USA > Connecticut > Representative men of Connecticut, 1861-1894 > Part 3
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" For fifty years Mr. Welles was a constant and prolific political writer, and his cssays, habitually bringing to the test of fixed principles the policy of successive administrations, largely contributed to give interest to several leading journals and character to the politics of the country. Among thie papers to which he was a large contributor, besides those of his own state, the Globe and the Union at Washington, and the Evening Post at New York, were conspicuous. As a writer he was freshi, clear and forcible, and thesc qualities werc prominent in his dispatches as secretary of the navy. He was in constant correspondence with the state department upon matters growing out of the blockade, and some of his dispatches are models of vigorous composition. Charles Sumner, who read many of them, said that he considered him the strongest writer in the cabinet. Mr. Welles was not a public speaker, and rarely indulged in extemporaneous remarks, his newspaper lifc had educated him to use the pen with great facility and power, and herein was his strength, rather than the rostrum."
The Legislature of the State of Connecticut was in session at the time of the death of Mr. Welles, and as one of the state's most eminent citizens, touching and appropriate resolutions of respect were passed. In speaking upon the resolutions, Mr. Andrews (who was later governor of the state, and afterwards chief justice), gave a resume of Mr. Welles's life, closing as follows : " The political questions which followed the close of the Mexican War, and the agitation consequent therefrom, resulted in the formation of a party opposed to the extension of slavery. With this policy Mr. Welles early identified himself, and was prominent in its counsels, and when, in 1860, that party obtained control of the national administration he was invited to a seat in the cabinet of President Lincoln. The events of that administration, and the part which Mr. Welles took, his efforts throughout the war, and his life since, are too recent to need mention. It is well known that Mr. Lincoln had a very great personal fondness for Mr. Welles, that he enjoyed his society, and trusted in his counsel. All the friends of Mr. Lincoln aver with grateful distinctness the ability and readiness with which Mr. Welles sprang to his defence from the breath of unjust comparison. All detractors, whether high or low, have learned, to their humiliating discomfiture, that so long as Gideon Welles was alive, they could not lay their unhallowed touch upon the least of the laurels that justly belong to the brow of the martyred president."
Other speakers followed in the same strain, and the legislature adjourned out of respect to Mr. Welles's memory. It was the last session which was to be held in the old state house, where Mr. Welles's influence had often been felt in the past, and the occasion was one of the kind long to be remembered.
Gideon Welles was married June 16, 1835, to Mary Jane, daughter of Elias W. Hale, Esq., a distinguished lawyer of Central Pennsylvania. Mrs. Welles, with three sons, Edgar T., Thomas G., and John A., all of Hartford, survived him.
In private circles he was social to a remarkable degree, and was never happier than when surrounded by his family and friends. His long newspaper and public life gave him unusual opportunities for becoming intimately acquainted with prominent men and the inside history of events extending back for more than half a century, and he delighted to impart his impressions to others. No one could spend an hour with him without being entertained and instructed. He was of marked simplicity of character, remarkably free fromn ostentation and show, and always just what he appeared to be. He was idolized by his family and respected by all, and passed away universally honored and lamented.
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Suzon B Mom's
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
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ORRIS, LUZON BURRITT, of New Haven, governor of Connecticut, was born in Newtown, in that state, April 16, 1827.
The first Morris who came to Connecticut arrived with the New Haven colony, and Morris Cove, now a part of the city of New Haven, derived its title from this progenitor of the family. It is known that a descendant of the first settler transferred his residence to Fairfield, but when the town was destroyed by the British army the records were burned, and the surname of this member of the family was lost. Daniel Morris moved from Fairfield to Newtown, and through his son Daniel, Jr., the line comes down to Eli Gould Morris. The latter married Lydia Bennett, and became the father of the Governor.
His early education was limited, and young Morris's life at the outset was encompassed with difficulties from which a man of less spirit and determination would have shrunk in despair. The means for defraying his expenses through college were earned at a black- sinith's forge in Roxbury, and in an edge tool factory at Seymour, and the diploma which has been awarded him by the great university, of which he has ever been a loyal son, was inerited in the highest degree. He is remembered as an efficient debater in the halls of old Linonia, and is a popular member of the D. K. E. Junior and Skull and Bones Senior societies. Mr. Morris made his entry into the political arena at a very youthful age. Within a year after his graduation from Yale College in 1854, he was elected a member of the State Legislature for the town of Seymour. The impression he inade was so favorable that he was returned in 1856. Having been appointed judge of probate, he transferred his residence to New Haven in 1857. Mr. Morris was six times elected judge of probate for the district of New Haven, and his wide experience gained here caused him to be inade chairman of the commissioners appointed by the legislature to revise the probate laws of Connecticut.
In 1870 he represented New Haven in the State Legislature, serving on the committee on railroads as the chairman. 1874 found him in the State Senate, of which, besides being chairman of the judiciary committee, he was president pro tem. In the Centennial year he represented his adopted city in the House, and again in 1880 and 1881. At the two last named sessions he took an active part in the discussions in the legislature about the boundary line between Connecticut and New York, and again served on the judiciary committee, and as chairman of the committee on incorporations.
Governor Morris is, and has been for a quarter of a century, a distinguished member of the New Haven County Bar. By reason of his experience, drawn from his long service as judge of probate, his practice has been largely connected with the settlement of estates.
Perhaps the reputation gained in this way inay have been the reason of Mr. Daniel Hand's confidence in his judgment and integrity. The story deserves to be told in fuller detail than the scope of this work will allow. Mr. Hand was a northern man and was successfully engaged in business in the South at the time of the breaking out of the war, his partner being Mr. George W. Williams, a man of southern birth. His sympathies were with the cause of the Union, and Mr. Hand naturally wished to be among his friends. The property of northern inen was being confiscated right and left, and how to save both his life and his accumulated wealth was a puzzling question. He solved it by giving his property outright to his partner, leaving it entirely to his sense of honor for a settlement after the close of hostilities. Some years after the war was over, he sought out Governor Morris and desired him to act as his counsel in the inatter, and finally turned everything into his hands. An accounting was made with Mr. Williams, Mr. Hand simply taking
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what lie close to give. To hiis great credit be it said, that he was a thoroughly honest man, and in all the years which had elapsed he had continued the business and inade profitable investments on the basis that he and Mr. Hand were equal partners. In different payments Governor Morris received from Mr. Williams about $648,000, which he invested for Mr. Hand until the amount exceeded $1,000,000, when Mr. Hand made his gift to the American Missionary Association. Mr. Hand's magnificent gift of $1,000,000 to be used for tlie education of the colored people in the South, is still a pleasant memory among all who are interested in the welfare of that downtrodden race. The details of the deed of gift and of financial arrangements were made by Governor Morris, and it is estimated that when the final settlement of the estate is brought about, the fund imentioned will receive in the neighborhood of $400,000 more. That everything has been managed to the great satisfaction of Mr. Hand, it is unnecessary to state, and it is equally apparent that a 111an who could handle the disposition of a property of the magnitude of that described, must be a financier of no mean ability.
A portion of his time has been devoted to financial matters ; and, had he chosen, he could have gained a name equally honored in the business world as that he lias secured amid the legal lights of the state. He has been vice-president and president of the Connecticut Savings Bank of New Haven for more than twenty years.
Mr. Morris's work in the Legislature had brought him to the notice of the leaders of his party, and by the saine means he had gained an extended acquaintance throughout the state. In 1888 he was placed in the field as the candidate of the Democratic party for governor. At the election he received a plurality of the votes cast, but the laws of the state require a majority of votes to elect, and as the Legislature was Republican the gubernatorial prize was bestowed upon his competitor. At the next state election he was again the leader of his party in the battle of ballots. On the face of the returns he received a majority of the votes cast, but was restrained from assuming the duties of his office by technicalities, the Republican incumbent holding over for the term of two years. In 1892, for the third time, he was placed in nomination for the governorship, and when the votes were counted, it was found that he had received a majority over which there could be 110 quibble, being alinost an even thousand votes. He was formally inaugurated at the capitol January, 1893, and is now filling his exalted station with honor to himself and to the credit of the state. In addressing the members of the Legislature for the first time, among other excellent points, Governor Morris said :
In a state that has existed for so many years and has had so many General Assemblies to make its laws, it would seem at first thoughit that its laws must be nearly perfect, and that very little legislation remained to be done. But when we consider the great changes that have taken place during the present century in the methods of doing business, the manner of travel, the occupations of the people, and their ways of living, we find the need for new legislation, for new laws and for antendments of the old laws, which in their day were adapted to the wants of the people, but which, by reason of the great changes which have taken place, have become either obsolete or unsuitable for the present time. In the early part of this century the occupations of the people of Connecticut were principally agricultural. Whatever manufacturing was done was for local needs. Steam as a motive power was undeveloped; electricity as a means of communication was unknown. So far as public conveyances were concerned, sailing vessels upon the navigable waters and stage coaches upon the highways answered the purposes of the people.
But with the introduction of steam and electricity the methods and occupations of the people have greatly changed. Instead of being an agricultural people, the inhabitants of the state have become engaged largely in manufacturing. Formerly business was conducted for the most part by individuals or by small partnerships, and the market for produce and goods manufactured was strictly a liome market. Now business is done by large corporations, and the market for goods manufactured has extended over the world. These great changes in the manner of doing business have called for alterations in our laws, and still call for further legislation. It becomes an important duty for you to consider these changes and to so legislate as to meet the present requirements of the people.
1
Emast Carly
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
Speaking of two of his appointments, the Hartford Courant, a paper the opposite of friendly to Governor Morris and his party, said :
If all Governor Morris's appointments come up to the level of the two supreme court justices named last week, it will be well. Judge Fenn's renomination was confidently expected and desired in both parties. He is an old soldier, a good lawyer, and a very popular gentleman. Judge Baldwin is one of the most scholarly lawyers of the state or of New England. He is a strong lawyer, clear-headed, widely read, courageous, well grounded in the law, and he will prove a credit to the Connecticut bench. Two of his family have sat there with honor to themselves and advantage to the commonwealth.
As the representative of the state on various public events, Governor Morris has per- formed all the functions of the office with dignity and credit to himself. At Connecticut Day at the World's Fair, and at the dedication of the battle monument at Trenton, his remarks were in keeping with and fully up to the requirements of the occasion.
There is no better exemplification of the results attainable in New England by men of genius and perseverance than can be found in Governor Morris's career. Pushing his way through college by hard work, he has reached his present high rank in the same manner. In the maturer years of his life he has been one of the state's 1110st trusted counsellors. He has deserved and received the utmost honor and respect in whatever position he has taken as a citizen. Look at him as a zealous seeker after knowledge in his youth, as a lawyer making his influence felt in a city where good lawyers are not a rarity, as the president of a solid savings bank, as a standard bearer of a great political party, and 110w as the occupant of the gubernatorial chair of the state, his career is one in which he, and the citizens of the state as well, have just cause for pride.
Luzon B. Morris was married June 15, 1856, to Eugenia L., daughter of Lucius and Laura Tuttle of Seymour. They now have an interesting family of six children, three sons and three daughters, each of the latter being a graduate of Vassar College. Robert Tuttle is a practising surgeon in New York; Charles Gould is in Vale College, and Ray is now preparing for that institution. Mary is now Mrs. Charles M. Pratt of Brooklyn, N. Y., Helen is the wife of Prof. Arthur B. Hadley, and Emily is still under the paternal roof.
The brief sketch of Governor Morris in the University Magazine concludes with the following words : "His personal character and honorable record entitle him to the high esteem with which he is regarded by his associates in public service, and fellow citizens. The wave of Democracy which secured his election probably breaks the dead lock in the State Legislature which has harassed the state for nearly four years. The governor of any one of the leading states is, of course, a possible president, but in the rise of Governor Morris there is much that is similar to Mr. Cleveland's career of uninterrupted success."
ADY, ERNEST, of Hartford, lieutenant-governor of Connecticut, and secretary and treasurer of The Pratt & Cady Company, was born Sept. 6, 1842, in Stafford, Conn.
From Nicholas Cady, who is known to have been a resident of Water- town, Mass., in 1645, the line comes down in direct succession. Prior to the Revolution (the exact year is uncertain) the family transferred their home to Connecticut. Several members of the family served as soldiers during the Revolutionary War, among them being Isaac Cady. Unfortunately he contracted camp fever, which was prevalent where he was stationed, and died in 1777. His son, Garner Cady, was for many years a member of the General Assembly, representing his native town of Stafford.
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He was always a staunch Democrat, and his candidacy was a standing by-word with his party. When the day for the nomination came around, and the question arose who was to be the candidate, if there was any doubt about the election, the magnates of the party would always fall back on him, "For," said they, "we can elect Squire Garner sure." He was honored and trusted by men of all political parties and lived to the age of more than fourscore and ten years. Garner Cady, Jr., father of the lieutenant-governor, was born in 1805, and died in 1852 at the age of forty-seven, in thie very prime of his manhood, his death being caused by a runaway team. He married Emily, youngest of the five children of Capt. John Taylor Greene, of Stafford. Six children were born to them, two boys and four girls, Ernest being next to the eldest. On the internal side, the line comes from sturdy English stock, and the blending of the two strains finds its exemplification in the subject of this sketch.
Young Cady's education was limited both in its range and in its extent. During the summer months he worked on the farm or in the village factory, and during the winter season he attended the public schools until he reached his sixteenth year, when he had the privilege of one short term at Metcalf's Highland Academy, Worcester, Mass. This ended his school days, as he was called home for lack of funds to continue longer. He then commenced his business life as a clerk in a general store at Stafford, Conn., and with the exception of the time spent in the service of his country, his residence in Stafford lasted for eleven years. In the fall of 1864, Mr. Cady formed a partnership with R. S. Beebe under the title of Beebe & Cady, and after five years of successful business the connection expired by limitation. At this time he took an extended tour through the western states, with the idea of locating in some enterprising town. After an absence of four months, during which he passed through twenty-two states, and a part of Canada, learning much about our glorious country, he became satisfied that with the same knowledge and push a person is better off in New England than in the west or south.
In October, 1871, Mr. Cady made his second business venture, this time as proprietor of the corporation store of the Norwich Woolen Mills, Norwich, Conn., a connection which lasted five years and proved a marked pecuniary success. Receiving a handsome offer in 1877, he sold out his interest, and transferred his home to Hartford, where he has since remained. Turning his attention to the field of mechanics, in July, 1878, in connection with Messrs. R. N. and F. A. Pratt, he organized the Steam Boiler Appliance Company, with a capital of $50,000. Their specialties were manufactured for them by The Pratt & Whitney Company, in whose office they had desk room, and the enterprise was a success from the start. Four years later, the business was organized under a special charter as The Pratt & Cady Company, and the capital increased to $75,000. The manufacturing operations were transferred to Union Place, where they had 1,600 feet of floor space and gave employment to thirteen men. The company outgrew its limited quarters at the end of one year, and in 1883 they erected their first building on their present location. It was 40 x 140 feet, with ell 30 x 60 feet, for brass foundry and boiler room, and at this time the capital was increased again to $100,000. 1885 saw the addition of a two-story building, 180 x 40 feet, and the foundry capacity enlarged 40 x 90 feet, and the number of the furnaces increased from twelve to thirty. Two years later, the constantly growing business demanded another building almost the size of the one just inentioned, and better office facilities were also included in this change. In 1887, the company purchased the Johns-Pratt property in the rear of their own buildings, which added about 6,000 square feet to their floor space. Since then they have erected an iron foundry, 75 x 230 feet of brick and iron, which is without doubt the finest in New England. It is fitted with a ten ton travelling crane, and three cupolas, and lias a
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
.capacity of thirty tons of iron per day. A pattern shop and storage room 30 x 190, with pattern room above, is one of the later improvements. In 1893, all the buildings which had previously been one story were increased to two, thereby adding greatly to the appearance of the plant, as well as to its available working space. From thirteen inen in 1882, they have increased to an average of over three hundred inen, and the diminutive floor room of 1,600 feet has grown to about 76,000 feet. The capital stock has gradually swelled in size from $50,000 to $300,000, and their charter allows of a still further increase. On the basis of a par value of $100.00, their stock has sold as high as $300.00 per share. Hartford is a city of magnificent successes in manufacturing establishments, but the bare enumeration of facts and figures regarding it will abundantly prove that The Pratt & Cady Company is entitled to a leading place in the front rank. To all the success attained in their special field, and to the solving of all the financial problems which must be met before such success can be reached, Lieutenant-Governor Cady has contributed his full share, having held the office of secretary and treasurer of this company from its organization.
Amid his other duties, he has found time to devote to the management and develop- ment of solid financial institutions. He is president of the Cooperative Building Bank Com- pany, and is a director in the Society for Savings which has deposits amounting to more than $15,000,000, and holds the same position in the Hartford Board of Trade, an organi- zation in which he takes a deep interest. He is also first vice-president of the Cooperative Savings Society of Connecticut, and is a member of the board of water commissioners of Hartford. By virtue of his office as lieutenant-governor, he is a member of the state board of education, and the Yale College corporation council, and is a director in several other corporations in the city.
Up to this time Mr. Cady had never held political office of any kind, and had always avoided preferinent in that way ; consequently the surprise of his life was in store for him. In the fall of 1892 his name had not been mentioned even incidentally in connection with the nomination for lieutenant-governor, but his friends brought his name forward at the Hartford County caucus of the Democratic party in Hartford, and he was given a unanimous vote. On the assembling of the state convention, this vote was repeated, and he was assigned to the second place on the ticket with Hon. Luzon B. Morris. The nomination of the party was ratified by the citizens of the state, and he was duly inaugurated as lieutenant-governor in January, 1893, and is now filling the office with dignity, and with credit to himself and the state. He received a clear majority over all, and a majority of 6,101 over his competitor, Col. Frank W. Cheney, who was one of the most popular men in the Republican party. As president of the Senate, Lieutenant- Governor Cady occupied a delicate position, there being a tie between the representatives of the two political parties, yet so honestly did he fulfil the requirements of the place that his decisions were never appealed from. Though the session of 1893 was the longest on record, he was never absent even once, and always called the meetings of the Senate to order. It was his privilege as acting governor in the absence of Governor Morris to sign the bill increasing the capital stock of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad to $100,000,000, being for the largest amount a bill was ever passed in New England, and one of the largest in the United States. By his assiduity in fitting himself for an office for which he had no previous training, and by the accuracy with which he has filled it, he has won warm encomiums from men of all political parties.
Lieutenant-Governor Cady had an honorable experience in the War of the Rebellion. Having enlisted as a landsman in the United States Navy, he was assigned to the gunboat " Westfield," Commander W. R. Renshaw, under Commodore Farragut, in the Western
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Gulf blockading squadron. Though covering the entire territory from' Pensacola, Florida, to the Rio Grande River, for some months they were engaged in blockading the port of Galveston, Texas. In the closing days of 1862, one of the most disgraceful affairs of the war took place, and Governor Cady was in a position to know the inside particulars. Commander Renshaw had a party of Rebel officers on board the "Westfield," entertaining then for some unaccountable reason, and when the " Hatteras " arrived, bringing part of the 42d Massachusetts regiment, he told its colonel on reporting to return to the "Hatteras " and report the following morning, and then resumed the entertainment of his singular guests. Lack of space prevents the insertion of the detailed story; but on the following morning, Jan. 1, 1863, the fleet was surprised and attacked by the Confederate fleet, which had made its way down from Houston in the night. They first captured the "Harriet Lane," and then demanded the surrender of the "Westfield," which had become grounded on a bar. After consultation, Commander Renshaw decided to abandon and blow up his ship to prevent its falling into the hands of the enemy, as it was full of valuable stores. The men were loaded into the sinall boats and sent off, a train was laid to the magazines - of which there were two-intended to last thirty minutes; but, by some error, it went off in half that time, as the fourteen officers were standing on the gangway ready to embark. Nothing was ever found of thein which could be identified. Governor Cady was the last man to leave the ill-fated "Westfield," and he barely succeeded in boarding the last boat as it shoved off. This explosion ended the engagement with a terrible loss of life and property to the Union cause, and a great victory for the Confederates. Many of the Massachusetts men who had landed on the dock unprotected were killed, and the remainder taken prisoners. All of the "Westfield's " men were picked up by the "Hatteras " and carried to New Orleans. They were at once ordered to return to Galveston in the " Hatteras," and were transferred to the United States sloop of war, "Brooklyn," Commander W. G. Bell. Soon after their arrival a blockade runner was seen in the distance and the "Hatteras " was ordered to reconnoitre. The stranger proved to be the steamner known as the "290," Commander Raphael Semmes, and sending a heavy shot through the "Hatteras," sent it to the bottom of the ocean, but the crew were saved. The "290" landed its prisoners on the island of Cuba, and was seen no more. Had the gunboat "Oasco," which was fully equal to the "290" in speed and battery, been sent out instead of the transport, very different results would have ensued.
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