USA > Connecticut > Representative citizens of Connecticut, biographical memorial > Part 28
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232
Ulysses Dapden Brockmap
make his deliveries on foot instead of taking the horse-cars which then were the only means of conveyance in the streets, for, as he would explain, in those days money was worth more than time. Throughout the long period of its establishment the old mercantile house has always stood in its original loca- tion at No. 132 State street, and as soon as Mr. Brockway was in a position to own his own home he purchased a dwelling at No. 16 Chapel street, and there, on account of its accessibility to his business, continued to live until the time of his death.
Mr. Brockway's business, though he directed his most earnest efforts to its development, yet did not occupy so much of his time and attention that he had none to spare on other matters. Public affairs had always interested him from his first coming to the city, and he entered local politics with zeal and enthusiasm, though with the most disinterested motives. He was a staunch Republican in his beliefs and was one of the founders and a charter member of the Republican Club of Hartford. Though he did not seek his personal advantage in any way in his political course, yet his availability as a candidate was so obvious that he was early given the nomination to the City Council from the old First Ward, and was duly elected and reelected, serving three terms on that body in 1883, 1884 and 1885. The year follow- ing he was chosen alderman from the same ward and served his constituents and the community well and faithfully in that capacity during four terms, or until 1890. In the year 1896 he was appointed by Mayor Miles B. Preston a member of the water commission, and reappointed in 1899 to the same office, acting in this capacity for six consecutive years. He was chosen a member of the committee of the Second North School District, and served for many years thereon, as his interest in education was particularly keen, and the task was one of love. He was greatly interested in the Henry Bar- nard School situated in that district and labored most faithfully in the inter- ests of the pupils and teachers connected therewith. His fellow members of the committee, upon the occasion of his death, drew up a set of resolutions expressive of their affection and admiration, which is quoted at length hereafter. Mr. Brockway was for many years a member of the Farmington Avenue Congregational Church, and during that time was devoted to its interests, attending service there with the greatest regularity, and giving liberally of both time and money in its support and that of its various philan- thropies. He served also as auditor for a number of years.
Mr. Brockway married, November 17, 1880, Harriet Norton, a native of Collinsville, Connecticut, daughter of Seth Porter and Elizabeth (Wilcox) Norton, of that place, and both members of old and honored Connecti- cut families. Mr. Norton was a man of prominence in his community and occupied the position of superintendent of the Collins Manufacturing Company at Collinsville, Connecticut, for many years. To Mr. and Mrs. Brockway were born two children: I. Elizabeth Norton, born Feb- ruary 12, 1882, died November 9, 1907; she was a graduate of Hart- ford High School of 1899, also graduate of Smith College, 1903; she was secretary of the Second North School, of which she was a graduate. She was a member of Smith College Club and of the Daughters of the Amer- ican Revolution. Miss Brockway possessed many unusual traits of mind and heart, and her death brought sincere sorrow to a wide circle of
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Ulysses Hayden Brockway
acquaintances. The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. Dr. Wil- liam De Loss Love, pastor of the Farmington Avenue Congregational Church; interment in Cedar Hill Cemetery. 2. Ulysses Hayden, Jr., born July 20, 1890; he is a graduate of Yale University, class of 1911, and is now prominently associated with the Travellers Insurance Company of Hart- ford. Like his father before him he is active in local politics and is now a member of the City Council. He resides with his mother at No. 136 Sigour- ney street, whither they moved after the death of his father.
Mr. Brockway was a self-made man in the fullest sense of the term. Starting as a friendless youth in a strange city, by dint of his unaided efforts, he worked into a position of great prominence and won an enviable reputa- tion for himself in his adopted community, for integrity and capability. His sense of duty was ever the strongest motive in his life, and his friends used to remark, in reference to his devotion to his church and business, that he divided his time between "mill and meeting." They should have added home, however, for there was never anyone more devoted to his family and hearthstone than Mr. Brockway, or a more devoted husband and father. The same sterling qualities which made him loved at home, and respected univer- sally in his public and business life, also gathered about him many faithful friends whose fidelity he repaid in kind. He was never weary of working for the benefit of the community and identified himself with many movements undertaken for the general good. He was an unusual combination of the conservative and progressive, seeking to find the good in both the old and the new. He was "a gentleman of the old school" and all that that phrase implies of grace and courtliness, yet he kept well abreast of the times in all practical affairs. He was a rare and admirable character in every way and one of those of whom it may be said that the world is better for his having lived there. It seems appropriate to close this sketch with the resolutions adopted in his honor by the committee of the Second North School District, of which he had for so long been a faithful member, at its meeting on the evening of July 9, 1914, and which ran as follows:
The Second North School District recognizes in the death of Mr. Ulysses H. Brock- way, for twenty-two years a member of the District Committee, the loss of a devoted servant of the interests of the District. A warm friend of the teachers and pupils and an example of upright, consistent and unobtrusive citizenship, which has been of distinct value to the youth of the District and of the community. During his long term of service for the District he was a faithful conservator of its best interests, a wise counsellor and a self-sacrificing official. His loss will be keenly felt by his associates upon the commit- tee, by the teachers of the school and by his many friends in the District and in the com- munity which he has well served by his quiet, unassuming, but effective life.
(Signed ) FRANK R. KELLOGG, JAMES P. BERRY, SOLOMON MALLEY, District Committee.
These resolutions, which were presented to Mrs. Brockway and to Mr. Brockway, Jr., in the form of a handsome volume bound in leather and silk lined, were but one of the great number of tributes which came in at that time from friends and associates, in all parts of the city and its environment, and were an eloquent tribute to the affection and respect in which he was universally held.
Seth Porter Horton
O NE OF THE old New England families that has won distinc- tion throughout the length of the history of that part of the world, in the persons of its various representatives, is that of Norton, whose residence in Connecticut has lasted many years and has identified those who bear the name most closely with the life and traditions of the State. During the Revolution the name was especially distinguished in the person of Colonel Ichabod Norton, who took a most effective part in that historic struggle on the side of democracy and freedom. Colonel Norton was married to Ruth Strong, who played her own part in those troublous times in a manner which, if less striking, was equally courageous with that of her husband. One of their children, George Norton, was the father of the distinguished gentleman whose name heads this brief article. George Nor- ton was a prosperous planter or farmer on a large scale, first at Farmington, whence he moved about 1800, then at Granby and finally at Avon, where he died on May II, 1833. His life had extended from the Revolutionary period -he was born in November, 1782, during the half century succeeding the successful termination of the war, and he saw the country for which his father had labored so faithfully, reach a period of strength and security both internally and externally. He was married to Eliza Frisbie so that their children were related to a great number of the principal families in the region, among which should be mentioned the Hookers and Strongs of Farmington.
The following is a description of the coat-of-arms of the Norton family, quartering St. Loe, Russell, De La Riviere, etc., etc .:
Arms: Quarterly of eleven. In Chief: I. Argent, on a bend sable, be- tween two lions rampant of the second, three escallops of the field. 2. Ar- gent, vair azure. 3. Argent, a bend engrailed sable between two mullets counterchanged, all within a bordure engrailed of the second. 4. Argent, bordure sable, charged with ten besants, martlet of the second.
In Fess: I. Sable, chevron ermine between three pheons argent. 2. Argent, bend sable, three annulets of the field. 3. Sable, three goats passant argent. 4. Ermine, cross engrailed gules.
In Base: 1. Argent, manche gules. 2. Gules, saltire or between four leopards' face argent. 3. Azure, two bars dansette or.
Crest : On a torse of the colors. Greyhound couped or, collared per fess gules between two barrulets of the second.
Mantle: Sable and argent, the first veined or.
Seth Porter Norton, son of George and Eliza (Frisbie) Norton, was born May 16, 1823, at Avon, Connecticut, and there passed the years of his childhood. He received an excellent education at the schools of Collinsville, but discontinued his studies at an early age to begin his business career. His father died when he was but ten years of age and the youth's ambitious nature urged him to engage in the activities of the great world. Collinsville,
Seth Borter Norton
Elizabeth Milrox Norton
M
ORTON
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Seth Porter orton
the manufacturing town in which were located the schools he attended, was named for the family which had established the most important industry in the region, the Collins, operators of the well known Collins Company, makers of plows, axes and other implements for use in farming and allied occupations. The Collins Company was a very large concern doing an immense business in these commodities in New England and it was to secure a position in this company that young Mr. Norton determined upon. His alert mind and pleasant bearing made this a matter of no great difficulty and when but eighteen years of age he began that connection which was to con- tinue during the remainder of his life. His first position in the Collins Com- pany was, of course, a subordinate one, but the same qualities that had gained him admittance in the first place also secured his advance, and he had soon entered upon that course of promotion that was eventually to place him as superintendent of the great plant. It was while still holding this office, in which his efforts contributed not a little to the prosperity of the business, that death found him still in harness and still laboring faithfully for the interests that employed him.
Mr. Norton had his own efforts to thank for the success he won in the business world. He was self-made in the best sense of that phrase, and he gave to others the full equivalent of what he gained in labor of hand or brain. Nor was he less successful in other realms than in that of business. Indeed he was even better known in his home town in his relation to politics and public affairs than in business and he held a very prominent place in the con- munity's regard because of the disinterested and efficient manner in which he discharged his duties in the various official posts with which he was honored by his fellow townsmen. He held many such positions in the affairs of the city, and was finally elected in the year 1867 to the State Legislature to represent his town, and was returned to that body a number of times by his well satisfied constituents. It seems quite beyond doubt that a career so auspiciously begun would have carried Mr. Norton to a very high place in the political life of his State had it not been for his untimely death which ended so abruptly what seemed to presage so largely for the future. But it is the most futile of things to speculate on such contingencies, and it is cer- tainly sufficient to note that for a young man of but forty-four years of age, his achievements were very great and the more so in that they were wrought without any compromise of the most scrupulous demands of integrity and justice. He was, indeed, a man of strong religious feeling and one who strove with more than the usual measure of success, perhaps, to base his conduct in everyday affairs in the teachings of the church and its ministers. He was a lifelong Congregationalist and a member of the church of that denomination in Collinsville during his residence there. He was also an ardent worker in the interests of his church and of religion in general and took an active part in the life of that body. He was a man of many talents, not the least of which was in the realm of music, and this ability he turned to the use of the church, taking an active part in the choir, of which he was the leader for a long period, and giving freely of his knowledge and fine voice for the adorning of the service and the edification of his fellow worshippers.
Mr. Norton married (first) Aurelia Humason, of New Britain, Connec-
236
Seth Porter Morton
ticut, December 23, 1845. To this union was born one child, a daughter Mary, now deceased. Mrs. Norton herself died September 2, 1849. Mr. Norton married (second) January 1, 1851, Elizabeth Esther Wilcox, of Simsbury, Connecticut. Mrs. Norton was the daughter of Averitt and Sally (Tuller) Wilcox, old and respected residents of Simsbury. Their children were as follows: Charles Everett, deceased; Harriet Elizabeth, who was married, November 17, 1880, to Ulysses H. Brockway, of Hartford ; William Averitt, deceased; George Wilcox; and Charles Robinson, deceased. Mr. Norton was survived by his wife a number of years, his death occurring October 29, 1867, hers September 23, 1901.
The character of Mr. Norton was an exceptionally strong one, one that exhibited at their best many of the fine traits for which New England has become famous. His integrity was never questioned, his sense of justice and the rights of others was highly developed and was never transgressed by him in his actions even when self-interest urged otherwise. It thus hap- pened that his successful career was not marked by the losing of old friends or the making of new foes such as so frequently mar success, but rather were the old friends bound more closely to him by the manly simplicity of his deportment which no amount of the sunshine of prosperity could spoil, while the same quality won him hosts of others from among those with whom he associated in all the relations of life. His home at Collinsville, near the church, was a charming one and reflected the culture which made it what it was. Devotedly attached to it he was, as well as to all the circumstances of home life, his domestic life being a most ideal one, united as it was by every bond of affection and sympathy among the members of the household. It was here that he most enjoyed to spend the hours of relaxation from busi- ness cares and worries, preferring it to a wider social activity, although his traits of character were such as to make him highly popular in such wider circles. Nor did he think it proper to absent himself entirely from such intercourse, and came to be, indeed, a conspicuous figure in the Collinsville social world. In all respects, indeed, he was a most valuable and exemplary citizen, and in spite of his youth may be numbered among those who have potently affected the community for good.
wamong
TAilliam Austin Moore
W ILLIAM AUSTIN MOORE, late of Hartford, Connecticut, partook in remarkable degree of those qualities of energy, thrift and sound judgment which have distinguished the New England families from the beginning. His ancestry was among the early settlers of Connecticut, and is de- scended from Andrew Moore, who appeared at Poquonock, in the town of Windsor, Connecticut, as early as 1671. His marriage there to Sarah Phelps, daughter of Samuel Phelps, and grand- daughter of William Phelps, the immigrant (who came to Dorchester, Mas- sachusetts, in 1630, and settled in Windsor in 1636), is recorded February 15, 1671. The Phelps family came from Tewksbury, England, on the ship "Mary and John," and Sarah Griswold, wife of William Phelps, was born in Kennelworth, England, in 1628, and came to America with her father, Edward Griswold, in 1639. They also settled in Windsor. Andrew Moore rendered service in the struggle with the Indians at Simsbury, for which he received one pound, seventeen shillings. He was active in many ways in the affairs of ancient Windsor; had a grant of land at Salmon Brook, now Granby, Connecticut, in 1680, and is described at that time as Andrew Moore, the carpenter, of Windsor, Connecticut. He died November 29, 1719, and the inventory of his estate amounted to 320 pounds. He was sur- vived by his wife, who was administratrix of his estate. At his residence in Windsor he had fifteen acres of land, with house and barn, carpenter's tools, farming implements, a cider mill, loom, spinning wheel, sword and belt, and a library prized at eight shillings, besides two pieces of land in Simsbury.
(II) Amos Moore, youngest son of Andrew Moore, born October 19, 1698, was a farmer in Windsor, where he died February 20, 1785. His house, barn and lands were valued at 496 pounds. He married, May 21, 1720, Martha, daughter of Obadiah and Christian (Winchel) Owen, born August 16, 1698, died May 20, 1780.
(III) Jonah Moore, third son of Amos Moore, born March 25, 1735, in Simsbury, was a soldier of the Revolution, and died November 28, 1813, at Turkey Hills, now East Granby. He married, May 22, 1758, in Boston, Mary, daughter of William and Mercy (Gibbs) Ridout, born 1733, died De- cember 1, 1807.
(IV) Ridout Moore, second son of Jonah Moore, baptized May 25, 1766, at St. Andrew's Church, Simsbury, was a farmer in Hartland, Con- necticut, and bought and sold lands in Turkey Hills. He married, June 14. 1784, in Simsbury, Rachel, daughter of Bildad and Mercy (Forward) Eaton.
(V) Pliny Moore, son of Ridout Moore, born about 1785, died in Becket, Massachusetts, December 19, 1841. He lived most of his life in that town. He married, March 5, 1806, Sally, daughter of Edward and Polly (Chaffee) Davis. She died September 1, 1837.
(VI) Asa Moore, fourth son of Pliny and Sally (Davis) Moore, was born May 5, 1819, in Becket, and died at Syracuse, New York, January 13,
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William Sustin Moore
1869. He was largely self-educated, was a man of large figure, great strength and fine presence. In 1852 he removed to Grove City, Ohio, where he was for a time a successful merchant, and removed thence, in company with his brother, Austin Moore, to Florida. In 1857 he took charge of the latter's estate in Brooklyn, New York, whither he removed, and continued to reside until 1868, when he went to Syracuse. He married in Sheffield, Massachusetts, June 7, 1842, Olive Dudley, daughter of William Cullen and Eliza Elvira (Clarke) Peet, of Sheffield, Massachusetts. Children: George Edward, born June 14, 1843, in Sheffield, died unmarried, in Syracuse; Luther Henry, May 23, 1845, in Becket, died while a soldier of the Civil War, at Newbern, North Carolina, July 8, 1864; Ellen E., January 14, 1847, in Becket ; William Austin, of further mention.
(VII) William Austin Moore, son of Asa and Olive D. (Peet) Moore, was born November 7, 1854, at Grove City, Ohio, and died January 31, 1914, at his home in Hartford, Connecticut. He attended the public schools of Brooklyn, and Syracuse, New York, and at the age of seventeen years entered the insurance office of M. V. B. Bull, agent of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company, at Albany, New York. In 1874 he removed to Hartford Connecticut, where he passed the remainder of his life. Here he entered the home office of the Phoenix Insurance Company, where he be- came an expert accountant, and won his promotion, until he became first vice-president of the company, and one of the best known insurance men in New England. He was elected assistant superintendent of the company, April 12, 1897, and was made a director, October 13, 1902, secretary, January 27, 1903, and first vice-president, December 27, 1904. In early life he traveled much in the interest of the company, and was very fond of outdoor life. He was much interested in the care and development of the parks of Hartford, was a member of the Hartford Golf Club, and of the Republican Club. For six years he was a police commissioner of Hartford, was also a member of the park commission, and of the City Council, and in every relation of life proved himself a man of the highest integrity, earning and enjoying the esteem of his fellows. For twenty-two years he lived on Madison street, in the southern part of the city, and in 1902 acquired a very handsome residence on Farmington avenue, where his widow now resides. Mr. Moore was espe- cially devoted to his home, and accepted public station only as a duty which he felt that he owed to the municipality in which he lived and prospered, and in whose welfare and development he was deeply interested. He married, in Hartford, October 8, 1878, Ida Pratt Cargill, born April 11, 1855, daughter of Dennis and Esther Pratt (Cadwell) Cargill. They were the parents of two children: Marjorie Peet, born October 16, 1888, she was married, Feb- ruary 17, 1915, to Robert Longley Bridgman, Jr., and William Cadwell, born May 20, 1898.
Elisha Egarton hilliard
B UT FEW REGIONS have such good cause as has New Eng- land to boast of the men whose names, forming a brilliant galaxy, are indissolubly associated with her gigantic indus- trial development, whose unwearied, undiscouraged efforts have turned, in a little over a century, a rural, undeveloped country into one of the greatest manufacturing communities in the world. Thousands of such men there were who gave their whole lifetime, surrendering present ease and comfort to the building up of great business concerns which should realize the ideals they had formed, and which now, in their triumphant sequel, stand as models for the imitation of the world. Such a man was Elisha Edgarton Hilliard and such a concern the E. E. Hilliard Company, which bears the distinction of being the oldest manufactory of woolen goods in continuous operation in the country, and has for eighty or more years been in control of the Hilliard family.
Mr. Hilliard was born December 8, 1807, in Mansfield, Connecticut, and was left an orphan at the tender age of three years. He was taken by his uncle, Mr. Edgarton, a blacksmith, and brought up as one of his family in his home at Mansfield Center, Connecticut, where he was sent to school and received his education. In 1824 he had completed his studies and sought employment, being ambitious to at once begin his career. For the bright and alert youth of seventeen this was a matter of no great difficulty, and he soon found himself apprenticed to Sidney Pitkin, manufacturer of woolen goods and owner of a mill which even in that early day was not new. This mill had been founded in the latter part of the eighteenth century by a Mr. Buckland, and was manufacturing blankets for the United States soldiers during the War of 1812, and it was not long after this that Mr. Pitkin had come into possession. Young Mr. Hilliard more than fulfilled the expecta- tions which his intelligent bearing had given promise of, and his promotion under Mr. Pitkin was extremely rapid, so that it was in 1832, but eight years from the time he had entered as an apprentice, that he was admitted to the firm as a partner, and at once began the active management of affairs which he continued until his death. Shortly after his admission as a partner Mr. Pitkin retired and Mr. Hilliard became the sole owner of the property and the head in name as well as in fact. In 1840 he admitted to partnership Ralph G. Spencer, and for thirty-one years the business was conducted under the style of Hilliard & Spencer. In 1871, however, Mr. Hilliard purchased his partner's interest and at once took his son, Elisha C. Hilliard, into the firm. This association continued until the elder man's death on February 3, 1881. Under the masterly management of Elisha Edgarton Hilliard the industry had grown to great proportions and at one time two mills in South Manchester were in operation, also one of them occupying the present site of the Hilliard works. The two in South Manchester were later purchased by Cheney Brothers and are at present used by them as a woodworking mill.
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