USA > Connecticut > Representative men of Connecticut, 1861-1894 > Part 49
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During the last twenty years few Americans have written and spoken more frequently and more acceptably to the public on subjects connected with the industry, commerce, finance, shipping, railroads, taxation and labor of the country, than Mr. Wells ; and some of his productions in pamphlet form, as "The Primer of Free Trade," "Why we Trade and How we Trade," and "The Dollar of the Fathers vs. The Dollar of the Sons," have attained a wide circulation. Of books, the following are well known : "Robinson Crusoe's Money," illustrated by Nast, or the experiences of an island people in using different kinds of money, 1876; "Our Merchant Marine; How it Rose, Increased, Became Great, Declined, and Decayed," 1882 ; "Practical Economics," 1885; "A Study of Mexico," 1887. Concern- ing the latter work, M. Romero, the Minister of Mexico to the United States, writes : " Although I differ with you on several points, and in respect to some of your conclusions, it is surprising to me how well you have understood the condition of Mexico and its diffi- cult problems, especially so far as its relations with the United States are concerned." To which the Rev. George B. Hyde, one of the leading and oldest missionaries of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Mexico, adds, under date, at the Mission of Puebla, of May, 1887: "I have, I think, read all works of importance relating to the social and political economy of Mexico ; and the 'Study ' is the only one that has not either looked with eyes that saw a paradise or a desert. I consider the book the most valuable yet published on the real con- dition of Mexico."
The series of papers "On the Economic Disturbances since 1873," now publishing in the Popular Science Monthly, being also reprinted concurrently in Europe, are regarded both in this country and Europe as among the most instructive and valuable contributions that have been made in recent years to any department of economic science.
Mr. Wells's present residence is in Norwich, Conn., where he is the owner of one of the most pleasant old-fashioned houses in New England, and one of the best private economic libraries in the country.
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James D. Dewell
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
EWELL, JAMES DUDLEY, senior member of the firm of J. D. Dewell & Company, New Haven, and president of the State Board of Trade, was born in Norfolk, Conn., Sept. 3, 1837. His father, John Dewell, was a native of Dutchess county, N. Y., of Scotch descent, and, during his years of activity, was prominent as a manufacturer and merchant in Norfolk. His mother, née Mary Humphrey, was born in Norfolk, Conn., and descended from Michael Humphrey, wlio settled in Windsor, Conn., 1640 to 1645.
Soon after passing his twentieth birthday, he came to New Haven and entered upon a mercantile career. His first business connection was with the firm of Bushnell & Com- pany, wholesale grocers, as salesman. Two years later, he was made a member of the firmn. After Mr. Dewell was admitted to a share in the councils of Bushnell & Company, his energy and ability aided greatly in expanding the volume of their business. In 1864, the firm name was changed to Bushnell & Dewell, and, in 1877, it was again altered to J. D. Dewell & Company, in which form it has become familiar to the mercantile world.
Financial matters have occupied no small share of Mr. Dewell's attention. He is vice- president of the Security Insurance Company, and director in the New Haven Water Com- pany and the City Bank of New Haven. To each he gives thiat valuable assistance he is abundantly able to render from his long experience and intimate knowledge of business affairs.
No sincere effort for the public advancement of New Haven, or for the social improve- ment of its citizens, has failed to enlist his warm interest and generous support. As one of the business men of the city, Mr. Dewell has ever desired to join his good fortune to the community around him. To the development of New Haven by means of its Chamber of Commerce, he has devoted much time, and for many years he served as its president. Taking a wide field of action, and wishing to benefit all branches of industry in his native state, Mr. Dewell is largely responsible for the organization of the State Board of Trade. Elected president on its formation in 1891, he is still filling that position by unanimons consent. The Young Men's Institute of New Haven has always held a tender spot in his heart, and for twenty years he has been a director and contributor to its needs.
He is also a member of, and takes great interest in, the New Haven Colony Historical Society, State Hospital of New Haven, Sons of American Revolution and Evergreen Ceme- tery Association. Mr. Dewell has not held political office, yet he takes great interest in legislative matters, both national and state. His conscientious belief on political lines is that the principles and policy of the Republican party are best calculated to promote the happiness of the people and prosperity of the nation. In other words, he is a Republican of the Lincoln type.
Mr. Dewell was married July 2, 1860, to Miss Mary Elizabeth Keyes of Norfolk. Six children have blessed their union, of whom five are living : one daughter and four sons.
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S ESSIONS, JOHN HUMPHREY, of Bristol, president of the Bristol National Bank, and senior member of the firm of J. H. Sessions & Sons, was born in Burlington, Conn., March 17, 1829.
In ancient Anglo-Saxon tongue appears a name that may be best expressed in modern English by the word "Sass," says the Magazine of Western His- tory. In this old language it means the dweller on, or a tiller of the soil. Pursuing the study of the name further down the annals of heraldry, the name "Sasson " appears with the same meaning. The family who bore it were tillers of the soil, and investigation still further shows Sesson, Sisson, Sission and Sessions - natural dialectic derivatives of the same root, bearing the same meaning, and borne by families whose avocations were shown by their names. In the history of the ancient town of Wantage, England, appears early in the sixteenth century, the first records of the English family Sessions. Like many another family in English history, the occupation is evidenced by the name, and the student of history is not surprised to find the family farmers. There the occupation of farmer usually is that of overseer of the large manors of an English lord or baronet, rather than as prac- ticed in America, where a farmer is his own overseer. In the old town records mention is made of Alexander Sessions, the farmer of Dudley Manor. That he was a good farmer is further shown, and when Thomas Dudley, deputy governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, came with his superior, John Winthrop, and a company of emigrants, to America in 1630, Alexander Sessions was requested to come in his capacity as farmer for the new estates of his employer.
Little that is definite can now be said of Alexander Sessions in the new world during the early years of the colony. That he shared the privations of the colony, aided in its development, and managed well his trust, can be safely inferred from his character and from the history of the colony as brought down to the present time. Later, it is known that he became one of the first settlers of Andover, Mass., and was made a free- man. To Alexander Sessions and Elizabeth his wife, were born seven sons, whose biblical names attest the Calvinistic principles of their parents. Of these sons, Alexander, Jr., was in after years one of the most prominent. He lived to be ninety-one years old, and, not- withstanding his great age, his mental and bodily vigor remained till almost the last. He settled in Pomfret, Conn., and died there in 1771. From him the family line comes down through Amos to John, who was a man much respected. He was for two years a mem- ber of the Continental Congress, and a member of the New York legislature for two terms. His son, John, Jr., had seven children, three of whom became Congregational ministers, and were inen of mark in their generation. Calvin Sessions, the third son of John, Jr., married Lydia Beckwith, January, 1822. Of their children, John H. was the fourth.
After receiving a limited education in the public schools, at the age of fifteen years, young Sessions went to work on a farin for the munificent salary of eight dollars per month. He did the "chores," and part of the time was sent to school. Two years later, he entered a manufactory of toys, child wagons, etc., his pay being ten dollars per month, and the work extending over eleven hours per day. Here it was Mr. Sessions became skilled in the art of wood-turning, and he continued to follow this business for the period of nine years. In 1857, he decided to branch out on his own account, and commenced on a small scale, and it was but natural that he should do something in the line of clock making, with which that section of the state was permeated. He inade a specialty of tips, knobs and columns for, the styles of clocks then considered fashionable, and, later, he added knobs, etc., for the cabinet hardware trade.
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
On the death of his brother, Mr. A. J. Sessions, he purchased liis business, and joined it to that he was carrying on. This added materially to the range of articles produced. Mr. John H. Sessions, Jr., was made a member of the firm in 1872, the name becoming John H. Sessions & Son, which it still remains. They occupy several large buildings, and employ about sixty men all the year round. The business is mainly the manufacture of Taylor's patent trunk bolts and fixtures, hinges and rollers, wrought iron corner clamps, felloc plates and washers, rubber tip door stops, furniture knobs, escutcheons, etc. It is the largest factory of its kind in the country. The main building is two stories and attic, 100 x 30, with two ells, and kiln-drier lumber house. The tinning room is two stories, 40 x 40, and the japanning room, 30 x 30, with three brick ovens. The large brick building, which is 11sed for storage of finished goods, packing room and office, is 93 x 40, four stories with base- ment. Large power presses are used in the business, and the castings used are mostly of inalleable iron.
The firm carries a stock of two hundred and fifty tons of malleable iron, and four hundred to five hundred tons of hoop iron and sheet iron, and does a business approxima- ting $250,000 per year. Last year the firin used over 1,300,000 pounds of malleable iron, and 1,800,000 pounds of wrought iron. The firm has a very large home trade, supplying all the principal trunk dealers in the trunk-making centers, which are: Newark, Chicago, Milwaukee, Racine, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, Boston, Philadelphia, Petersburg, Richmond, Denver, San Francisco, Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and New York. The firm also does a large export business in Canada, having customers in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, St. John, N. B., and other Dominion cities. Reciprocity has opened up new channels of trade, Cuba being a large purchaser of the products of the firm. The European trade of the concern is also large, as they make many shipments of goods to London, Paris, Dublin and Berlin. Through New York commission houses thousands of dollars worth of goods are annually shipped to South America.
After being associated two years with his father and brother in business, William E. Sessions, the second son of Mr. J. H. Sessions, purchased a foundry, which had been badly run down, the capital being furnished by his father. It was organized as the Sessions Foundry Company, and has proved a most profitable investment. Starting with a limited amount of business, the concern has grown till now they give employment to two hundred and twenty-five men, and the sales foot up $300,000 yearly. The plant has been increased eight times since they took hold of the enterprise, and with their four cupolas they 110w have a capacity for melting forty tons daily.
Mr. Sessions is a many sided man, and has been almost uniformly successful in all his operations. Financial management has claimed a share of his attention. He was one of the prime movers in the formation of the Bristol National Bank in 1875, and being chosen as the first president, has held the office to the present time by successive reelections. On the organization of the Bristol Water Company in 1881, Mr. Sessions's influence had been so marked that he was unanimously elected president, and has filled the responsible duties of the office ever since. In electrical development he has taken no small degree of interest, and contributed largely to the forination of the Bristol Electric Company in 1886, and here again he was elevated to the presidency by mutual consent. Under his energetic administra- tion, the company has grown immensely, and they now light the village of Forestville, as well as the town of Bristol. For five years he was a member of the firin of Lamson, Sessions & Company of Cleveland, Ohio, furnishing much of the capital in the early life of the company, and after it became an established success, he withdrew. Though never a seeker after political honors, Mr. Sessions allowed himself to be elected to the General Assembly for the year 1885, and at that terin served as a member on several important committees.
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A firm friend of education, everything which tends to the upbuilding of society at large lias ever found a zealous supporter in Mr. Sessions. He has been a member of the board of trustces of Wesleyan University, Middletown, for over a score of years, and for nicarly the whole of that time has served on the executive committee of that excellent institution. He is also a member of the board of trustees of Wilbraham Academy, Wilbraham, Mass. It will be seen that Mr. Sessions's church affiliations are with the Methodist denomination, though lic liad tliree uncles who were honored members of the Congregational ministry, 'and of the church of that faith in Bristol he holds the honorable position of chairman of the board of trustees, and also of the board of stewards. His pecuniary gifts to the work have been both frequent and large in the past, but the beautiful church edifice just completed is the crowning montinent of his liberality. The seating capacity of the old building belonging to the society was about eight hundred, and the new church, holding one thousand, is joined on in such a way as to make nearly the whole available, giving a total capacity of nearly one thousand seven hundred in plain view of the pulpit. The material is granite, with Long Meadow red stone trimmings, and as the design is carried out it makes a churchly structure, very attractive to the eye. The cost of the new church and remodelling the old one was not far from $70,000. The congregation was growing, the space for a larger was greatly needed, and it is unnecessary to state that the handsome gift is most highly appreciated. The liberality of the father is emulated in due proportion by the sons-the older one furnishing the fittings, and the younger supplying a fine organ. The members of the congregation wished to have some share in the new edifice, and consequently they have added certain special articles, and in a suitable position have placed an elegant testimonial window, though one need not be a prophet to see that Mr. Sessions's memory will never be forgotten by succeeding congregations as they worship within the walls of the building provided by his thoughtfulness.
John H. Sessions was married April 27, 1848, to Emily, daughter of Allen Bunnell of Burlington, Conn. Three children were the result of this union, all of whom are now living : John H. Sessions, Jr., who is associated with his father in business, and has always been actively interested in the prosperity of Bristol, having been one of the fire commissioners since 1880 ; William E. Sessions, who is the manager of the Sessions Foundry Company, and Carrie, who is now Mrs. Neubauer.
S IMPSON, SAMUEL, of Wallingford, president of the Simpson, Hall & Miller Company, was born in the town where he lived all his life, April 7, 1814. He died on his eightieth birthday, April 7, 1894. For over a quarter of a century he had suffered from a malignant cancer, and had endured inany operations which gave him temporary relief.
Like only a few of Connecticut's prominent 'men, Mr. Simpson is of German parentage. Samuel George, who was born in Hesse, Mulilenberg, and became a lieutenant in the British army, came to this country with his regiment in 1767, and was soon afterwards sent to New Haven, to aid in enforcing the Stamp Act. While stationed in that town lie married Lydia, daughter of John Johnson, a large land holder, and assumed the name of Robert Simpson. His only son received the name of Samuel George Simpson, thus combining his real and assumed names. The latter married Melinda, daughter of John and Lois (Beadle.) Hull. In 1806, he disposed of his farm in Wallingford, and with other Connecticut farmers, bought a tract in the Western Reserve in Ohio, whithier he removed with his family. After
OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894. 309
a residence there of five years, during which one son, George, was born, the family returned to Wallingford, and two more sons, Harmon and Samuel, were added to the circle. Samuel G. Simpson died in Wallingford in 1842, aged sixty.
Samuel Simpson was not born to wealth, and for this the people of his native town have reason to be thankful, for had his fortune been inherited instead of amassed, Walling- ford might not have the large factories, the public buildings and the importance it 110W enjoys as an industrial center. Instead of a life of idleness in pursuit of pleasure through inherited opulence, his has been a life of activity, devoted to the purpose of making the world better from having lived in it; mankind better from his association with them and the condition of humanity exalted.
When he was eleven years old, in 1825, lie served as chore boy to Dr. Moses Gaylord for a period of two years, and at the age of fifteen he entered an apprenticeship term with Charles and Hiram Yale, who then were engaged in the business of inaking pewter spoons, etc., in Yalesville, but who had originally started in some part of the building now standing on the south-east corner of Main and Center streets, known as the Beckley place. I. C. Lewis, with whom Mr. Simpson was afterwards associated in the Meriden Britannia Company, was also an apprentice with the Yales at the same time.
Such was his aptness and general ability that when lie was twenty, Mr. Simpson was inade foreman of the factory, and continued in that position till July, 1835. At this time a contract was made by which Mr. Simpson and L. L. Williams, a former employee of the Yale firin, undertook the manufacture of the goods for Charles Yale, but when he died in November of the same year the contract, as part of his estate, was sold to the firin of Henshaw & Yale who failed in 1837, and inade an opening for the firm of Williams & Simpson to step in and manufacture the goods on their own account. They continued successfully in the business until January, 1838, when their entire plant was destroyed by fire. The fire occurred in the night, and on being awakened and informed of the calamity, Mr. Simpson exclaimed : "There goes every dollar I have in the world!" This was the literal truth, but friends rallied themselves the next day, and money enough was raised by subscription to enable him to start again.
The year in which he established himself in business witnessed his marriage to Martha De Ette Benham, whose family, although residing in Cheshire, belonged to the branch which carried their lineage back to Josepli Benham, one of the original planters of Wallingford.
His next business effort was a partial failure, but he brought success out at the last. About this time a Mr. Pelton of Middletown approached Mr. Simpson with a proposition to engage in the Britannia business, and ant arrangement was made, but in a short time he found that Pelton had not the financial backing which he claimed, and the partnership was dissolved, but the ball had started which has rolled along until the result now shows up in the immense concerns of R. Wallace & Sons, Simpson, Hall, Miller & Company, the . Simpson Nickel Silver Company, and other concerns which, while not having been the direct outgrowth of this beginning, can nevertheless trace the causes that led to their locating in Wallingford back to the influence exerted through these firins.
Mr. Simpson became interested in the Meriden Britannia Company, and contributed 110 sinall share to the solid foundation on which it was built. He finally sold his holdings to Horace C. Wilcox, who divided them among his associates, Dennis C. Wilcox, Isaac C. Lewis, William W. Lyman, Lemuel J. Curtis and George R. Curtis. This purchase gave the Meriden men control of the corporation formed by a consolidation of Mr. Lewis's and Mr. Simpson's business, and to each of these men the reward of a magnificent business and
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN
their heirs an estate of many millions. Mr. Simpson was the last survivor of these wonder- fully successful men, who, with no capital other than their own indomitable persistency, have left as monuments of their business skill the big silver ware factories of Meriden and Wallingford. Mr. Simpson's life is a history of these great industries.
After closing liis connection with the Meriden Britannia Company he became a partner of the late Robert Wallace, under the name of Wallace, Simpson & Company, and his cnergy, capital and business skill helped to build up the spoon industry which, under the name of the R. Wallace & Sons Manufacturing Company, employed upward of 600 persons and is the largest spoon business of this country. Mr. Simpson sold his interest in this corporation some years ago and devoted his time and attention to the Simpson, Hall & Miller Company and the Simpson Nickel Silver Company. They were successful, extraor- dinarily so, during the years when he was able to more particularly direct them. He possessed in an eminent degree the skill of managing men, of securing their confidence, of driving a sharp bargain and still retaining their confidence as a man of unquestioned integrity and absolute reliability.
With the late Joel H. Guy he organized the First National Bank of Meriden and had much to do with the foundation of the First National Bank of Wallingford, and was its president from its organization until a short time ago. His name as president of the Dime Savings Bank has given it a reputation for financial stability that was of great value to this institution during the trying times of the past year. As a financier his judgment was of great value to all the enterprises with which he was identified. In his best days his keenness and extraordinary knowledge of men enabled him to weather the financial storm of 1873, for all his companies, although they were young and endeavoring to get into a market pretty well crowded even in these days.
Mr. Simpson was a Democrat, and during the war occupied rather an unenviable position, as he was one of the peace inen. He was in business and had large interests that were dependent on all sections of the country for patronage, and he wanted the differences settled up without disturbing the status of trade, and he was consequently criticized by his townsmen who took the view that war had got to come. As the intimate political friend of Mayor Osborne of the Register, Ex-Governor English, Senator Eaton, and a host of old-timers, nothing delighted Mr. Simpson more than to recall the times when to be a Democrat meant very m11ich more than it did in later years. It ineant social ostracism, and not a little personal annoyance, but a more courageous man than he never breathed.
His only personal military service was in 1841, when he was paymaster of the regiment of the old militia which was commanded by Col. Henry Hull. They were both mustered out at the same time. Mr. Simpson always discriminated in favor of Wallingford, and the evidences of his patriotism abound on every hand. There are but few institutions, public as well as private, in the borough that he has not been directly interested in exalting. The present perfected state of the public schools received the impetus from him when he was on the committee shortly after the war. He was instrumental in having the present site of the high school building selected, although he faced opposition from alinost the entire district.
The town of Wallingford has honored him in every way, as a representative to the legislature, first warden of the borough and selectman. He represented his party and this state in Cincinnati when General Hancock was named as a candidate for the presidency. He was not a politician in the strict sense, he was too outspoken and lacked the diplomacy that would clothe his opinion in words of double ineaning. His stand on the temperance question cost him his election as senator from the Sixth District, and he iniglit have had the nomination for lieutenant-governor had he chosen to accept it.
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