USA > Connecticut > Representative citizens of Connecticut, biographical memorial > Part 36
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Dwight Whitfield Pardee
At a meeting of the vestry of St. John's Church held Saturday, October 7, 1893, the following minute was adopted : In the death of its honored and beloved senior warden, Dwight Whitfield Pardee, L.L. D., St. John's Parish has suffered an irreparable loss. Long identified with its history, he has ever served the parish with unswerving fidelity and loyal devotion. Baptized, confirmed, married, and afterwards an earnest Sunday school teacher within its walls, he, for the longest part of his life, has been faithful in his devotion to St. John's. More than once by his unerring wisdom, clearness of judg- ment and unfaltering righteousness he has proved himself to be her warmest friend and supporter. With a loving yet firm hand he has guided her in some anxious moments. His noble career as a jurist of the highest order, his faithful puplic service and the uni- versal acknowledgment of his broadness of mind and creed, are sources of pride and inspiration to those who were privileged to serve with him in the work of this parish. Faithful to the teachings of the church, constant in his attendance upon all her services and holy communions, reverent and devout in manner, he is ever a pattern to others of a life that can be hid with Christ in God. Righteous and loving, firm and tender-hearted, filled with noble ideals and always compassionate to the weak, he fulfilled in the largest degree the conception of a true manhood. It is in memory of so wise and good a friend of the parish and of our city life outside that we offer this loving tribute to his char- acter.
In the course of a memorial sermon, preached by the Rev. Mr. Bradin, rector of St. John's, shortly after Justice Pardee's death, that worthy divine said :
"His mind was a thanksgiving to the power that made him, it was blessedness and love " How accurately these lines by Wordsworth described him all who knew him will perceive. He had that fineess of nature, that physical and mental organization which is capable of most delicate sensations and sympathies, of which Ruskin speaks as a prime characteristic of the gentleman. He sedulously strove to conceal from the public view his nameless acts of love and kindness. He was a just judge who feared God and regarded man. His eye was single and all his convictions, conceptions and statements were luminous. But I think he was more and better than a just and righteous man. He was a good man. There was a Christian grace in him that greatly enriched and beautified the natural strength and justice of his mind. For it should be said that Judge Pardee was a most devout and exemplary Christian man. He believed in the gospel with all the strength of his mind and heart. He walked in its ways and diligently prac- ticed its precepts. He was kind and merciful and charitable after his power. The poor, the sick, the sorrowful and all who were needy had in him a rare friend and helper. * * * Judge Pardee's departure is a sore bereavement to our city. Such men as he give us a feeling of social security. Every good cause here has lost in him a potent champion. The poor and needy have lost in him a generous helper. The people have lost a wise and faithful friend. Not only the particular church of which he was an hon- ored and influential member, but all churches of the city, have lost a strong and polished pillar.
Illustrative of the last claim in the Rev. Mr. Bradin's address, there was another church of different denomination, whose rector also spoke words in praise of Justice Pardee's memory. This was the Rev. Dr. E. P. Parker, of the South Congregational Church, who, in the course of his sermon spoke as follows:
It is not too much to say that Judge Pardee was held in respect, esteem and confi- dence by the entire community in which he lived and which he served through a long term of years. *
* * And surely never did there live on earth a man of kindlier nature. Indulgent listener was he to the tongue of garrulous age, nor did the sick man's tale, to his fraternal sympathy addressed, obtain reluctant hearing. By those who knew him more intimately he was regarded with admiration for the wealth of his intellect and moral endowment, and cherished with warm affection for his singularly gentle and amiable qualities of heart. He was a man whom no one could have passed without remark. Active and nervous was his gait, his limbs and his whole figure breathing intelligence.
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One of the warmest and most appreciative memorials was a brief notice from the pen of a lifelong friend of Justice Pardee, who knew him well and perhaps understood his character more adequately than any other. We quote in part from it as follows :
Judge Pardee had in a high degree the judicial faculty. He was never embarrassed by the complicated facts that overweight so many of the cases that go to our higher courts. He was able to precipitate, as by the touch of an alchemist, the questions of law which they held in solution. With a quickness of appreciation often thought incom- patible with a proper judicial deliberativeness, he had a remarkable soundness of prac- tical judgment and a great sense of justice. Though never led astray by any fondness for speculation, he had a rare faculty of dealing with moral questions and exploring new regions of legal inquiry. He had less book-learning than some less able judges, but had a clear comprehension of legal principles and a thorough mastery of the law and its science. His opinions are written in language of great condensation and vigor, often epi- gramatic and quaint in its conciseness and point, always clear, always freighted with meaning, and without being in the slightest degree ambitious or inclined to be ornate, yet of a high literary quality. No verbiage ever burdened anything which he wrote or uttered ; no weak word or thought ever came from his lips or his pen. He was a very modest man and of a retiring disposition. He rarely appeared upon a public platform or took an active part in public meetings. This was true of his early years at the bar as well as of his later on the bench. He was quiet in his demeanor, not at all self-assertive or demonstrative, positive in his views but never aggressive in declaring them, a shrewd and intelligent observer of public men and public affairs, but keeping his comments, sometimes caustic, always keen and racy, for private conversation. He had a fine sense of humor and was often a witty contributor to the entertainment of a dinner party or a circle of friends, but it was generally by way of reply to the remarks of others and upon the suggestion of the moment. He was never a talker in the ordinary sense of the word. Judge Pardee was a man of the highest moral tone. No one ever imputed to him an unworthy motive. He was a man of absolute and most scrupulous integrity and had the unlimited confidence of the public as such. He was a liberal giver to worthy char- ities : his gifts, often large, being made where practicable in a way to avoid public obser- vation. No one could be more free from ostentation or pretense, none of plainer or more simple habits. He was tall and slender and in later years of his life, his abundant hair and beard, whitened by age, gave him a striking appearance upon the bench and street. His dark eye was one of remarkable richness and depth. *
* * He took great inter- est in Trinity College and for many years was one of its trustees, and made it the ulti- mate legatee of a part of his estate. * * * The death of Judge Pardee gave to the whole community a sense of loss, but to the writer of this imperfect sketch of him it brought a great personal bereavement and sorrow. We had been pleasantly acquainted from our early manhood as brethren at the Hartford bar, with a high esteem for him on my part, but during the sixteen years that he was a member of the Supreme Court, I being then its reporter, there grew up between us a very fond friendship. To no one outside of my own family did I look for companionship in my declining years so much as to him. It is with a sense almost of desolation that I think of his returnless absence, and it is among my pleasantest thoughts that we shall soon meet in a renewed and abid- ing companionship.
Such then was Justice Pardee and it may well be supposed that the man who could inspire such sentiments of love and adiniration on the part of his friends-for the above tribute is but typical-must have played a very im- portant part and exercised a great influence for good upon the community that was so fortunate as to count him a member. And this was undoubtedly the case. Whether regarded from the standpoint of his relatives and per- sonal friends, from that of his many associates of the bench and bar, or from that of the community at large, he was a man who had wrought a good work, whose name deserves to live long in the grateful memory of his fellows.
Leavitt Pomeroy Bissell
IT IS ONLY of comparatively recent years that the inestimable benefits conferred upon the community by the sober business man and merchant are coming to have their due share of recognition, and that the records of these men are being set down alongside of those more showy ones connected with military service and the affairs of State, as most truly repre- sentative of human life, and in the aggregate the most largely contributive to the sum of human happiness. This growing appre- ciation of the part played by those concerned with the commercial and financial interests of the community has been coincident with a profound change in the organization of society itself, a change which has involved the shifting of its base from war to industry. Before this change had taken place, although the value of the merchant was realized in a dim sort of way by the warlike lords of creation, it was tinged with scarcely more consider- ation than that accorded to the creatures of the chase which were thought valuable indeed, but merely valuable as prey for their fierce and insatiate desires, a consideration typified by the robber barons of mediaeval Germany for the traders whose caravans they hoped to plunder. In the gradual emergence into popular notice and respect of a mode of life essentially far more noble than that which originally despised it, this country, with its republican institutions, its democratic ideals and independent defiance of old formulae, has played a prominent, perhaps the most prominent, part. In the United States of America, while we have amply honored those who have sacrified themselves in war to the common weal, as we have honored those who have sacrificed themselves in any calling, we have refused to accept the dictum of a past age and foreign clime that there is anything intrinsically honorable in the warlike calling, giving our admiration instead to pursuits which in their very nature tend to upbuild, not to destroy, which would give and preserve life, not take it. It therefore becomes our appro- priate function to set down the records of such men as have established reputations for character and ability in these occupations which more than any others are typical of life as we find it here in our midst at the present time. There is probably no other region which has been and still is more productive in such records than that of New England, the development of whose great industrial interests is associated with a host of names recog- nized by all as those of great enterprises, but which were originally borne by their founders who were the great leaders and captains in this wholly beneficent campaign for the conquest of the realms of inanimate nature, and the spread of human power and coinfort. Among these names there is one which holds a high place in the regard of the people of Connecticut, espe- cially those of Hartford county in the neighborhood of the charming town of Suffield. This is the name of Bissell, which from the earliest Colonial times has been borne by men who have displayed ability in worldly affairs
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Leavitt Pomeroy Bissell
and a certain inherent leadership causing them to occupy prominent places among their fellows. True in these particulars to the traditions of his name was the late Leavitt Pomeroy Bissell, who from very early in his life took and held a conspicuous place as a business man in his native region, where he made his home during the comparatively few years that were granted him on earth. His death, which occurred September 24, 1913, cut short a most brilliant career when he was but forty-eight years of age, his powers in their zenith, his ambitions bearing but their earliest fruit. He was the elder of the two sons of Charles Samuel and Maria E. (Pomeroy) Bissell, of Suf- field, Connecticut. His father, and brother, Charles Chauncey Bissell, were both prominent in Suffield, and sketches of both appear in this work.
Leavitt Pomeroy Bissell was born in the picturesque and charming town of Suffield, April 18, 1865, and as soon as he was of an age to learn he was sent to the local public schools, where he at once established his claim to be considered as possessed of brains and abilities above the average. He was the child of wealthy parents and there was no need for him to abandon the studies in which he distinguished himself at an unduly early age, so having attended the public schools for a period of years, he was entered at the famous Suffield school known as the Connecticut Literary Institute. His studies here and a year at the Wilbraham Academy in the town of that name completed his formal education, but a man like Mr. Bissell never entirely finishes his work in this line, his faculties for absorbing knowledge being apparently intuitive, so that to the end of his life he was in a true sense a student. At the age of nineteen years, having completed his school- ing, he at once entered business life, securing a position as clerk with the Travelers' Insurance Company of Hartford. He remained with this com- pany but six years, but during that time displayed such marked business ability that he was promoted to the position ranking next to that of auditor in the latter's department. In the year 1890 he received an offer to enter into partnership with a Mr. W. D. Drake in the manufacture of cigars under the firm name of W. D. Drake & Company. This business was located in Suffield and flourished from the start. In the year 1895 Mr. Drake died, leaving Mr. Bissell the sole owner and manager of the business which still more rapidly increased in his control. From this beginning Mr. Bissell be- came more and more closely interested in the tobacco business and more and more closely identified with it until he was recognized as one of the leading merchants and one of the most potent influences in the trade. In 1897 he became interested in leaf tobacco as a member of the firm of R. F. Brome & Company, and shortly afterwards bought out his partner's interest and car- ried on the concern alone. In 1898 his brother joined him in this enterprise and the firm of L. P. Bissell Brother & Company was formed, which did one of the largest trades of the kind in the region. But Mr. Bissell's interest became still further inclusive of the tobacco business when he took up the cultivation of the plant itself. For this purpose he formed what was known as the Bissell-Graves Syndicate, and at the time of his death was sole pro- prietor. Mr. Bissell had upwards of one hundred and fifty acres under cultivation, making him the largest individual tobacco grower in New Eng- land. Some idea may be gained as to the size of his operations from the
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knowledge that in his various concerns he had at times as many as five hundred men on his various pay rolls, a fact which also gives point to the statement that he was a benefactor to his native place and responsible in a large measure for its prosperity.
But it was not merely through the medium of his private business that he took part in the life of his community and served its interests notably. He was a man of truly democratic instincts and was, in a very real sense, the friend of everyone and a good townsman. He took part in the cheerful social life of the place, being a member of many clubs and organizations. In the Masonic order he was particularly prominent, a member of Apollo Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Washington Chapter and Suffield Council of Suffield; Washington Commandery, Knights Templar, and Sphinx Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Hartford. He was also a member of Torrington Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and a charter member of Gideon Granger Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of Suffield. Re- ligiously he was affiliated with the Baptist church and was a faithful and earnest worker in its interests. His generosity and zeal in the cause of Masonry was well illustrated by his gift of a handsome organ to the new Masonic Temple presented to Apollo Lodge by Charles L. Spencer.
Leavitt Pomeroy Bissell was united in marriage with Mary Weston Gilbert, of Suffield, daughter of Weston and Mary (Loomis) Gilbert, old and respected residents of that town. The marriage was celebrated January 18, 1888, five children being born of the union, two of whom, with their mother, have survived Mr. Bissell's death. These are Arthur G. and Mary W. Bissell.
The untimely death of Mr. Bissell was caused by an attack of pneu- monia contracted while on a tour of pleasure. He had been ill a little earlier in the year, but seemed quite recovered and had decided upon a short holi- day to recover his accustomed strength. This he proposed spending with a party of friends in an automobile tour which had for its objective point, Detroit, Michigan, and the grand circuit races which were held there. It was on their return from this city that the party were overtaken by a rain storm and in Mr. Bissell's weakened state the exposure brought on pneu- monia. He was obliged to seek a haven in Buffalo and there a few days later he died. His death was a very severe loss to his native community for which he had done so much, a great deal more, indeed, than will ever be realized by any single individual, for his charities were extensive and so conducted that no one but the immediate recipient was aware of any par- ticular act of assistance. He truly fulfilled the injunction not to let his left hand know the deeds of his right. His memory is highly revered and at the time of his death the entire press of the region united in a chorus of praise of his energetic and blameless career.
In the course of a long obituary article the "Windsor Locks Journal" said in part :
Mr. Bissell was a man of more than ordinary business ability and had been very successful in all his undertakings. He gave a large number of people employment and was very liberal with his help. His heart was always open to people in trouble and the world at large will never know of the many acts of kindness and charity that have
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Leavitt Pomeroy Bissell
brightened the lives of less fortunate people than himself. His large and varied inter- ests in the business life of the town and his prominence in the social and fraternal life will make his death more keenly felt.
Speaking of his funeral a Springfield paper said among other things:
The funeral of Leavitt P. Bissell, one of the leading citizens of Suffield, who died at Buffalo on Wednesday, was held at the home yesterday at two-thirty o'clock. The people of the town showed their respect to their fellow townsman, who was the largest individual tobacco grower in New England, by closing all places of business during the ceremony and attending in large numbers. It was easily the largest funeral ever seen in Suffield.
In the course of its remarks on the same occasion the following appeared :
Leavitt Pomeroy Bissell, forty-eight, the town's leading business man, died suddenly on Wednesday at Buffalo, New York, from pneumonia which he contracted while on an automobile trip with a party of friends to Detroit, Michigan, where they attended the grand circuit races. * * * Early in life Mr. Bissell developed sterling qualities as a manager and by hard and persistant work built up the largest industry in the town, and his sudden death has cast a mantle of gloom over the entire town, the townspeople with whom he was in daily contact being hardly able to realize that their friend and benefactor is dead.
The qualities that made Mr. Bissell so highly respected in his business dealing of good-faith and simple honor were exhibited in equal degree in the private relations of life, making him highly beloved wherever he was known. He was a domestic man, a man who loved the society of household and inti- mates and whose companionship was in turn welcomed by them as a treas- ure of great price. His tastes were many and diverse and he was fortunate in being able to gratify them more than the majority of men. One of his chief amusements was driving, and he appreciated the qualities of a horse as well as any man. Some of the best known trotters in that part of the country found their way to and remained in his stables. Healthy outdoor life was delightful to him and he was a strong advocate of it for the young, to whom he believed it brought the highest blessings. He was a singularly well-rounded character, a personality which has been and will continue to be greatly missed.
William Woodville Rockhill
O NE OF THE most distinguished members of the American diplomatic service during the past generation was William Woodville Rockhill, the gentleman whose name heads this brief review, and whose death at Honolulu, December 8, 1914, was a loss to the entire country. Possessed of such unusual abilities that he excelled in whatever branch of activity he engaged in, a diplomatist, a statesman, an eth- nologist, an orientalist, Mr. Rockhill performed work in each department which entitled him to be regarded as a master therein.
William Woodville Rockhill was born April 1, 1854, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a son of Thomas Cadwallader and Dorothy Anna (Wood- ville) Rockhill, the former named a prominent citizen of that place. He did not remain long either in the city or the country of his birth, but was taken abroad, and passed his youth in France and in that country received his education. He attended the great French military school of St. Cyr and was one of the few American graduates of the institution. His education was a very complete one and his training familiarized him with European conditions to such an extent that he was regarded as especially well fitted for the post when, in 1884, he received an appointment as second secretary of the American legation at Pekin, China. Mr. Rockhill thus made his bow simultaneously to the American diplomatic service and to the Chinese Empire, two matters that were to engage his attention and effort during the greater part of the remainder of his life. He was not long in convincing his superiors that his qualifications were by no means limited to his train- ing, but that he possessed a natural adaptability which rendered him an invaluable agent in dealing with the characters of other peoples and races, yet of a firmness of purpose that removed all fear of his being imposed upon. Not less important, perhaps, then either of these qualities was the great and sympathetic interest that he developed in the peoples that he came in contact with, an interest that led him into some of the other fields of effort in which he distinguished himself so highly. This was, in fact, the impulse that urged him to undertake two journeys of exploration in China, Mon- golia and Thibet, 1888-92, which brought him into the most intimate contact with the country people of that vast realm who, far from the influence of the outside world, preserved their characteristic manners and customs in great purity. Mr. Rockhill served as chief clerk in the United States State Department, 1893-94, and from that time on his advancement in the service was brilliant in the extreme. He served as third assistant Secretary of State, 1894-95, and was first assistant secretary in 1896-97. In the latter named year he was appointed minister to Greece, Roumania and Servia by President McKinley, and went to Athens, in which city he set up his headquarters, but he resigned from this position in May, 1899. His travels in the Balkan region and Turkey were extensive and awakened a profound interest on his part in the peoples of that remote land. After his return to the United
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States, he was appointed to the responsible office of director of the Bureau of American Republics. Six years he remained in this position, performing invaluable service to the cause of mutual understanding among the countries in this hemisphere. In July, 1900, he was appointed commissioner of the United States to China and returned to the scene of his earliest diplomatic work with great pleasure, his interest in that great civilization having rather augmented than abated in the intervening years. From February to Sep- tember, 1901, he served as plenipotentiary of the United States to the Congress of Pekin, signing the final protocol of September 7, 1901, and in October, 1901, he resumed duty at the Bureau of American Republics. He also received the appointment as Ambassador to St. Petersburg, and, after two years' service, was transferred, at his own request, to Constantinople, where he remained until relieved by Ambassador Maugenthau. Shortly afterward he received a request from Yuan Shi Kai, president of the Chinese Republic, to fill the responsible office of personal adviser of the president, who was one of the prominent men of his nation with whom Mr. Rockhill had formed a friendship during his residence in the far east. This request Mr. Rockhill felt as an honor and hastened to accept, but fate had deter- mined otherwise and it was while on his voyage across the Pacific Ocean that the malady that was to prove fatal attacked him. He was obliged to land in Honolulu and never left that place.
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