USA > Connecticut > Representative men of Connecticut, 1861-1894 > Part 63
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Mr. Turner was married in 1856, to Miss Jane E. Hubbard, daughter of Jesse Hubbard of Watertown, who with two children, Charles E. and Edith J., survive him. The son con- tinues the business interests he left. The daughter is the wife of George A. Alling of New Haven, Conn.
ORGAN, DANIEL NASH, treasurer of the United States, was born in Newtown, Fairfield County, Conn., Aug. 18, 1844. The Morgan family is one of the most ancient in Wales, and the ancestors of the subject of this sketch came from that country to America in pre-Revolutionary times. Some of them established themselves at Springfield, Mass., and others at New London, Com. The first of the name known to have lived in Norwich, Conn., in 1700, was Peter Morgan. His son was Capt. Zedekiah Morgan, who settled in Newtown, and in the days of the Revolution, owned a six hundred and ninety acre tract of land at Hopewell, where large numbers of cavalrymen and horses were quartered during one winter of that struggle, and which is still known as the Morgan farm. He was one of the worthies of the town, and, although jeopardizing a large property by his action, entered heart and soul into the" cause of American independence and lived to witness its triumph. His descendants inter- married with the Sanford family of Redding, and the Nash and Camp families of Norwalk. The Morgans are a sturdy race and among other characteristics seem to be noted for
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their longevity. The four grand-parents of Danicl Nash Morgan reached the great ages, respectively, of eighty-four, ninety, ninety-six and eighty years. Hczekialı Morgan, his grandfather, was a farmer in Redding, Conn., and his father, Ezra Morgan, a native of that town, was one of the most prominent public men in that part of the state. He represented Newtown in the state legislature for several sessions and was a life-long merchant and farmer. He was president of the Hatters' Bank of Betlicl several years, and held other official positions of honor, trust and responsibility. Mr. Morgan married Hannah Nash, daughter of Daniel Nash of Westport, who was noted as an able financier. Mr. Morgan had eight children.
His eldest son, Daniel Nash Morgan, was a bright and energetic boy, and after he had obtained a sound training in the English branchies at the local public schools he decided upon a business career and, at the age of sixteen years, took a clerkship in his father's store at Newtown, at his own request being placed on the footing of a stranger, thus receiving, during the first five years of his service, only the compensation then usually paid to young men learning the business, viz., fifty dollars for the first year, sixty for the second, seventy-five for the third, eighty-five for the fourth and one hundred for the fifth year. Out of this meagre income he paid all his expenses excepting board, and upon arriving at the age of twenty-one found himself the happy possessor of fifty dollars, which had been saved from his earnings. His ambition and energy even at this early period of his life were inarked. The first year after serving his apprenticeship he managed his father's store as proprietor. He then spent several months as clerk in the dry goods house of Taylor & Joyce of Bridgeport, whose employment he left in order to become a member of the firm of Morgan & Booth of Newtown Centre, which did a large, thriving business. Three years afterwards, in September, 1869, this firm was dissolved by mutual agreement and Mr. Morgan removed to Bridgeport, where he became associated with Mr. Ezekial Birdsey, 2d, in the dry goods and carpet business, the style of the firm being Birdsey & Morgan.
In 1879, this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Morgan became the sole proprietor of the spacious quarters on the principal street of Bridgeport, and it was a leading house in the dry goods and carpet business in that thriving city. He sold out the business Jan. 1, 1880, to devote all his time to banking. As a merchant, Mr. Morgan developed qualities of the highest order. Bred to business under the eye and direction of his father, a man of great activity and sterling probity, he had spent years in mastering the details of commercial transactions before permitting himself to act in them as a principal. When he took the higher position he was well qualified to fill it, and his efforts were successful from the begin- ning. To remarkable energy and business capacity he added a ready grasp of modern methods of building up trade and increasing the reputation of his house. He was quick to comprehend the needs of the community which he supplied, and was willing to furnish the most desirable and seasonable goods, even though in doing this his profits on the individual transactions were smaller. In this way the house with which he was connected became a leading one in its department; and its trade was drawn from an area far greater than that of the city in which it was situated.
In 1876, in order to obtain personal knowledge of the eastern countries, and to secure a change from so close an application to business for many years, he made a trip to Europe, and while abroad availed himself of every opportunity to broaden his knowledge, not only of business but of affairs in general. His sojourn in Great Britain and on the continent was thus an educational tour, and being more prolonged and extensive than those usually taken by business men, afforded him an opportunity to become acquainted with the social as well as the business life of the several countries he visited. In the year of 1877, he was tlie senior partner of Morgan, Hopson & Company, wholesale grocers.
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
About this time Mr. Morgan became interested in politics, and although he has uniformly adopted the policy of never seeking an office or position of any character, yet political honors have been showered upon him. He is very popular in the rank and file of the Democratic party, and has also a large Republican following. In 1873, his fellow citizens, appreciating his worth, elected him to the Common Council of Bridgeport and reelected him in the following year. In 1877, he served as a member of the Board of Education. In 1880, he was the choice of the people for the office of mayor of Bridgeport, and filled that position with signal ability. In 1882, he was elected to the state legislature on the Democratic ticket by a phenomenal majority, and, as in his canvass for the mayoralty, he received many votes from members of the opposition parties. In 1884, he was a second time chosen by a large majority mayor of Bridgeport. His second administration, like his first, was marked by vigorous efforts to advance the welfare of the city, and was especially fruitful in bringing business methods to bear in the transaction of public business, a rigid but wise economy being enforced so far as practicable and advisable, and the interest of the taxpayers faithfully guarded, while no injustice was done to any of the city's inhabitants. During his second term as chief magistrate of the city, he was elected state senator from the fourteenth district, and served as such during the years 1885 and 1886. In November, 1892, he was again elected to the state Senate by the phenomenal majority of 1755, which is larger than ever given in the history of Bridgeport for a mayor, representative or senator. In the Senate he was a member of important committees, and rendered valuable services both to the district and to the state. "In every office he has been called 11pon to fill," says the New York Graphic, in com- menting upon his political career, "he has shown his worth and has performed his duties in a manner that has won commendation from political opponents as well as friends."
Mr. Morgan's prominence in the financial world began in January, 1879, when he was elected to the presidency of the City National Bank of Bridgeport. In the year 1878, he was chosen trustee, and later vice-president and president of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Savings Bank. His labors in connection with this institution have been noteworthy, and that its assets have risen in fifteen years from $27,000 to nearly $1,500,000, is in no small degree due to his influence and able management. He has been president of this institution since 1888. In addition to these important financial positions, Mr. Morgan fills, or has filled, several others of scarcely inferior moment. One of these was that of vice-president and chair- man of the executive committee of the Consolidated Rolling Stock Company. It was a position of great responsibility, the company's property consisting of more than five thousand freight cars. The capital of this corporation is about four million dollars, and it has paid more than a million dollars in dividends since its re-organization in 1886. He is interested also to a greater or lesser degree in several manufactories and industries centering in that city.
Mr. Morgan is a believer in the Episcopal faith, and a regular attendant at Trinity church, of which he was parish clerk thirteen years, and was senior warden for a number of years. He took a warm interest in the Young Men's Christian Association, of which he was a director, and as a member of the building committee of this organization devoted a great deal of time with others to superintending the construction of the new headquarters erected on Main street, at a cost of more than one hundred thousand dollars. The Bridge- port Hospital has likewise claimed his efforts and services in securing funds as a member of the building committee. For years he was one of the executive committee, and vice- president, and since 1890, has been president of that noble institution. In all works for the good of the city or its people he is ever ready to aid, and his gifts to the poor and needy are said to constitute no small part of his expenditures. It is not too much to say that Mr. Morgan enjoys the confidence of the great body of his fellow-citizens. He has never
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run for office without this fact being proven through the large number of votes lic receives from persons of opposing political faiths. His residence on Washington avenue is one of the pleasant and inviting homes in the city, and it has been one of his special delights to fill it with whatever would have a tendency to increase its comforts and attractions.
For many years he has been affiliated with the Masonic order, and for two terms was Master of Corinthian Lodge, F. & A. M., one of the principal lodges in Bridgeport. He is likewise a member of Hamilton Commandery, No. 5, Knights Templar, of Pyramid Temple, M. S., and of Pequonnock Lodge, No. 4, I. O. O. F. He is serving on the execu- tive committee of Bridgeport Scientific Society, and is a member of the Bridgeport His- torical Society, and of the Bridgeport Board of Trade, and holds a directorship in the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company. When a branch of the society of the Sons of the Revolu- tion organized in this state in the summer of 1893, it elected Mr. Morgan vice-president, which lionor he now holds. The City National Bank of which he was president fifteen years has a capital of $250,000, and was eminently successful during his administration of its affairs, paying eight per cent. dividends during the period named, and adding $160,000 to the surplus account. Mr. Morgan resigned the presidency and directorship of the bank, and also as senator of the state of Connecticut, the latter part of May, 1893, to assume the duties of United States treasurer, June 1, 1893. Incidental to his retirement from the state Senate was a most magnanimous and probably uuparalleled act of courtesy on the part of the Republican side of the chamber, who, appreciating the distinguished honor conferred upon the state, and esteeming their colleague highly, and appreciating the high honor conferred upon him, agreed to pair, when it was desired, one of their number with Mr. Morgan, even after he had resigned, until the end of the session, thus absolving themselves of the majority they would have gained, as the Senate had been equally divided. This pair continued a month after Mr. Morgan resigned.
When President Cleveland appointed Mr. Morgan treasurer of the United States, April 11, 1893, the Senate confirming him April 15, 1893, the press of Connecticut, regardless of their political views, and prominent men of both parties, were unstinted in their praise of his selection of the well-known financier for a position of such great responsibility. On assuming the duties of the office, June 1, 1893, he became responsible for the vast sum of $740,817,419.78, and gave receipts therefor, when the coin, currency and securi- ties were counted, a piece of intricate work which required three months' time. The con- dition of the national finances has demanded careful application, and while one of the busiest officers of the government, he is one of the most thoroughly reliable of the nation's officials.
A few especially pertinent quotations from the various newspaper comments are given as indicative of the tone of the whole. The first is from Dickerman's United States Treasury Counterfeit Detector :
The appointment of the Hon. Daniel N. Morgau of Bridgeport, Conn., as treasurer of the United States, is one which we believe to be in every way commendable. We confess to a sympathy with the sentiments of the " Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," which found expression in the confession of a stronger regard for the individual with a family before him than for the one without. That is, while the self-made man may be all well enough, the mau with a century or two of polishing and molding back of him, all other things being equal, is the better of the two. Treasurer Morgan is not only a financier, but the son and grandson of financiers. He comes of an old and influential Connecticut family, and has been trained both as a business man and banker and as a man of public affairs.
When a very young man, he became interested in politics, and positions of honor aud trust have been thrust upon him without his seeking. While a Democrat in politics, he has a large following among Repub- licaus, because of his freedom from all political chicanery.
Mr. Morgan was still serving in the state Senate of Connecticut when appointed United States treasurer. He entered upon the duties of the latter position while the legislature remained in session. Mr. Morgan's qualification for his new office no one disputes, and his appointment caused general satisfaction in Bridgeport, where everybody knows him.
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
Another is from a Washington letter published in the New Haven Journal and Courier :
Of the office holders here probably Hon. Daniel N. Morgan of Bridgeport, United States treasurer, while of exceedingly dignified appearance, is the best liked and most respected of men. He was one of Bridgeport's leading citizens and financial giants. He is always courteous aud pleasing to all, while at the same time attending strictly to his duties. He is making one of the best treasurers, from all standpoints, that the United States has ever had. Treasurer Morgan returued late last week from Bridgeport, where he had been called by the illness of Mrs. Morgan, who is improving, I understand.
Upon his return he brought with him a beautiful volume, bound in white kid, and enclosed in a handsome case of blue and white. The volume is in the nature of a testimonial aud embodies the resolutions adopted at a recent meeting by the City National Bank of Bridgeport relative to the resignation of Mr. Morgan as president of the bauk. The resolution is all engrossed by hand aud sigued by the directors of the bank, all prominent incu, and some of whom have national reputations. Treasurer Morgan is ably assisted in his duties by Private Secretary Charles G. Watson, one of Bridgeport's brightest young men, who was a reporter on the Evening Farmer four years.
The comment of the New Haven News was :
Senator Morgan's appointment as treasurer of the United States is uot only the choice of a competent man for an important post, the duties of which, under present circumstances, will demand great tact and discretion, but a merited recognition of the valuable services he himself has reudered in Connecticut politics. Mr. Morgan accepted the nomination for mayor of Bridgeport when there was little hope of success, and when an election would have brought him no new honors, for he had already filled the position with distinction. Others hung back from leading a forlorn hope, and he promptly responded to a call of his party, and made a handsome run. Mr. Morgan was one of the founders of the State Democratic Club, and is now its vice-president. The Senate will lose in him one of its best members.
The Meriden Republican was sure nothing but good could come from the nomination. It said :
It is a pleasure for the Republican to join its contemporaries in commending the selection of the Hon. D. N. Morgan of Bridgeport to be United States treasurer. Senator Morgan is a gentlemau of the Democratic first class, highly respected and often houored by his townsmen, with wide and honorable experience in legislative, financial and general business liues. He takes with him to his high position of trust and responsibility the respect and confidence of his fellow citizeus.
Mr. Morgan was married on June 10, 1868, to Miss Medora Huganin Judson, daughter of the late Hon. William A. Judson of Bridgeport, but formerly of Huntingdon, Conn., who was a member of the legislature four times, a state senator, besides holding inany other positions of honor and trust. He was a grandson of Col. Agur Judson, one of the celebrities of the Revolutionary epoch, and a descendant of William Judson, who settled with his family in Stratford in 1638. Their children now living are Mary Huntington Morgan and William Judson Morgan.
AY, CALVIN, of Hartford, a leading merchant of the city, was born in West- field, Mass., Feb. 26, 1803, and died June 10, 1884. He was a descendant in1 the sixth generation from Robert Day, one of the first settlers of Hartford, through his son Thomas, who removed to Springfield, Mass., and was the ancestor of the family in that state. His father, Ambrose Day, was a substan- tial farmer, owning and occupying from early manhood, a pleasantly situated farm, lying about three miles from the village of Westfield. Much respected by his neighbors for his kindly disposition, integrity, and good sense, he was for many years one of the select- men of the town. He died in 1858, at the age of eighty-five years, his wife, née Mary Ely, having preceded him in 1838.
Calvin Day, fifth child of Ambrose and Mary Day, received his education in the dis- trict school and later at the Westfield Academy, which still flourishies, and was then noted among the higher educational institutions of Western Massachusetts. The pleasant life at the Westfield Academy was a favorite reminiscence in after years.
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He removed to Hartford when a young man, and entered into business. Mr. Day appreciated the importance of Hartford at that time as a dry goods trade centre. Western merchants then came East to buy, and this city was a central point near to the factories, and an advantageous place for handling goods. Drummers were nearly unknown, but Mr. Day, early in his wholesale trade, adopted the plan of sending experienced inen to the western country to invite dealers to come here. He formed with his brother Albert, the wholesale firm of A. & C. Day, and opened a warehouse on the present site of the Cheney block. Eventually, Mr. Day formed a partnership with the late E. H. Owen, under the firin name of Day, Owen & Company, and removed to Asylum street. Mr. Day subsequently bought the site opposite the Allyn house, erected the present building and moved into it. He continued with the firm until about 1862, when, having accumulated a handsome for- tune, he retired. A few energetic and capable firms in Hartford in those years, conducted a very large business of this kind, and made the sinall city, in spite of its possession of few or no special natural advantages for such a trade, a quite widely known and important centre of distribution. Among those firins it is safe to say that none stood higher for ability, energy and integrity than that of Day, Owen & Company, throughout its long existence. He was a director in the Hartford Bank for forty years, and was a director in the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. His connections with other corporations were numerous. He was a director in the Landers, Frary & Clark Company, and the American Hosiery Company of New Britain, and the Agawam Canal Company, Springfield, president of the American Mill in Rockville, a director in the Watkinson Library, president of the board of trustees of the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, and a director in the Insane Retreat. For several years he was a director, and later one of the trustees of the old Hartford, Providence & Fishkill Road, retiring when the road passed into the hands of the New York & New England Railroad Company. His faith in the road was full, and it is due to his efforts that the word Fish- kill was put into the charter name. He was confident the road would reach the Hudson.
While seldom taking an active part in politics, and having no desire for office, Mr. Day was always a valued and efficient worker for his political party. He was an old-fashioned Jackson Democrat in early life, and was one of the first twelve inen in Hartford who voted for Andrew Jackson, when to vote for "Old Hickory " in Connecticut was far from being a popular act. He was a consistent Democrat down to the time of the election of Frank- lin Pierce. The attempt to repeal the Missouri Compromise disgusted him with the party, and he, with D. F. Robinson, Mark Howard, J. R. Hawley, J. F. Morris, Gideon Welles, J. M. Niles and others formed the nucleus of the Republican party of Hartford, numerous other Democrats following the lead of such influential inen as Messrs. Day, Welles and Niles. These Republican pioneers met one night in the upper room of Col. George P. Bissell's banking office, and prepared the first Republican address to the voters of the state. This was just prior to the nomination of Fremont. After that time Mr. Day was a sturdy Repub- lican and took part in putting the Evening Press on its feet. During the war he was an active worker, and contributed liberally from his means in fitting out troops. He was a valued adviser of Connecticut's great war governor - William A. Buckingham - and served for many months as chairman of the city committee for raising troops. When engaged in this patriotic work he gave largely of his time, regardless of his pressing business interests. At this time, or afterward, he never wanted nor would the accept office, but if any com- mittee or other work was to be done, his services could always be relied on. But once did he accept a nomination, and that was for the state senatorship in the Hartford district, at a time when the district was so strongly Democratic that his defeat as a Republican candidate was a certainty.
OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894. 397
His military title as " Major," came from his command, from 1833 to 1835, of the old Governor's Foot Guard. Major Day had in him a good deal of the true military quality of the better sort. . It showed itself in his erect carriage and high bearing, even down to the day of his death. He enlisted as a private in the Foot Guard in 1823, and rose by suc- cessive degrees of promotion up to the chief command of that fine and showy old corps- which is older than the battle of Bunker Hill. He was major-commandant when, in June, 1833, occurred the great display in honor of President Jackson's visit to Hartford - as proud a day as the major ever saw.
Mr. Day's time and abilities, his remarkable vigor of mind and body, were not, how- ever, devoted wholly to his own affairs. In everything that commended itself to his judg- ment, as tending to promote the moral or material welfare of the community in which he lived, or of his fellow inen, he felt a deep and intelligent interest, and in such matters as came within his sphere of action he was among the foremost workers. He was felt as an active power for good in the leading local institutions formed for benevolent purposes; and organizations of wider scope, for promoting in this country and abroad educational and religions interests, likewise found in him a strong supporter and a liberal friend. It was noticeable that whenever he took part in associations or gatherings of men of affairs, he was recognized by the best among them as a leader, by reason of his force of character, the soundness and penetration of his judgment, and his integrity, public spirit, fidelity to his associates and steadfastness of purpose.
Calvin Day married Catherine Seymour, daughter of the late Charles Seymour of Hart- ford. Their married life extended over a period of nearly fifty-seven years, and a union has seldom been blessed with inore of domestic happiness, or with more entire sympathy of tastes, beliefs and affections. Mr. Day's strict sense of duty imparted no tinge of morose- ness or gloom to his character, and the same traits which had made him respected and loved in all the other relations of life, could not fail to endear him, in an eminent degree, as a husband and father. The tone of domestic life was heightened by hospitality and by travel at home and abroad. There were four children, all of whom survive their parents. The four children are : Julia S., wife of Col. George P. Bissell; Mr. John C. Day, Miss Caroline E. Day, and Kate, wife of Joseph C. Jackson, lawyer, of New York city.
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