USA > Connecticut > Representative men of Connecticut, 1861-1894 > Part 25
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 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72
It was on the Scipio farin that Henry Farnamn, the sixth of the family, was born. Like his brothers, he was possessed of considerable physical strength, and showed great fondness for music, the singing in the village church being mainly carried on by the various brothers of the Farnamn family. He displayed, however, at an early age, a greater appetite for books and a less eager devotion to boyish sports than the other brotliers of the family. The two subjects that most attracted him were poetry and mathematics. His memory, like that of his mother, was singularly retentive. Even in his old age he could repeat inany verses which he had committed when a boy, especially extracts from Cowper and Pope, who were his favorite authors. His aptitude for mathematics was such that, even with the little instruction and the few text books he was able to command, he mastered the elements of trigonometry and surveying before he was sixteen. Yet he was often obliged to pursue these studies in the evening, when, to save the expense of a candle, he worked by the light of the winter's fire.
Farın work was never congenial to him, and while he was still a boy he was sent to live with Dr. Phineas Hurd, a connection by marriage, with the intention of studying medicine. What he saw of the physician's life did not arouse in him any ambition to pursue that career, and he returned to his father's farm to occupy his time with manual labor, to finish his school- ing, and later to teach in the village school himself. The opportunity for the more profitable use of his talents soon came, and it is significant that his first professional work was on the earliest of those great highways of commerce between the East and the West to which he was destined in his later life to make such important additions. The Erie Canal had been begun in 1817, and four years later, through the influence of a relative, Mr. Farnam got a situation on the section west of Rochester. Commencing as rodman, he was soon inade assistant engineer. The work was unhealthy, and the exposure to the miniasmatic influences of the swamps was all but disastrous to his health. When he left the Erie Canal on its completion in the fall of 1824, the malarial poison had so fastened itself upon his system that his family almost despaired of his life. A change of air was deeined advisable. He was now his own master, and after another winter of school teaching, he took advantage of the offer of a position on the Farmington Canal, and moved in the spring of 1825 to Connecticut.
The twenty-five years that followed were years of great toil, heavy responsibility, and small reward. They were the long apprenticeship of his life. They were the period in which
* This sketch is condensed from a " Memoir of Henry Farnam " by Prof. Henry W. Farnam.
156
REPRESENTATIVE MEN
he laid painfully and slowly the foundations of character and experience upon which his later success was to be built. The Farmington Canal had been chartered in 1822, but it was uot put under construction until 1825, when Mr. Davis Hurd was appointed its chief engincer. It was as liis assistant that Mr. Farnamn came to New Haven. Upon the retirement of Mr. Hurd in 1827, he was made chief engineer, and hield that office as long as the canal was in operation. Thic canal was finished as far as Farmington in 1828, and the line was finally carried to Northampton in 1835. Unfortunately the company did not prove profitable, and the original stock became a total loss. A new company was forined which put over $120,000 into the business, but was no more successful than the old one had been. Further changes were made in 1840, and Mr. Joseph E. Sheffield, who was a large stockholder, virtually con- trolled the property for the next five years. The vicissitudes of the company were numerous, and in 1845 Mr. Sheffield sold the greater part of his stock and withdrew from the presidency.
During all this time, Mr. Farnami acted as chief engineer and superintendent. He was constantly travelling up and down the line of the canal in his buggy, called hither and thither by sudden cmergencies. By night and by day, in rain and shine, he responded promptly to whatever demands were made upon him, and at the same time he was often obliged to provide for raising the fuuds needed to pay operating expenses. The growing competition of the railroads had its part in preventing the canals from sharing in the increasing business of the state. Mr. Farnam then suggested to Mr. Sheffield that a railroad should be built along the line of the canal, and the canal itself abandoned. This measure would evidently save the expense of acquiring the right of way, and of doing a great deal of the grading, and would, at the same time, substitute for the antiquated canal a more efficient means of com- munication. Mr. Sheffield was favorably impressed, and bought back the stock he had sold, and again became president of the company, Mr. Farnam continuing to act as chief engineer and superintendent. Complications arose with the New Haven & Hartford Road, and after the canal road was opened as far as Collinsville, certain legislation was obtained which made all of Mr. Sheffield's work unnecessary and entirely blocked his plans. Disappointed in those whom he had trusted, Mr. Sheffield closed up his business, and for the time gave up all active interest in railroading in the East. At the same time Mr. Farnam resigned his position, and both men were now at liberty to turn their attention to a field which offered a better opportunity for the use of their talents.
Though continuously employed by the Northampton Company for a quarter of a century, Mr. Farnam found time to take an active part in the inauguration of the road to New York. This period of his life was beset with many discouragements. He had to work hard in the service of the company which was a constant drain upon the owners, and the cause of much contention and complaint among New Haven people. He had done this with no material reward beyond a small salary. Mr. Sheffield had a correct idea of the situation when he said, in speaking of the losses of New Haven people by the canal: "No man in Connecticut lost as much as Mr. Farnam, for he lost not only all that he had invested in its stock (which was all he had saved of his hard earnings in former years), but he lost ten or twelve years of the prime of life, when he might elsewhere have received large salaries as engineer." These years were liard, and yet they brought some compensating advantages. For one thing, he won the esteem of all his acquaintances for his skill as an engineer, for his judgment in busi- ness, for his honesty and nobility of character, and for his, liberality. The canal was also the ineans of bringing him into close personal relations with a number of men upon whose friend- ship he looked back in later years with uninixed satisfaction, and whose example was undoubt- edly a great influence in moulding his own character. Exceedingly complimentary resolutions were passed by the New Haven and Northampton Company upon his retirement in 1850.
OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894. I57
The period that follows was in sharp contrast with that just past. Twenty-five years had now been devoted to the service of one company. During the next six years, Mr. Farnam had charge of the construction of four railroads. He designed and built the first bridge over the Mississippi river, and he became the president of the leading railroad system of the Northwest. Quick to appreciate the importance which railroads were to have in the economic development of the country, he had given proof of his foresight in being one of the incorporators of the New York road, and in suggesting the New Haven and Northampton road as a substitute for the canal. He showed equal prescience in seeing that the great field for building railroads lay in the West, and that those who wished to operate upon a large scale would find there abundant opportunities. His first visit to the West was made in the fall of 1850, when he went out at the invitation of Mr. William B. Ogden. Mr. Ogden was president of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, which was then in operation only as far as Elgin, and he hoped to interest Mr. Farnamn in his enterprise. The whole country was still undeveloped, but he was much impressed by what he saw of its possibilities. Before committing himself to any project, however, he made a second visit in the same year, this time in company with his old friend, Mr. Sheffield, and the two pushed on as far as Rock Island on the Mississippi river.
The Michigan Southern road had come to a standstill at Hillsdale ; its financial condition was very weak, and but four miles of the road had been built in 1850. Mr. Farnam proposed to build that portion which was yet unfinished, and to furnish the capital for doing it. The proposition was thought to be a daring one, for on the one hand there was con- siderable jealousy of Eastern men in the West, which caused inany obstacles to be thrown in their path, and, on the other hand, there was great distrust of Western enterprises among Eastern capitalists. Railroads which are now regarded as sound and conservative investments were then considered wild speculations. The proposition, however, was too good to be rejected. The contract was made with the firin of Sheffield & Farnam, work was begun, and in March, 1852, the first locomotive entered Chicago from the East over the rails of the Michigan Southern road.
The construction of this road was but the preface to the main work for which Mr. Farnam went to Chicago. The task that now confronted him was, first, to build a road from Chicago to the Mississippi, and then to carry it further and open the way for the first railroad across the continent. The firm of Sheffield & Farnam had agreed to build the road from Chicago to Rock Island and furnish the capital, provided the charter of the Rock Island & La Salle road could be suitably amended. This was accomplished by persistent effort. In April, 1852, the work was begun, and on the 22d of February, 1854, the first train passed over the rails from Chicago to Rock Island, and on the 10th of July the road was formally turned over to the company, some eighteen months before the time specified in the contract. The terms of the contract are interesting as showing how much was done by the contractors and how little, comparatively, by the company. The firm agreed to build and equip the entire line for the gross sumn of $3,987,688. The rush of travel was so great that even before the completion of the road, it was necessary to increase the equipment, and in this way the final expense was brought to about $4,500,000.
While the main line of the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad was being constructed, Mr. Farnam was engaged in pushing a branch south towards Peoria. This branch was put through with the same rapidity that was shown in the construction of the main line. The contract was signed July 4, 1853, and in less than a year the road was completed and turned over to the La Salle Company. Thus before the first six months of 1854 had passed, a road had been constructed from Chicago to the Mississippi, and a branch had been run as far as Peoria,
21
158
REPRESENTATIVE MEN
in the eentral part of the state. The completion of this undertaking was justly regarded as of the first importance to the development both of the state of Illinois and of the whole country, and was commemorated by two celebrations. The first was a loeal affair, and the other was national in its eliaraeter, and was managed by the firm of Sheffield & Farnain on a seale proportional to the magnitude of their achievements.
Mr. Farnam had little time for festivities in those exeiting days. His vaeations were few and there was so mueli work to be done that every moment seemed precious. Before the Roek Island Road had been completed, lie and his associates had already inade other plans, first for a bridge aeross the Mississippi River, and then for a railroad to run through the state of Iowa to the Missouri. The bridge was built by an independent company of which he was president. He also designed the bridge and superintended its eonstruetion. It was finished in April, 1855. The execution of these projects was beset by many difficulties, with more in faet than had been mnet with in the construction of the Roek Island Road, but a laek of space prevents the mention of the details. The railroad through Iowa was also built under great difficulties. Mr. Farnam was the leading spirit of this enterprise, but unfortunately he eould no longer command the serviees of Mr. Sheffield, who felt that he had arrived at a period of life at which he was justified in retiring from aetive business, though he continued to aid the enterprise liberally by subseribing to its funds. The special difficulties were gradually overeome and the work of building the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad was begun in May, 1855. There was great stringeney in the inoney market and much trouble was also experienced in finding a market for seeurities of the road, but a still graver danger presented itself.
Mr. Farnam's new partner had un- fortunately yielded to the general spirit of speeulation which had taken possession of so many of the railroad men of that time. The result was that, when the eommereial erisis of 1857 eame, it brought the firm to the very brink of ruin. The necessity for an assign- ment was overeomne by the prompt and vigorous measures taken by Mr. Farnamn, and he was able to avoid failure. Ultimately he was enabled to extend the road to Grinnell, though it was not earried through to the Missouri until after he had retired from aetive business.
While these eares were weighing upon him, he was aeting as president of the Chieago & Roek Island Railroad, and was also for a time the president of the Merchants' Loall and Trust Company, a bank of which he was one of the original stockholders. He was also actively interested in promoting the plan for extending the railroad system aeross the continent to the Paeifie Coast. It is interesting to notiee that as early as 1856, Mr. Sheffield, in one of his letters, speaks of the desirability of getting a eharter for a railroad front the Mississippi River to San Franeiseo, so that this was evidently a part of the original plan of the far-sighted inen who finished the Michigan Southern road. When the time seemed ripe for putting this plan into execution, Mr. Farnam beeame one of the ineor- porators of the Union Paeifie Company. But he soon found himself entirely out of sympathy with the methods by which his associates proposed to eonduet the enterprise, and eeased to have anything to do with it after the first work of incorporation had been accomplished.
Mr. Farnamn had now been at work continuously sinee the age of sixteen, and felt the need of repose. He was deeply interested in the war in which the country had been plunged, but he felt at his age he eould do more by his financial support than by any form of personal serviee, and he could not remain in this country without becoming constantly involved in all kinds of laborious responsibilities. Everything pointed to a trip abroad as the one thing needful. In June, 1863, he resigned the presideney of the Roek Island Railroad, and in August he started for an extended visit to foreign countries.
159
OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
Of the remaining twenty years of Mr. Farnam's life, five were spent inainly in travel abroad, and fifteen in his home in New Haven. In 1868, he returned to the United States and took up his residence again in New Haven, the city in which he had passed so many years of active life, and in which all of his children had been born. Before the year 1873, four of his children had married, and all of them sooner or later inade New Haven their home. The remainder of his life was spent quietly and peacefully in the management of his property, in acts of public benevolence, and in the enjoyment of the society of his children and grand- children.
One of the chief pleasures of Mr. Farnam's life had always been to do good to others. This was so natural and so thoroughly a part of himself that it seems needless, and in truth it would be impossible, to mention in detail his acts of kindness and generosity. What he gave was always given unostentatiously, and without any desire for notoriety. In some cases, however, his name became permanently connected with his gifts. As early as 1863, he gave #30,000 to Yale College, to be expended in the erection of a new dormitory. At a later period he added another $30,000, and the building which this money inade it possible to erect in 1870, and which was the first structure of the new quadrangle, was called by his name. He frequently gave smaller sums to the different departments of Yale College, particularly to the art school, the library and the divinity school. His gift of the "Farnamn drive " of East Rock Park, connected his name with a feature of the city in which all the people of New Haven take a just pride. The hospital, too, interested him constantly, and in addition to numerous other gifts, he endowed one of its free beds. The representatives of minor charities and public institutions were frequently seen at his house, and seldom went away without some substantial expression of his good will.
Mr. Farnam's health was always robust, and illness was something of which he had no experience from the time of his recovery from the malarial fever contracted in the Tonawanda swamp until the last few years of his life. The stroke of paralysis which ended his life camne without warning on Saturday evening, Sept. 30, 1883, and he died peacefully and apparently without pain on the morning of Oct. 4.
In all respects Mr. Farnam's nature was exceptionally well balanced. Thus, while setting up a high standard of conduct for himself, he was charitable towards the shortcomings of others, and while generous and open-handed, he was never wasteful or extravagant. Busy as he was during the greater part of his life, he never allowed himself to become a slave to his profession, and always took pleasure in music, art, the drama and nature. His character was marked by a singular consistency. He was always the same. He did not have one standard of conduct for the counting-room, and another for the home. He did not stoop to practices in public life which he would have scorned in his relations towards his friends. He was always open, true, and straightforward.
Mr. Farnamn was married Dec. 1, 1839, to Ann Sophia Whitinan, daughter of William Whitman of Farmington. His five children, all of whom survive him, were Dr. George Bronson Farnamn, William Whitman Farnamn, now treasurer of Yale University, Charles Henry Farnam, Sarah Sheffield Farnam, wife of Eli Whitney, Jr., and Henry W. Farnam, professor of political economy in the Sheffield Scientific School.
160
REPRESENTATIVE MEN
B
ELDING, ALVAH NORTON, of Rockville, secretary of the Belding Brotliers Company, and manager of the Rockville Mills, was born in Ashfield, Mass., March 27, 1838.
The Belding family traces its gencalogical line to the very beginning of the state of Connecticut. William Belding, who was one of the settlers of Wethersfield, removed still further westward to Norwalk in 1646. His oldest son, Danicl, soon after attaining his majority moved to Hartford, and in 1686 he transferred his residence to Deerfield, Mass., where ten years later the greater part of his family were killed or captured at the terrible massacre by the Indians. Samuel Belding, son of Danicl, had five children, of whom the oldest, Samuel, Jr., located in Ashfield, and was the first clerk after the town was incorporated in 1765. His son, John, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and probably served in the campaign of General Gates which resulted in the surrender of Burgoyne. Hiram Belding, youngest son of John, married Mary Wilson, step-daughter of Deacon Dimick Ellis of Ashifield. They remained on the old homestead until their family of six children were well advanced toward adult age. In 1855, Mr. Belding removed to Otisco, Mich., and purchased what is now the site of Belding in that state. After seeing material progress made in the development of the town, he died in 1866. A. N. Belding was the fourth in Hiram Belding's family of six children.
Young Belding's education began in the common schools and ended in the high school of his native town. At the age of seventeen he removed to Michigan, where he cleared wild lands, and assisted in founding the town of Belding. The energetic spirit of the inan, and the desire to engage in mercantile transactions, soon made itself inanifest. In company with his brother, Hiram H., he began the sale of sewing silk from house to house, the material being supplied by another brother, Milo M., who was in business in the East. This enterprise was a success almost from the start, and at an early period required several teams to transport. the goods, while the firin controlled the greater part of the jobbing trade of that section.
In 1863, the three brothers started a house in Chicago, and the same year they formed a partnership with Mr. E. K. Rose for the purpose of manufacturing silk. At first they rented the lower floor of what was then the Glasgow Thread Company's mill in Rockville, and later erected one of the buildings they now occupy. This partnership was dissolved in 1866, and for three years the Beldings were not represented in Connecticut. It was in 1869 that Mr. A. N. Belding decided to renew his connections with Rockville manufacturing, and coming to the town he rented the old Leeds Mill, which he carried on till 1871. Then the firmn bought the inill built under the previous regime, and have since inade four additions, giving them about three times the capacity of the first inill. Having gotten this enterprise into good working order, Mr. Belding purchased a mill at Northampton, Mass., in 1874, and commenced the production of silk at that point. Since that time two new inills have been erected under his supervision, besides a boiler and engine-house, and here again he directed everything until the labor grew too great, and the management was placed in the. hands of a competent man. His next move was the establishment of a silk factory in a rented mill in Montreal. It was successful from the beginning and soon outgrew its first quarters. Mr. Belding then purchased a four-storied mill one hundred and thirty by forty-five feet, deeming it sufficient for the business. Two additions, each larger than the original inill, have been made, and he had charge till the second mill was in operation, and again distance and the demands elsewhere caused him to seek a trusty manager. At Rockville an average of five hundred hands are employed, at Northampton six hundred and fifty, and at Montreal five hundred. In 1882 the entire business in the East and West was incorporated under the
161
OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
laws of Connecticut as "Belding Brothers & Company," with a capital of $666,000, which has since been increased to $1,000,000, and they have a surplus of nearly $900,000. It will be seen that Mr. Belding has had practical control of affairs in the East, and it is due to his executive ability, combined with an intimate knowledge of manufacturing, that the marked success attained has been secured. Even now, with an experienced manager at both North- ampton and Montreal, he keeps a close watch over the details.
Not only in the East but also in the western town named for Belding Brothers, has Mr. Belding's influence been felt mnost beneficially. In 1877, he planned and supervised the erection of a mill for the manufacture of silk, bought all the machinery, and got everything in running order. This was afterwards sold to a syndicate, and is known as the "Richardson Mill." Four years ago he built another mill for his own firm. It is of brick, three stories in height, three hundred and twenty-five by forty-five feet, is fitted with the best inodern appliances for manufacturing silk, and takes one of the largest engines in Michigan to furnish tlie power. Belding Brothers have always been noted for their thoughtful care for the welfare of their employees, and here it is shown in the comfortable boarding house built under his direction. It contains a good library, and is most homelike in its appointments, the morals of the girls being looked after as well as their physical comfort.
In1 1890, Mr. Belding assisted in forming the Belding Land & Improvement Com- pany, and has been president since its formation. His practical knowledge was of great value in laying out the plots of ground, and besides holding the office of president lie has been the actual manager of the business. The enterprise has proved a financial success, and has been of much assistance in the development of the town. The company now owns two elegant blocks, a basket mill, and the finest hotel in any small town in the West, in addition to othier real estate. One incident may be mentioned as showing the pluck of tlie Belding Brothers in their enterprises. An attempt was made to bore an artesian well in tlie vicinity of their mill in Northampton. A depth of 3,700 feet was reached through the sandstone, and $32,000 expended and then the whole was abandoned. For the first time in its business career the firm had been baffled. The Belding Brothers are also interested in the development of the new South. In Tennesee and North Carolina they own 75,000 acres of land teeming with almost inexhaustible wealth in timber and minerals.
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.