USA > Connecticut > Representative men of Connecticut, 1861-1894 > Part 41
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
In concluding a memorial discourse, Pres. Noah Porter of Yale College said :
Those of us who knew Mr. Sheffield as a neighbor can testify that he was eminently courteous, sympathizing and just, and that the more intimately we knew him the more emphatically did we find him a warm and true friend who rejoiced with us in our joys and inourned with us in our bereavements and sorrows. Few of his acquaintances knew how warm and tender-hearted he was, how sensitive to the singing of birds, to the indications of spring, to the beautiful in nature, to the pathos of literature and the sorrows and joys of human kind, nor how freshly these emotions warmed his heart to the end of his life.
In his own family he was eminently affectionate and tender-hearted both as husband and father, finding in liis own home the haven of his rest, and looking within it for his most satisfying delights. His children look back to many hours of their earliest childhood as made inerry by his cheerful sympathy, and to the shaded years. of their own family life as illumined and hallowed by his watchful care, his sensitive tenderness and his grave admonitions. He died in peace and gratitude and love and hope in the presence of them all. As they watched the
Whorbis
255
OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
ebbing of his life they could not but bless their Father in Heaven for the goodness which had given them such a father on earth, while they could not but weep that a blessing so long continued should be taken away. "So long continued !" For nearly ninety years he lived, and when he died his eye was scarcely dim nor was his natural force greatly abated. We see him no more, but he lives with God. Meanwhile the great school which he almost created, the poor whom he blessed with his bounty and his love, the city which he enriched by his enterprise and beautified by his taste, the church in which he was a devout and humble believer, all unite to hallow and bless his memory.
Joseph E. Sheffield was married in 1822, to Maria, daughter of Col. T. St. John of Walton, N. Y.
FORBIN, PHILIP, of New Britain, founder and present head of the P. & F. Corbin Company, and ex-state senator, was born in Willington, Conn., Oct. 26, 1824.
Descended from a long line of sturdy New England ancestors, Mr. Corbin's strength of character came to him by inheritance. James Corbin was one of the forty inen who settled Woodstock, Conn., in 1686. It is not known through which of his sons the family comes down, but Lemuel, his grandson, was the father of Philip Corbin, who removed from Dudley, Mass., in 1793, to Union, Conn. A history of the town says of him, "Mr. Corbin was a inan of more than ordinary powers of body and mind, which, guided by stern integrity, gave him an influence largely felt wherever he went. He was a farmer, owning a large tract of land, and used to manufacture potash in considerable quantities, which he sold in Norwich. At one time he owned part of the Mashapaug saw inill. He was selectman a number of years, and represented his town in the legislature in 1814-15. He was a prominent and influential member of the church at Union, and one of the building committee of the present meeting-house." He married Rhoby Healey, by whom he had six children. Of these, Philip Corbin, Jr., was the third. From Union he transferred his residence to Willington, and in 1833, he moved to West Hartford, where he died July 24, 1881. He married Lois Chaffee of Ashford, Nov. 29, 1820. Ten of their children lived to years of maturity. His father was a fariner of small means, and the six boys became early inured to hard work, thus developing vigorous physical frames, industrious habits, self-reliance and enterprise, which largely counterbalanced the disadvantages of their limited education.
Besides attendance at the district schools, Philip Corbin was a student for three terms at the West Hartford Academy. From the age of fifteen to that of nineteen, he was employed in farm labor away from home, performing the full work of a man and earning a man's wages, which were, however, received by his father. Having a decided mechanical taste, at nineteen he resolved on a change of employment, and in March, 1844, he went to New Britain, already a thriving center of manufacturing industries. He obtained work first in the factory of Russell & Erwin, and later in the lock shop of North & Stanley. At the end of ten months, by careful attention to details and working out of regular hours, he_had become so expert that he felt competent to undertake a contract on his own account. Mr. Corbin made his bid, received the contract, and fulfilled it to the satisfaction of the firmn. The next year he got a second contract, and in this he took his brother Frank into partnership. Each of the boys, until attaining his majority, retained for his own use only enough to pay his personal expenses, giving the balance to their father.
In 1849, the brothers entered into partnership with Edward Doen, under the style of Doen, Corbin & Company, and built a small shop at the east end of the town. This was fitted up with machinery run by horse power, steam power having been introduced only to
256
REPRESENTATIVE MEN
a limited extent ; the joint capital being nine hundred dollars, and the proprietors did most of the manual labor with their own hands, all of them being successful workmen. It is not the province of this sketch to follow the firm through all its subsequent changes. The same fraternal interest which led Philip Corbin to associate his brother Frank with him in his carly contracts, brought the younger brothers, each in turn, gradually to share in the business, until four of them have at different times had a part in its management. By 1853 tlic business had rapidly increased, and in that year it was organized as a joint stock company, retaining the name of the firm. In the two score years which have elapsed since that time, improvement in machinery, with the enlargement of the old and the erection of new buildings, have increased the capacity of the company from seventy-five men to an average of 1,200 in all its various departments.
In conclusion, an article published some years ago in "Representatives of New England Manufacturers " says of the concern :
It was the aim of the Messrs. Corbin to engage in a line of business distinct from that of any of the manufac- turers around them, and in competition only with foreign imported goods. The first articles made were ox balls, for tipping the horns of cattle, also window springs, lamp hooks, and similar articles, and in these they soon attained a profitable business. They adhered to their proposed line until others in the vicinity engaged in the same lines of manufacture. They determined then to enter fields they had previously avoided, and began the manufac- ture of hinges, latches, bolts, locks and miscellaneous hardware for building purposes. They at first contented themselves with making the plainer and cheaper goods, in which other concerns had for years been plodding along, but in 1868, they struck into a new field, and began to make inore ornamental and more expensive goods than had heretofore been in the market. These included hinges, knobs, escutcheons and other door trimmings, mostly bronzed. The Corbins were the first to use in this specialty of manufacture the bronzing process patented by Hiram Tucker of Boston, which soon became popular in the lamps and gas fixtures, and other ornamental goods of the Tucker Manufacturing Company. They have supplied not only private purchasers, but many public and government buildings, including all the bronze hardware for the State, Navy and War Department Buildings at Washington ; for Post Office and Sub-Treasury Building at Boston, and for other buildings erected in Boston since the great fire, and also in New York and other large cities for mercantile, banking and insurance purposes. To. them was awarded the contract for supplying the hardware for the fine Capitol of Connecticut. To meet this demand, a large corps of the best workmen, of inventors, designers and pattern makers, is employed in the pro- duction of articles novel in device and artistic in design. All the stockholders of the company, except the members of the firm of North & Stanley, who invested capital at the outset, and have never had any active relations with its. business, are employed in some capacity, and with the exception of Messrs. Peck and Spring, the former the secre- tary and the latter the superintendent of the factory, are brothers. They combine the enterprise, energy and mechanical skill which marked Philip Corbin.
He is the president of the New Britain Architectural Terra Cotta Company, which has only been in existence for a short time, but it is doing an excellent business. He also occupies the position of president and treasurer of the Corbin Hardware Company, which is an outgrowth of the P. & F. Corbin Company. It was organized in 1882, for the purpose of manufacturing cabinet locks and cabinet hardware.
First an active member of the old Whig party, and then of its successor, the present Republican party, Mr. Corbin has never cared for office, being content from a private station to see the best interests of the country conserved. In 1849, he was induced to accept the position of warden of the borough, and when New Britain was incorporated, he became a member of the Common Council. The establishment of the water works was largely his. work, and he has served many years upon the board of water commissioners. In 1884, he was elected to the lower branch of the state legislature, and was appointed House chair- man of the important committee on insurance. It was characteristic of him to spend a large amount of time in examining the technical merits of the measures submitted. His nomi- nation for state senator in the fall of 1888, was wholly unsolicited, but was demanded by the interests of the district. The election which followed proved the wisdom of the choice
257
OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
of the convention, and gave to the district an able senator and a loyal worker. As in all other fields of service his experience in the senate chamber was one of great usefulness to his constituents and to the state, and of lasting credit to himself.
Mr. Corbin was married June 21, 1848, to Francina T., daughter of Henry W. Whiting. Three children have been born to thein, of whoin two are now living. Charles F. is associated with his father in business and Nellie F. is the wife of William Beers.
B
RAINARD, LEVERETT, mayor of Hartford, and president of the Case, Lock- wood & Brainard Company, was born in Westchester Society, Colchester, Feb. 13, 1828.
Mr. Brainard comes of a sturdy Connecticut stock, and in him is found no deterioration from the high standard of the past. He is a grandson of William Brainard, who was ensign of a company of militia in the regiment commanded by Lient .- Col. Levi Wells, which did service in the continental army in 1780. His father's name was Amaziah Brainard, and his mother was Huldah Foote, daughter of Nathaniel Foote.
The education of the future man of business was obtained in the public schools and the Bacon Academy at Colchester. From the age of thirteen years, when he was left in charge of the old homestead at Westchester, on account of the death of his father, he has been the architect of his own fortunes. A portion of his early life was spent in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Brainard became a resident of Hartford in 1853, his first business connections being with the City Fire Insurance Company, as secretary. He filled this responsible position for five years, and then entered into an active partnership in the firm with which his life for the last forty-five years has been identified. The firm has a mnost honorable record, and a few words of its early history are fitting. In January, 1836, Newton Case and E. D. Tiffany bought out the printing office of J. H. Wells, and commenced operations as Case, Tiffany & Company. A year after the formation of the firin, the panic of 1837 struck the country. The blow was a hard one, but the plucky partners weathered the stormn. For fifteen years, "Webster's Unabridged Dictionary " was printed at their office, and their success with the "Cottage Bible " led the firm on until many other works were added to the list of subscription books published by them, and the field was diligently cultivated, withi satisfactory results. In 1853, James Lockwood and Albert G. Cooley were taken into the partnership, and four years later Messrs. Tiffany and Cooley, and the following year Mr. Brainard became part of the concern. The name was changed to Case, Lockwood & Brainard, and this association remained unbroken until the death of Mr. Lockwood in 1888. Mr. Case died in 1890, and Mr. Brainard is now the only one of the older members connected with the business. By special charter from the state, the establishment was organized as "The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company " in 1874, and Mr. Case was chosen president. At his death, Mr. Brainard, who had been secretary and treasurer, was made the head of the firm, and he is still filling that important position. The company's plant is the largest in the state, and they do practically all kinds of work required in the "art of the preservation of all arts."
Mr. Brainard's strength and business capabilities have not all been confined to the immense printing establishment of which he is the head and controlling spirit. He is president of the Hartford Paper Company, and holds a directorship in the Atna Life Insurance Company, the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, Hartford & New York Steamboat Company, the Ætna National Bank, the State Savings Bank, the Orient Fire Insurance Company, the
258
REPRESENTATIVE MEN
Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and the Willimantic Linen Company. In each of these varied corporations, his long experience and excellent judgment render him a valued counsellor. Mr. Brainard is a member of the Pearl street Congregational Society, and is interested in all the charities and Christian work connected with that organization.
Without seeking the honors of official station, Mr. Brainard has not shirked the respon- sibilities which every intelligent citizen has in the government of his city and state. He has been a member of the Court of Common Council of Hartford, and in 1884, represented the city in the legislature. Being appointed House chairman of the committee on railroads, in that capacity he rendered invaluable service to his constituents, as he brought all the useful knowledge gained by long experience to bear on the questions introduced for solution. In 1890, he was appointed the head of the World's Fair commission for this state, his principal associate being Ex-Governor Waller. Later, Mr. Brainard was selected by the joint members of the commission at Chicago, as the chairman of the committee on manufactures, in all respects the most important of the working committees of the commission. The appointment of a citizen of Conneetient for this responsible place, was a high compliment to the state, as well as to the gentleman on whom the honor was conferred. Republican in his political belief, lie has been a distinguished representative of that party's interests from the very beginning of his publie career. A single term in the legislature, a few years in the Common Council of Hartford, will cover the extent of his service in an official capacity before his election as mayor of the city. This event was brought about without effort on liis part and against his wishes, considerable pressure being brought to bear to induce him to accept the nomination. Said the Courant previous to the Republican caucus in the spring of 1894:
Several other excellent men have been talked of for the office, but Mr. Brainard is recognized as especially fitted to be the candidate at the present time, embodying as he does so many elements of political strength in addition to his manifest personal fitness. Mr. Brainard is one of Hartford's leading citizens. He has both pride and personal interest in the city's welfare. He has devoted a useful life to work here, inuch of which has gone to cares and concerns that have built up the place. He happily combines shrewd business capacity with genuine public spirit, and, wherever his name has been mentioned, there has been the declaration that he would make an admirable mayor- strong as a candidate and safe as an official. The assurance that he will accept removes the only objection ever offered. Now let's take hold and nominate him. The caucus is called for the Rink for to- morrow night. Be there and vote for him.
The same paper said after the election :
The election of Mr. Brainard is a distinct and noteworthy triumph for good citizenship. He did not seek the nomination; it sought hin. It sought him because of his fitness for the place and the occasion, and the result justifies the wisdom of the selection. His vote in the caucus was something any man might be proud of. His vote at the polls is equally complimentary. He has turned Hartford from seven hundred and seventy-nine Democratic to one thousand one hundred and nine Republican-a change of over one thousand eight hundred. Mr. Brainard's personal conduct during the canvass has been on a par with his dignified attitude before it. He has flatly refused to buy votes. Traders found he wasn't their man. He relied on the people of Hartford, ready to be their mayor if they wanted him, ready to remain a private citizen, if they so voted. They have shown what they did want and have shown it unmistakably. This is a mighty good day for Hartford.
Leverett Brainard was married in the year 1866, to Mary J., daughter of Hon. Eliphalet A. and Lydia (Morgan) Bulkeley. Mr. E. A. Bulkeley was the founder of the Ætna Life Insurance Company, and was a prominent factor in the upbuilding of Hartford a generation ago. Ex-Governor Morgan G. Bulkeley, and Ex-Lieut .- Gov. William H. Bulkeley, are brothers of Mrs. Brainard. The family consisted of ten children, five sons and five daugliters. Two only of the sons are now living.
------
-------
reStill.
The Century Publishing & Lagraving To theage
259
OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
S TILES, NORMAN CHARLES, of Middletown, a distinguished inventor and manufacturer, and founder of the Stiles & Parker Press Company, was born on June 18, 1834, in the little village of Fecding Hills, Agawam, Mass. He traces his descent from one John Stiles, who came in 1635 (with three brothers) from his native place, Milbroke, Bedfordshire, England, to Windsor, Conn., of which they were among the first settlers. His eldest son, Sergeant Henry, born in England, was a carpenter and builder-one of the "master workmen " employed in build- ing the residence of Rev. Timo. Edwards, first pastor of East Windsor, Conn., the house in which the great divine, Jonathan Edwards, was born. His eldest son, Henry, resided in Windsor. His fourth child, Jonah, born in 1700, removed to Westfield, Mass., about 1730, and was the first of the Westfield (Mass.) Stiles line. His second son, (Lieut.) Gideon, born in 1731, was, during the Revolutionary period, a very prominent citizen of Westfield in all matters, political, military, civil, and ecclesiastical - always holding some position of trust in the town's affairs. His fifth child, Dorns, born in 1765, was a powder man11- facturer, and erected the first powder mill in the state of Massachusetts - " a man of extra- ordinary parts." His early education was scant, but he was a great reader, and remarkably conversant with history. He was a leading man in the town of Southwick, which he repre- sented in the state legislature three terins, and was thirteen times chosen selectinan of his native town (Westfield). Observant, thoughtful, quiet, almost taciturn, he was often called upon to arbitrate between neighbors, and was a "natural born lawyer." His eldest son was Henry Stiles, a fariner of good family connections and some means, who carried on, in addition to his regular occupation, the manufacture of whip-lashes, for which at that day there was a large sale. Henry Stiles married Sallie Avery of Southwick, Mass. His family consisted of eight children. Although a very worthy and industrious man, capable both as an agriculturist and manufacturer, misfortunes overtook him, and his straitened circumstances interfered with his design of giving his children a good education. They were, never- theless, duly instructed in the rudimentary branches, and being unusually bright were little, if any, behind their more fortunate associates and neighbors.
The subject of this sketch (the sixth child of Henry and Sally Stiles), began the actual work of life at an early age. His tastes were in the line of the inechanical arts, and even as a mere child he possessed decided genius in this direction. One of his earlier essays was upon an unused clock which fell in his way when he was but ten years old. Some defect in the works had stopped it, and it was deemed worthless. The boy's curiosity was aroused, and taking the clock apart he examined it carefully, found and remedied the defect, and with comparative ease restored the timepiece to good running order. Many boys who give evidence of genius are frequently charged with being idle and shiftless at first, from the fact that they have not yet got into their proper groove, and find effort in any other not only distasteful but difficult. Young Stiles was never open to any of these charges. He seeined to be constantly on the lookout for opportunities to be helpful and useful, and he was intensely practical in whatever he undertook to do. It is related of him, that when he was only twelve years old, he built an ell to his father's house, doing all the work ull- aided, including designing, carpentry and painting, and making a perfect success of it. The range of his appreciation took in mechanical construction from the most ponderous to the most delicate, and he studied with the greatest pleasure as well as care every inachine, ill- strument or contrivance that he came across. Among his successful boyish constructions may be named a miniature steam engine, a miniature fire engine, and a violin, all of which were marvels of accuracy, although made with the simplest tools.
260
REPRESENTATIVE MEN
In 1850, which sixteen years of age, lic went to Meriden, Conn., and engaged with his brotlier, Doras A. Stiles, in the manufacture of tinware. There was little in this occupa- tion to rivet the attention of his budding genius, and in a little while he gave it up to take a position in the American Machine Works at Springfield, Mass., wlicre lie remained 1111til lic was of age, serving a full apprenticeship to the trade of machinist, and master- ing it in every detail. After a brief service as a journeyman with a Mr. Osgood, wlio was a contractor for the Holyoke Machine Company, he returned to Meriden, Conn., and entered the shops of the Messrs. Snow, Brooks & Co., - 11ow owued by Messrs. Parker Brothers - where he was employed in making dies and other fine work requiring great skill and in- genuity. He entered subsequently the employ of Messrs. Edward Miller & Company, at Meriden, with whom he remained until 1857, when, having saved a little money, lie deter- mined upon independent effort. He began by hiring bench room from Mr. B. S. Stedman, a practical machinist at Meriden, and soon afterward he bought out his stock and tools. In 1860, he brought forward his first invention, known as a toe-and-instep stretcher, which immediately found favor with the boot and shoe manufacturers, and had a great success. Two years later, in the midst of a great pressure of business, his factory was destroyed by fire, involving a heavy loss, from which, however, his energy and perseverance soon enabled him to recover. When he resumed business he had as a special partner, Mr. Alden Clark, but this gentleman retired shortly afterwards, disposing of his interest to his nepliew, Mr. George L. Clark, who continued in association with Mr. Stiles until 1867, when the part- nership was dissolved. The business by this time had acquired proportions which rendered additional facilities imperative, and Mr. Stiles, after carefully examining the ground, con- cluded that it was advisable to transfer his works to Middletown, Conn. This transfer was effected in 1867, and, the results proving satisfactory, the works were permanently estab- lished at that place, where they now remain, and rank as one of the most important indus- tries of the state.
One of Mr. Stiles's principal inventions - indeed, the one upon which his chief fame as an inventor may be said to rest -is his stamping and punching machine. To this machine, perfected by him, and first brought forward in 1864, he added several valuable improve- ments previous to establishing his business at Middletown, among them being what is known teclinically as an "eccentric adjustment," which he patented in 1864. This "adjustment " gave his machine a decided advantage over all other punching machines then in use, an advan- tage which it still retains. Other manufacturers were not slow to perceive its value, and Messrs. Parker Brothers of Meriden, who were engaged in manufacturing a rival punching machine, known as "The Fowler Press," adopted Mr. Stiles's invention. Mr. Stiles claimed an in- fringement of his patent, and took the matter at once into court, and a long and expen- sive litigation followed. A compromise was finally reached by the consolidation of both firins, the new organization taking the name of The Stiles & Parker Press Company. The busi- ness of this company is practically controlled by Mr. Stiles, who is the largest owner of the stock, and who fills the dual position of treasurer and general manager; his second son, Mr. Edmund S. Stiles, being now the secretary and superintendent. Besides the presses named, the company manufactures dies, drop-hammers, and general sheet-metal tools, and also designs and constructs to order special machinery of every kind. As the directing and responsible head of the business, Mr. Stiles has displayed high intelligence, rare executive ability, and unflagging energy. Several years ago the business liad reached such a development that additional facilities were required, and to meet the need a branch factory and office were established in the city of New York.
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.