecticut Company and became a part of its exten- sive system of trolley lines.
The appointment referred to above, which turned the attention of Mr. Fyler to politics, was made in 1866 by President Andrew Johnson, and was for the postmastership of Torrington, an office which he held uninterrupt- edly for a period of nineteen years, being twice reappointed by President Grant, once by Hayes and once by Garfield, this being one of the very few appointments of the sort made in Connecticut before the President's assassi- nation. His management of this office was of a kind to establish his reputa- tion in the community both as an efficient officer and a disinterested public servant. The department was never run more to the people's satisfaction than during his regime, and at its close affairs were found in the most splendid condition. His tenure of office was finally terminated by the elec- tion of the Democratic President, Grover Cleveland. It is unfortunate that the idea of going into politics has to-day such sinister connotations, that it so easily conveys the idea of reproach to the average person. In its simple, old sense, before politics had reached the pitch of corruption which an awakening public conscience is bringing to light, to enter politics implied only one thing, a dominant interest in the conduct of public affairs. It was upon such grounds that the great statesmen whose names we venerate as the founders and moulders of the Republic entered politics, and despite the popular skepticism it forms one of the principal grounds to-day for those who take the same action. It was for this reason, at bottom a most altru- istic one, that Mr. Fyler chose his career. He had always been a keen and interested observer of the course of political events, and held strong opin- ions on the issues, both local and national, which agitated the community. His political eclipse upon the accession of Grover Cleveland to the presi- dency was of short duration, and he was appointed on July I, of the follow- ing year (1886), by Governor Henry B. Harrison, insurance commissioner of the State. Mr. Fyler's appointment was due, it is said, in a large measure to the campaign waged in his favor by Stephen A. Hubbard, of the Hartford "Courant," who had a boundless admiration for the natural gifts and scrupu- lous honor of the man. In the larger and more responsible office of insur- ance commissioner, Mr. Fyler measured amply up to the stature of his new duties, difficult and unfamiliar to him as they were. He corrected many abuses which had continued unchecked up to his time. He instituted search-
174
Drsamus Roman Fpler
ing inquiries into the condition of the various companies of the State, taking for granted nothing and not even accepting for examinations, with the result that some of the well known companies, among them the Charter Oak, and the Continental Life Insurance companies, went into the hands of receivers. His inquiry into the condition of the insurance financially was made with especial reference to their holdings in western real estate. His activities were productive of great changes for the better in the insurance world throughout the State and were commended highly by right-thinking busi- ness men and financiers, and by the people at large. Mr. Fyler lent his aid to the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company of Hartford, in the matter of its reorganizing on a mutual basis, and supervised the operation. His conduct of the department was so satisfactory that he was reappointed by Governors P. C. Lounsbury and Morgan C. Bulkeley, and when at last he turned over the work to his successor, it was a reorganized and systematized department that the latter had to begin with. Mr. Fyler became the candi- date of his party for the State Legislature, in 1886, and won the election, representing Torrington in the following session. He was also sent by his town as a representative to the State Constitutional Convention held in the year 1902. In the year 1896, during the campaign of Mckinley for the Presidency, Mr. Fyler accepted the chairmanship of the Republican central committee of the State and made one of the most efficient chairmen the party has ever had. His work, however, was extremely arduous and when he added still more to it in the shape of his labors in the constitutional con- vention, his health gave way, and he was seized with an attack of nervous prostration which lasted for several years. He was obliged to resign as chairman of the central committee, and did so with great regret, as he had held that office during some of the most memorable struggles that had tried the State organization of the party, struggles which had owed their success- ful termination in no small degree to the strong though tactful handling of the State chairman. In the course of time Mr. Fyler made a complete recovery from his trying malady, and with his recovery came also renewed political activity. In the year 1897 he was appointed by Governor Lorrin A. Cooke to a membership in the State railroad commission, an office which he was holding at the time of his death.
Besides his political activities, Mr. Fyler was an active participant in many departments of the community's life. He was a prominent figure in the social life of the town and was always ready with aid of all kinds for any movement that seemed in his judgment calculated to advance the interests of Torrington. He never forgot his sometime military associations and always kept them up as far as he could, being a prominent and enthusiastic member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. He served on the com- mission formed to honor the memory of General Sedgwick with a monu- ment. He attended the Congregational church.
Mr. Fyler's personal character was one which impressed itself irresist- ably upon all men. His strong, open face inspired immediate confidence, a confidence which he did everything to justify in every relation of life. How greatly his loss was felt, not only by his immediate family and friends, but by a wide circle of associates, may be gathered from the number and
175
Drsamus Roman ffpler
variety of the messages of condolences sent to his stricken family at the time of his death. These included words from President Taft, Governor Weeks of Connecticut, Senators Buckley and Brandegee, and many other prominent men throughout the State and country.
Mr. Fyler was married, December 14, 1865, to Mary E. Vaill, of Tor- rington, a daughter of David and Sarah (Bliss) Vaill, of that place. Mrs. Fyler is a member of a very well known New England family, descended from Jeremiah Vaill, the immigrant ancestor, who came to America and set- tled in Salem, Massachusetts, as early as 1639. To Mr. and Mrs. Fyler was born one child, a daughter, Gertrude B. Fyler, who became the wife of Ed- ward Henry Hotchkiss, of Torrington.
George D. Workman
T HOUGH NOT a native of Torrington, Connecticut, nor indeed of America at all, George D. Workman was as closely identified with the industrial growth of that place, and his death on June 7, 1909, was as great a loss to it as any of its native sons. Mr. Workman was a member of that dominant race which first settled the colonies which later became the United States, and which has contributed so greatly to the makeup of our composite American population, throughout the warp and woof of whose fabric its blood is commingled, and to the formation of the institutions which so splendidly distinguish this young nation. The coat- of-arms of the Workman family is as follows: Gules. Quartered. First. A tower argent. Second. The fasces of the Roman lictors sustaining a cross quartered argent and sable. Third. Three swallows, sable. Fourth. Argent, a hand flesh colored, holding a cross sharpened at bottom azure. Motto: I trust in God.
He was born in Gloucester, England, July 23, 1835, but did not live there more than a year. His father, who had married Caroline Franklin, a native of his own town of Gloucester, came to America in 1836, bringing with him his wife and two children; his grandfather, James Workman, came later. Once in the United States Samuel Workman, our subject's father, settled in New York City where he secured employment as a wool grader. He did not remain long in New York, however, but a year later removed to Tor- rington, Connecticut, where he found work of the same kind, and so George D. Workman first came to the place which was to be his home and the scene of his busy activity until the close of his life. Mr. Workman, Sr., was an extremely industrious and frugal man and, after working for some years in his employment as wool-grader, he found himself able to buy an interest in the Union Manufacturing Company, of Torrington, the business of which was the making of woolen cloth. This gave him the start he had desired and he continued to buy stock from time to time until, in 1873, fourteen years from his first purchase, he was actually the largest stockholder in the firm and owned a controlling interest. For some time prior to this he had acted as wool-buyer for the company, and he continued in this position until the year 1861. His death occurred in 1879.
In the pleasant town of Torrington, George D. Workman grew up to manhood, the child of increasingly good circumstances, as his father's affairs prospered. For his education he attended the excellent local schools, where his bright, alert mind won for him the favorable regard of his instruc- tors. Upon completing his studies he entered at once the mill of the Union Manufacturing Company, and there, under the able guidance of his father, learned the details of woolen manufacture. When his father resigned from active service as wool-buyer in 1861, young Mr. Workman took his place and very shortly made himself an important factor in the company. Following his father's example he began in 1865, to buy stock, and in 1883 became the
G. D. Workman
Samuel Hickman
S
I TRUST
IN GOD
MSorkmany
177
George D. Workman
largest holder, just ten years after his father had accomplished the same thing. In 1873 he entered the office of the concern with the position of agent and treasurer and was soon on the high-road to the control of the business. His ability and grasp of his subject made him an invaluable member of the management and in the year 1883, at the same time he became the principal stockholder, he was elected president of the company. Mr. Workman's younger brother, John Workman, and a nephew, Samuel C. Workman, also entered the business and became officers therein, the former treasurer and the latter secretary. Under the able management of the Workmans, the business has thriven enormously and is now regarded as one of the most important industrial enterprises in the region of Torrington. The company was organized in 1845, and always maintained its excellent reputation as the maker of first quality of woolen goods, but its growth was not so phe- nomenal until Mr. Workman's business genius began to be felt in the con- duct of affairs. In the year 1894 the name was changed to the present one, the Warrenton Woolen Company, and in 1907 the operations had become so large that it was necessary to seek larger quarters. A large tract was bought in the northern part of the borough and a new and splendid plant con- structed, and fitted with every modern appliance and the most complete equipment for the manufacture of woolen goods. Formerly the sole maker of a well known quality of broad cloth, the company now devotes itself as a specialty to the manufacture of the fine grade of cloth used in the making of uniforms, such as those worn by military and police bodies. The business employs more than a hundred hands and the period of development initiated by Mr. Workman still continues. As head of the woolen business Mr. Workman's position in the industrial and financial worlds of Torrington was very influential and it was rendered even more so through his connec- tion with other important institutions. He was president of the Torrington National Bank, and through that association exerted a beneficial influence in financial circles throughout the region. He also established and was presi- dent of the Workman-Rawlinson Company of Torrington, which transacted a large business in furniture in the town. Besides these various ventures, Mr. Workman also entered the great field of public utilities, and became the president of Torrington Electric Light Company.
Mr. Workman was a man of the most extraordinary powers, a business genius, with a great talent for organization and an ability to foresee con- tingencies that was remarkable, but although he gave the best of his energies to that department of endeavor for which his talents fitted him, and was known first and last as a business man and an industrial leader, he was also well known as a most public spirited citizen, ready at all times and to the best of his powers to aid whatever movement was really to the advantage of the community. His life was one that might well serve the youth of his town as a model of good citizenship, possessed, as it was of so many elements of strength and virtue. He was a lifelong member of the Episcopal church in Torrington, of which his father had been one of the founders. and for many years was an ardent participant in the work of the parish, and a sup- porter of the many benevolences connected therewith. He made an import- ant place for himself in his adopted country, and his death left a gap, at once in the Connecticut industrial world and in the community of his fellowmen. CONN-Vol III-12
henry Gillette Colt
T HE DEATH OF Henry Gillette Colt, of Winsted, Connecti- cut, on November 21, 1897, deprived that city of one of its most useful and energetic citizens, and one who was most closely identified with its life and traditions. Mr. Colt was sprung from fine old New England stock, his parents being Henry and Chloe (Catlin) Colt, old and highly-respected residents of Torringford, Connecticut. Mr. Colt, Sr., was born there on November 25, 1800, Mrs. Colt being a native of Harwinton in the same State, where her birth occurred on June 24, 1805. They were married October 19, 1829, and the Mr. Colt of this sketch was the eldest of their five children.
Henry Gillette Colt was born November 2, 1832, at Torringford, Con- necticut, and there passed the greater part of his childhood in the midst of that beautiful and wholesome rural environment. His father was a success- ful farmer and blacksmith and it was on his large farm that the lad lived his life out-of-doors, and laid the foundation of a strong and healthy man- hood. He attended for a time the local school, but reaching the age where he could be trusted to care for himself, his father who thought more advanced instruction advisable, sent him to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, there to attend the well known Williams Academy. After his education at Williams Academy he spent two years in New Haven in the office of Anson J. Colt, coal dealer. Before returning to the farm he was traveling salesman for a year. He returned to Torringford and his father's house where he remained until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Mr. Colt was at that time twenty-nine years of age and he at once offered his services to his country, enlisting, May 7, 1861, in the Second Regiment Infantry, Connec- ticut Volunteers, as a private. He received an honorable discharge from the service on August 7 of the same year and returned once more to Torring- ford. He left Torringford finally in 1867 and removed to Winsted, where he continued to live during the remainder of his life, and where he soon became associated with the industrial interests. His first connection of this sort was with the Strong Manufacturing Company, makers of casket trimmings on a large scale. Of this concern he was elected a director in 1871, and in 1877 became the general manager. His great energy and skill in handling men now were displayed to the greatest advantage, and under his management the business increased conspicuously. Three years before his death, his health which until then had appeared excellent, failed him and he was forced to retire from active participation in the affairs of the concern. Even after this retirement, however, he was sought by his successors for advice, and until the day of his death continued to exercise a potent influence upon the policies of the company. Mr. Colt's business interests did not end with the Strong Manufacturing Company, and he became connected with several other important institutions among which may be mentioned the Winsted Silk Company, the Winsted Edge Tool Works and the Winsted Savings
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.