USA > Connecticut > Representative citizens of Connecticut, biographical memorial > Part 55
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David Baldwin, the grandfather of the Henry Merwin Baldwin, whose career forms the subject of this sketch, was, like all the members of the family, a farmer. His prosperous farm was situated in the Long Hill dis- trict, and there he spent the whole of his life, winning the hard but plentiful living from the soil and taking so active a part in the affairs of the commun- ity that he became one of the best known men in that part of the State. The same was true of his son, Andrew Jeremiah Baldwin, who inherited at once his father's occupation, his ability and popularity in the neighborhood. This Mr. Baldwin was married to Delia Merwin and it was to them that Henry Merwin Baldwin was born, October 10, 1857, at the old homestead at Long Mountain.
Henry Merwin Baldwin, whose death in New Milford, on April 1, 1915, when he was but fifty-eight years of age, robbed the community of one of its most energetic and enterprising citizens, spent the major part of his child- hood and youth at his native Long Mountain. He went to the town of Golden Hill, Connecticut, for his education, it is true, attending there the excellent school run by Professor Day, but when his labors with book and pen were concluded, he returned to Long Mountain and embarked upon a most energetic form of life, farming in the summer and teaching all the time he was not farming. He was but nineteen years old when he began teaching school and one of his pupils was his future wife. He continued in this calling with much success for some years after his marriage. It was in farming, however, that Mr. Baldwin's real interest lay, and it was there that he displayed his greatest talent. In fact he was naturally a farmer, taking intuitively to it and seeming to know, as though by second nature, how everything should be done. How great was his affection for the life may be
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seen in the fact that he eventually gave up teaching and took it up exclu- sively and that in spite of the fact that he had received a very painful acci- dent to his ankle that made the work in the field difficult to him all his life. From the time when, as a young man just back from school, he had begun work under his father on the old homestead, the farm began to improve, and when, finally, upon the elder man's death, the property came entirely under his control, it rapidly grew to be one of the finest and most prosperous farms in that part of the State of Connecticut. It was operated in such a manner that the question of beauty received due consideration, so that it became one of the show places of that region and was regarded as the model farm in every aspect. The crop that he raised was tobacco, which paid him very well, especially as he was phenomenally successful in its cultivation, with a result that it became more and more the staple crop. Altogether it was one of the most productive and beautiful spots for many miles around and to the charm that prosperity and flourishing growth always conveys to the eye was added the positive beauty of flowers in the greatest profusion, of the culti- vation of which Mr. Baldwin was passionately fond. He continued in his favorite occupation until near the end of his life and then, selling the old place, he removed to New Milford and there made his home. There seems to be little doubt that his life was shortened by the change, for he was never entirely cheerful after it, was nervous and worried, missing his accustomed labors deeply. However this may be, it is certain that death followed closely upon the changed mode of life.
Like his father and grandfather before him, Mr. Baldwin was an active participant in the public affairs of the community where he lived so long. He was a strong Republican in politics, but a Republican by conviction and for no partisan or interested considerations, as he was extremely independ- ent in thought and action. He was a member of the school board of New Milford for some years, but consistently avoided public office in spite of the fact that his services to his party merited a reward of this kind, and that his colleagues were strongly desirous that he should accept a nomination of some kind. He had been brought up a Congregationalist, and attended that church until his marriage. Mrs. Baldwin was an Episcopalian, however, and he always attended her church with her.
On September 17, 1879, Mr. Baldwin was united in marriage with Char- lotte C. Ferris, of New Milford, a daughter of Albert and Jennette (Hill) Ferris, of whom it has already been told that she was a pupil in Mr. Bald- win's class when he began first to teach school in that region. To them were born three children as follows: Alice, who became Mrs. Chester Lyons, of Washington, Connecticut ; Ralph H., who married Flora Benedict, daughter of Otis Benedict, of Kent, who has borne him one child, Lynn Armond; Frank Merwin, an electrical engineer of Waterbury, Connecticut. Mrs. Baldwin survives her husband and still resides in New Milford.
Mr. Baldwin was a man of strong domestic instincts who found his chief happiness in his work and the intimate intercourse of family life and such of his friends as were on terms of close personal friendship. His character was a strong one and his affections and tastes were also positive and strong,
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as he so forcibly illustrated in his pursuance of his favorite occupation in the face of many opposed considerations, not the least of which was the injury which made much of his task a positive physical pain. The same determined spirit that he displayed in this matter characterized his conduct in all the relations of life, yet there was nothing of the aggressive temper about him, but on the contrary a deep regard for and sympathy with the rights and feelings of others.
Dwight Edwards Lyman
O NE of the prominent figures of recent years in the industrial world of Hartford, Connecticut, was that of Dwight Ed- wards Lyman, who for upwards of half a century was asso- ciated with the great manufactory of the Asa A. Cook Com- pany, and whose death on July 10, 1915, not only deprived that concern of one of its most valuable members, but the whole community of a most public-spirited citizen, a broad- minded, liberal-handed gentleman.
Mr. Lyman was not a native of Connecticut at all, though the major part of his life was spent in Hartford. By birth he was a New Yorker, hav- ing been born in the little town of Deansboro in that State, October 12, 1844. The first twenty years of his life he spent in his native town, gaining there his education at the local public schools, and engaged in the usual occupa- tions of youth. In 1864, being at that time a young man of twenty, he removed to Hartford, whither his enterprising disposition and the need of earning a livelihood had attracted him. He found a number of positions with various concerns, moving about among them for a number of years, but finally in 1866 secured a place with Asa A. Cook in the business the latter had established in 1858, and thus began the long association which was only to be terminated with the death of Mr. Lyman. When Mr. Cook's business was incorporated under the name of the Asa A. Cook Company, he remained with it in the office of superintendent, and served in that capacity for many years, his direction of affairs being a model of efficiency and system. He was a recognized authority on all sorts of industrial engineering, and in the practical application of his knowledge was without a superior.
Mr. Lyman took a prominent part in the general life of Hartford and was a well known figure in social, political and religious circles. Though himself a native of New York, his family some generations previous had resided in Hartford and a direct ancestor, Richard Lyman, had been one of the little band who, under the leadership of Thomas Hooker, had founded the city in 1636. The original Richard Lyman lies buried in the old Center Church Cemetery, where so many of the illustrious men of Hartford lie, and his name appears on the monument erected to the founders. Because of all these associations as well as his own long residence there, Mr. Lyman re- garded Hartford as peculiarly his home and it was here that he chose to form his intimate friendships and other connections. He was a member of many of the most prominent clubs and organizations of the city, among which should be mentioned the Hartford Chamber of Commerce and the City Club of Hartford, of which he was one of the charter members. He was also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In religious belief Mr. Lyman was a Methodist and was for many years associated with the South Park Church of that denomination in Hartford.
On September 19, 1867, Mr. Lyman was united in marriage with Sarah A. Lasher, a daughter of Isaac and Mary (Hull) Lasher, of that place. To
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Mr. and Mrs. Lyman were born three children, as follows: Frank Pitkin, who has been twice married and is the father of four children, Elizabeth May, Adeline Gladis, Dwight Crowe and Beatrice; Richard Parker, who married and is the father of three children, Louis Richard, William Gilbert and Mary Adalaide; Mary Louise, who has been twice married, the first time to Dr. Fish, and the second time to Orville Clark, of Hartford. Both Mrs. Lyman and her children survive Mr. Lyman, the former residing in the handsome family mansion at No. 30 Annawan street.
The character of Mr. Lyman was a forceful one. Perhaps the most fundamental quality was a deep sense of duty and obligation which found its expression in the most conscientious devotion to his work and the fullest discharge of every engagement with his fellows. The possession of this virtue in itself constitutes a man a valuable member of society and wins its regard, and accordingly he was most generally admired and his death felt as a loss to the community. Without showing any leniency towards him- self in the pursuance of his own tasks, he was tolerant of the shortcomings of others, and possessed of a most genial manner which made him a favorite among his associates. He was devoted to the interests of his own family, ever thinking of and devising means for its happiness, and enjoying the hours spent in its midst by the side of his own hearth stone. He was a man of clear judgment and a strong sense of justice and there are many who recall with gratitude the excellent counsel and advice they have received in the past from him.
Odave PP Bristet
Isaac Baldwin Bristol
T HE State of Connecticut has been especially honored in the character and career of her active men of industry and public service. In every section have been found men peculiarly proficient in their various vocations, men who have been con- spicuous because of their superior intelligence, natural en- dowment and force of character. It is always profitable to study such lives, weigh their motives, and hold up their achievements as incentives to greater activity and higher excellence on the part of others. These reflections are suggested by the career of the late Isaac Baldwin Bristol, of New Milford, Connecticut, who was a man who "held his head above the crowd" along all the avenues of his many-sided activities, which broadened into wide fields, his cattle interests extending from the staked plains of Texas to the vast grazing fields of Montana. He was a man of strong, inherent force and superior ability, and he stood for many years as one of the leading men of his section of the State. He was the scion of pioneer ancestors of the most sterling qualities who contributed largely in their day for the development of the communities in which they lived, and the late Isaac B. Bristol was a worthy descendant of his sturdy forbears. The coat-of-arms of the Bristol family is thus described: Gules, on a bend argent, three trefoils slipped vert. The crest: An ounce passant sable, besantee, ducally collared and chain reflexed over the back or, holding in the dexter paw a trefoil slipped vert. Motto: Ie n'oublieray jamais (I never forget).
Isaac Baldwin Bristol, son of William D. and Eliza (Baldwin) Bristol, was born in Brookfield, Fairfield county, Connecticut, December 21, 1821. His father, also a native of Brookfield, born in 1801, was a leading agricul- turist and one of the most enterprising men of his day. Isaac B. Bristol was educated in the district schools of Brookfield, at the Quaker school in Dutchess county, New York, and the Newtown (Connecticut) Academy. At the age of fifteen years he made his entrance into the business world by accepting the position of clerk in a store in Brookfield, Connecticut, where he acquired a fair amount of business experience. His ambition was not sat- isfied with the narrow environment of a country town and he went to the city of Bridgeport, which afforded better and larger opportunities for a young man of energy and a fixed determination to succeed. That he was not mistaken in this surmise future events have amply proven. For a time he was a clerk in a store there, during which time he added largely to his mercantile training, and in the course of time he bought out his employer's interests and conducted the business independently with a very satisfactory amount of success. In 1839, at the expiration of a year, he disposed of this business, and then removed to New Milford. Connecticut, with which town he was practically identified until his death, sixty-five years later, and there, where he was best known, he had the esteem and respect of his fellow- townsmen. At first he served in the capacity of clerk, but after a short
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period of time purchased a half interest in the lime kiln of S. W. Stevens at Boardman's Bridge. He soon began to deal in cattle and horses, being an excellent judge of horse flesh, and in order to secure these he made many trips to Canada, in addition to trips in the southern and western portions of the United States. For three decades he was profitably engaged in buying and selling live stock and dealing in farms and other real estate. In 1867 he purchased the Ezra Noble homestead, one of the first houses built in New Milford, located on Main street, which had previously been remodelled into a hotel, and for twenty-eight years he conducted it as the New England House. Being a man of pleasing personality and courteous manners, also a practical business man, he made the hotel the most popular stopping place in this region, a reputation that it always retained, and during his long incumbency as host the traveling public of the day gave him a liberal share of patronage. He was also the owner of a large amount of valuable village and farm lands, including three farms in Brookfield and great cattle ranches in Texas and Montana. In matters of finance he attained no less promi- nence, and his shrewd, clear-headed opinions were always listened to with the closest attention. He was, at his death, president of the First National Bank of New Milford and of the New Milford Savings Bank, having been for years a director of both institutions. He was also president of the New Milford Water Company, president of the New Milford Horse Thief and Burglar Association, and a director of the Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company. In political affairs he gave his staunch support to the Demo- cratic party, and during his active life he was chosen to many public offices of trust and responsibility. He represented his district in the State Assem- bly six years; in the Senate two years; was selectman of New Milford thir- teen years; held the office of assessor, being reelected to the same, and in all he served with honor and faithfulness. During his legislative career he had great influence in securing attention to the measures he supported.
Mr. Bristol married (first) in 1845, Annis Roberts, a daughter of Ben- jamin and Hannah (Downs) Roberts, and a descendant of Eli Roberts, who settled on a farm a mile east of New Milford, Connecticut, in 1750. Mrs. Bristol died in 1894, aged seventy-three years. Mr. Bristol married (second) in 1897, Sarah Elizabeth Allen, of New Milford, who survives him. She is a representative of an old and honored family, tracing back to early days, possessing a coat-of-arms, as follows: Per bend, rompu, argent and sable, six martlets counterchanged. Crest: A dove, with wings elevated.
Mr. Bristol passed away at his home in New Milford, November 2, 1905, aged eighty-three years. Although his earthly career has been ended for a decade, his influence still pervades the lives of men and will continue to do so in the future, the good which he did having been too far-reaching to be measured in metes and bounds. He did many good deeds and assisted many worthy people and enterprises, although always in a quiet and unas- suming manner, and he left to all who knew him the priceless example of true business integrity and uprightness of character and conduct. He was a kind friend, a sagacious counsellor, a dutiful son and a loving husband. He was known in New Milford as a public-spirited man who could be relied upon in the furtherance of any worthy purpose, and his death was widely mourned.
Frederick A. Crane
O NE OF THE old and distinguished families of Hartford is that which bears the name of Crane, its members for many years having taken a prominent and creditable part in the affairs of the city and identified themselves with the im- portant public movements and all such enterprises as had the common weal for their objective. None of them has occupied a more important place in the life of the community than the distinguished gentleman whose name heads this brief article, whose whole life was spent in his native city where he was associated with one of the great industrial concerns of the place, and whose death on August 12, 1915, was felt as a very real loss by the community at large. His funeral services were conducted by Rev. Downs, an Episcopal clergyman. The parents of Mr. Crane were Dr. Warren S. and Julia (Bull) Crane, highly honored in the old days of the city, the father having been the oldest dentist there at the time of his death.
Frederick A. Crane was born in Hartford, Connecticut, June 14, 1838, and passed practically his entire life there. He attended the local public schools for his education and early displayed the alert brain that distin- guished him throughout his life. He had not become settled in business when the long dreaded struggle between the North and South came to a head and the two halves of the nation joined issue in the bloody Civil War. Mr. Crane heeded the call of his country in its need and enlisted as a private in Company A, Sixteenth Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, Cap- tain H. S. Pascoe, July 14, 1862, for three years, and at once went to the front. He saw considerable active duty with his regiment and was at the battle of Antietam, but the difficulties and hardships of the campaign developed a weakness of the heart and it was found necessary to give him his discharge on the grounds of disability. He was discharged, March 27, 1863, at Convalescent Camp, Virginia, receiving a surgeon's certificate of disability. At that time a personal letter was written by Governor Buck- ingham to the colonel in command recommending his discharge. After his discharge he came north and remained for a time, then returned south and became associated with the office of superintendent of negro labor under Colonel Hanks at Miles Taylor Plantation, and was under the direction of the provost marshal of New Orleans. This work was looking after the freed slaves' clothing, feeding and other duties along these lines. About 1864 he came north and settled at Forestville and was employed in the general store of his uncle, William Bull, and was afterwards with I. W. Beach. Before going to the war he had learned the carpenter's trade and after finishing with I. W. Beach he became engaged with Frank Saxton and others at Bristol as carpenter and joiner. During this time he took up as a side issue the running of a pony express to Hartford, going to that city every Satur- day and taking the packages the people wanted and back; he also brought the Sunday newspapers, he bringing the first Sunday papers that were
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sold in Bristol; this continued for fourteen years. He began with Hart- ford papers and later took up the agency for the New York papers. He took orders from a needle to a seal-skin cloak. He left Bristol about eight o'clock, Forestville at eight-thirty o'clock, and Plainville at nine o'clock. After he had quit the carpenter and express business, he was in the notion store of B. O. Barnard at Bristol until ill health caused him to go to the Soldiers' Home at Noroton, where he spent a year. After his discharge from there he was employed by the Russwin Company, carpenters and joiners, at New Britain until two years before his death. On his seventy-fifth birthday, twenty-one of his shopmates gave him a birthday party.
Mr. Crane was always keenly alive to the interests of his fellows and enjoyed taking part in the social activities of his circle. He was a member of many clubs and organizations among which should be mentioned Gilbert W. Thompson Post, Grand Army of the Republic ; Pequabuck Lodge, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and he was a charter member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. He was a Republican in politics, but did not take an active part nor ally himself with the local organization. His family were Congregationalists, while the family of his wife were Episco- palians, but neither Mr. or Mrs. Crane united with any church.
On August 28, 1864, Mr. Crane was united in marriage with Ellen M. Royce, a native of Forestville, Connecticut, born February 1, 1848, and a daughter of Chauncey and Charry (Warner) Royce. Mrs. Crane's parents were among the earliest residents of that part of the State and her father was known as the first man to set foot on the famous "Lovers' Rock" at Compounce. Born to Mr. and Mrs. Crane were two children, as follows: Chauncey R., who followed the trade of carpenter and joiner until his decease in 1895; and Lottie E., who died at the age of five years.
It is not the man who holds the most numerous or the most exalted public offices, nor even he who is most conspicuous in the business world who always is the most potent influence for good in the community. Of this fact the life of Frederick A. Crane is a most striking example for, although he won no formal titles to attach to his name, although the record of his career contains no account of public offices filled, he was instinctively recognized as one of the prominent and influential men of the city, a remarkable tribute to the power and virtue of his character and personality.
Timothy Canty
THOUGH NOT A native of Winsted, Connecticut, nor, indeed, of the United States, at all, Timothy Canty was a resident of this town and country since his early youth, and had grown up and become identified with its development, so that his death on December 28, 1912, was a real loss to the com- munity he had thus adopted as his own. Mr. Canty was a member of the stalwart race, which from the earliest times has contributed of her best blood to us and has formed so large and impor- tant a factor in the development of what shall one day be an American nationality.
He was born in Carah, County Cork, Ireland, April 22, 1845, and in that picturesque and romantic country passed the first seventeen years of his life. Meeting with the same hard conditions, the oppression and lack of opportunity, which were responsible for the emigration of so many young Irishmen and Irishwomen, he also lent a ready ear and credence to the advantages to be found in the young and great republic of the West. Whether or no the accounts were exaggerated which came to Mr. Canty's ear, he certainly found his move fully justified, when, in 1861, at the age of seven- teen years, he set sail from his native land and coming to Connecticut, settled in Winsted, where he made his home for the remaining fifty-one years of his life. Certainly he mounted high on the ladder of success during those fifty odd years of his residence in this country. A youth in a strange land, unfriended, among unfamiliar conditions, Mr. Canty's alert mind and strong purpose, triumphed over the untoward circumstances and soon saw him well started on the high road to success. He began by establishing a bottling business which was eminently successful and which brought him so good a return that after a few years of saving he was able to purchase a cafe on Main, near Chestnut street, which he conducted continuously until a few years before his death, when he retired altogether from active business. His cafe prospered no less than his former venture, and Mr. Canty became a man of large substance, and a prominent figure in the life of the com- munity. He was particularly prominent in the social and fraternal circles of the town and belonged to a number of orders and similar organizations. He was a member of the Torrington Lodge of the Order of Elks; the Court Highland, of Winsted, and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
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