USA > Connecticut > Representative men of Connecticut, 1861-1894 > Part 68
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Speaking of the nomination, the Norwalk Record paid Mr. DeForest a very graceful tribute :
His sturdy democracy and advocacy of the principles of his party, and his integrity and strong force of character are elements that singled him out from his fellow Democrats to be their leader. He was a poor boy and by his indomitable courage and careful efforts he has attained his present prominence. He has always been the friend of the people and not of the corporations. To protect the oppressed and unmask infamy has been his guiding principle. Three times have his fellow-citizens elected him to the mayoralty of Bridgeport, and he has honored them by an honest administration of the affairs of that office. He has also served his state well in the legislature, and as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas and other offices. He is a man above reproach and is a man of the people.
His first terin of service in Congress demonstrated to the voters of the district the value to them of a representative in Congress possessed of brains, capacity, character and courage. At the Democratic Congressional Convention of the Fourth District in 1892, there was to
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argument regarding the nominee, and Judge DeForest received a second unanimous nomination. In presenting his name, among other good things, Judge Albert M. Tallmadge said : "From him we expected much. He has more than realized our expectations. The people of this congressional district without regard to party, are proud of their representative in Congress, and the people of this district will see that he is returned to the place he has so honorably filled. Is it reasonable to suppose that Democrats alone were proud of the ringing speech of our representative against the free coinage of silver ? Did he not represent the people of this district when he said : 'This proposition for the free and unlimited coinage of silver, at the ratio and upon the terms here designated, excites in the minds of those whom I have the honor to represent, and so far as I know, in the minds of all the people of the entire state and section from which I come, the profoundest apprehension, as being in their judgment a measure involving political heresy, unsound finance, commercial disaster, industrial prostration and moral culpability.' "'
He was again elected and is now serving his second term with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. In every instance he has faithfully represented the inter- ests of his district. The Washington papers and the New York papers spoke highly in commendation of his silver and tariff speeches, notably the New York Times and the New York World. In Connecticut most of the papers of the state commended his stand and his speech on the silver bill, while papers and men of all parties have shared in the pride of the Democrats in this exceptional record of Judge DeForest in his term of service. When the record of his work during his second term is written it is safe to say that it will be equally satisfactory.
When he has been before his fellow-citizens for election, Judge DeForest has never been beaten. The secret of his hold upon the people is not hard to find. He believes in them ; they reciprocate his confidence. He has stood for their rights and fought their battles. Then his character is as open as the day, and his life has been above all reproach. In personal appearance he would attract favorable attention in any land; a refined and intelligent face, a body strong, well-built and active, and a head indicative of the possession of brains, with a manner unmistakably sincere - these go to make up the man. Easy and courteous in demeanor, approachable at all times to every comer, it is not to be wondered at that Judge DeForest is popular with all classes in society. For some years past he has been junior warden of Trinity (Episcopal) Church, and is an earnest cooperator in every good work in the city of Bridgeport.
Robert E. DeForest was inarried Oct. 18, 1871, to Rebecca Bellows, daughter of Judge John S. Marcy. Their children are Frederick Marcy, who has just finished his third year at Yale College, Robert Griswold and John Bellows.
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CHAPMAN, MARO S., of Manchester, president of the Perkins Lamp Company of Manchester, and of the Hartford Manila Company, Hartford, was born in East Haddam, Feb. 13, 1839.
After receiving a thoroughi common school education, Mr. Chapman engaged in mercantile pursuits at Manchester, and was so occupied when the call came for troops in 1861. His patriotic zeal was fired, and he enlisted in Company C, Twelfth Regiment, and rendered faithful service in the War of the Rebellion. His terin of enlist- ment having expired -in 1864-hie accepted a situation with thic Plimpton Manufacturing Company, Hartford, and, his executive ability being appreciated, he has been gradually advanced until now lie is treasurer of the company. When the Plimpton Company secured the contract from the government for manufacturing stamped envelopes, the work was placed in charge of Mr. Chapman, and the position has given him an excellent opportunity for showing the business capacities he possesses.
In the various branches of electric development, Mr. Chapman has taken a deep interest. He is now president of the Perkins Lamp Company, and of the Mather Electric Company, both of which are located at Manchester, and are doing a prosperous business. He is also president of the Hartford Manila Company, which has an extensive inill at Burnside. Under the inspiration of Mr. Chapman's management, the business of this company is in a flour- ishing condition. It will be seen that no small share of Mr. Chapman's interests lie in the capital city, and every effort for the extension of its trade limits finds in him a ready helper. He is an active member of that energetic body, the Hartford Board of Trade, and is also a director in the City Bank.
From his earliest manhood, Mr. Chapman has been an earnest and valued member of the Republican party, and, as such, has often been called to serve the party and the state in places of public trust. His connection with the Republican town committee of Manches- ter extends over nearly a quarter of a century, most of the time serving as chairman. In 1881, he represented Manchester in the lower branch of the legislature, and was appointed chairman, on the part of that body, of the committee on cities and boroughs. A number of perplexing questions arose that year, and it was one of the hardest worked committees of the session. His services were of undoubted value to the state at large, and his beneficial influence was felt and acknowledged by all his associates in the House. In the fall of 1884, Mr. Chapman received the unanimous nomination of the Republicans of his district for the senatorship, and was elected by a gratifying majority.
A member of the Republican state convention which nominated Hon. Henry B. Har- rison for governor, he was an able and influential supporter of the cause of the party in the campaign which followed. In all the state and national campaigns Mr. Chapinan's services are in constant demand. He is an admirable debater and a clear and forcible speaker, always presenting his views with great earnestness and in a style to carry conviction to the minds of the hearers. His business connections have brought him in close touch with a number of the prominent men of the state in both political parties, and he lias the highest respect of them all. A thorough Republican and a sturdy upholder of Republican principles, Mr. Chapman is in no sense a bitter partisan, and his manly course has secured for him the esteem of those to whom he is politically opposed.
Mr. Chapman's first wife died in 1869, leaving one daughter, who is now the wife of E. S. Ela, editor and publisher of the Manchester Herald. His present wife was Miss Helen C. Robbins of Manchester. Two daughters were the result of this union. The religious connections of the family are with the Centre Congregational Church.
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
R
OOD, DAVID A., of Hartford, proprietor of the United States Hotel, was born in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Mass., Sept. 27, 1817. Mariner Rood, who is the first of the family line of whom definite knowledge can be ascertained, moved from Simsbury to Canaan, Conn., something over a hundred years ago. His son David had a son, David, Jr., and the latter married Salome, daughter of Stephen Partridge of Canaan. In 1815, he moved to Sheffield, Mass., and engaged in agricultural pursuits. The subject of this sketch was the third of their eight children.
The education of young Rood was a liberal one for the times, being gained at the excellent public schools of Massachusetts. His first business venture was as proprietor of a hotel in New Haven. Two years later, he took charge of the Connecticut Hotel, Hartford, and this he sold in 1849, in order to enter mercantile business in Winsted, Conn., where he remained until November, 1851. Then he bought ont the Eagle Hotel, Hartford, which he enlarged and changed to the Trumbull House, and continued as proprietor until the spring of 1865, when he took a lease of the United States Hotel, which was in an adjoining building. In 1867, he bought out the Trumbull House, and two years later he connected them together, since which time the name Trumbull has been dropped and the whole known as the United States Hotel. With one or two breaks, of greater or less length, Mr. Rood has retained the management, and is the oldest hotel proprietor, both in age and years of service, in the state of Connecticut, now engaged in active business. Besides his connec- tion with the hotel interests named, he was proprietor of Fenwick Hall, Saybrook, for five years, and of the Manhansett Hotel for one year.
For a number of years he was connected with the National Guard of Connecticut, and served as lieutenant-colonel of the First Regiment for three years. Colonel Rood is a con- sistent Republican in political life, having been identified with that party since the days of Fremont, in 1856, and has been honored by various offices within its gift. A member of the Hartford board of police commissioners for ten years, he rendered excellent service to the city in that capacity. He was treasurer of the Brown School for fourteen years, and has been a director of the Dime Savings Bank for a still longer period. His religious affiliations are with the Pearl Street Congregational Church, of which he is a member. In Hartford, where he has lived for nearly half a century, he is honored and respected, as well for his high personal character as for his civic virtues.
D. A. Rood has been twice married. First, March 23, 1843, to Maria W., daughter of Asaph Woodford of Avon, Conn. She died Jan. 23, 1883, leaving two sons and one daughter : Frank D., chief clerk in the governor's office; Arthur Woodford, clerk at the United States Hotel, and Emma Louise, who is now Mrs. Henry H. Goodwin of Keney, Roberts & Com- pany. He was married a second time, Sept. 10, 1884, to Abbie F., daughter of Sanford Carroll of Dedhain, Mass., who was a lineal descendant of John Alden of the Plymouth colony.
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DGERTON, FRANCIS D., M. D., of Middletown, was born at East Hampton, Conn., August 26, 1838. Dr. Edgerton comes of an excellent Connecticut family, his tastes for the intricacies of medical lore and practice being largely inherited from his father. Dr. Francis G. Edgerton, the third son of Simeon and Lucy (Griswold) Edgerton, was born in Norwich, Conn., in 1797, and died in East Hampton in 1870. He studied incdicine with Dr. Philemon Tracy of Norwich Town and Dr. William P. Eaton of Norwich City, and after attending the regulation course of lectures in New Haven, he received a license to practice, locating in East Hampton, where lie gained an honorable name for himself. He married Miss Marietta Daniels, by whom he had one son- the subject of this sketch.
The early education of young Edgerton was obtained in the public and select schools of his native town. While quite a boy, he evinced a decided taste for the profession which his father had so successfully followed for so many years, and thenceforward he was given every opportunity to acquire a thorough knowledge of its principles. The years from thirteen to fifteen were spent at the preparatory school at Wilbraham, Mass., and from there he went to East Greenwich, R. I., where, in 1857, he had the honor of delivering the salutatory address before the graduating class at the anniversary exercises. Entering Wesleyan University, he graduated in the class of 1861.
Following out his lifelong ambition, Dr. Edgerton at once commenced the study of medicine under his father's excellent tuition. Subsequently, in 1862, he attended a course of lectures at the Berkshire Medical College, and, in 1863, took a regular course of medical lectures at the University of Vermont, from which institution he received his degree of M. D. Soon after he passed an examination for assistant-surgeon of the Twenty-first Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, and received his commission as such, but was prevented by circumstances beyond his control from entering the service. The years 1863-64 found him at the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, connected with Columbia College, N. Y., attending a third course of lectures. He graduated from this institution in 1864, receiving a second diploma. After passing a competitive examination in April of the same year under the commissioners of Charities and Corrections, he spent eighteen months in Bellevue Hospital and six months at the hospitals on Blackwell's Island.
In July, 1866, Dr. Edgerton came to Middletown and commenced the practice of his pro- fession as the successor of Dr. John Ellis Blake. He soon commenced to enlarge the list of his clientage, and it has continued to increase until the present time. The limit of his practice is by no means confined to the city in which he lives, but he is often called in con- sultation in different parts of the state.
His medical contemporaries have inade known their appreciation of his executive abilities by electing him to various official positions, and his course while in office clearly showed that their confidence was not misplaced. From 1873 to 1877, Dr. Edgerton was secretary and treasurer of the Middlesex County Medical Society, and from 1876 to 1882, he was treasurer of the Connecticut Medical Society. Commencing with the very date of the organization of thc institution, he has been the attending physician at the State Industrial School. As the representative of the State Medical Society, he delivered the annual address before the gradu- ating class of the Yale Medical School in 1878, and it was a masterly production.
Dr. Edgerton's reputation in the profession of which he forms an honorable part, as well as in the community in which he resides, has been gained by careful study and conscientious
avid B. Hamilton
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
service in relieving suffering humanity. Now in the prime of liis later manhood, he has yet many years before him in which to bless his fellow-inen by curing the ills which their flesh is heir to.
Dr. F. D. Edgerton was married in 1868, to Amelia Dupont, daughter of Henry C. Cruger of New Orleans, La. Three children have been born to them : Henry Cruger, Francis Cruger, and John Warren.
AMILTON, DAVID BOUGHTON, of Waterbury, president and manager of the Rogers & Brothers Company, and of other corporations, was born Oct. 19, 1824, in Danbury, Conn.
He is a descendant of one of the few Scotch families who came to Con- necticut in the seventeenth century. William Hamilton emigrated from Scot- land to this country in 1690, and landed on Cape Cod, going from there to Rhode Island, and later to Bear Mountain in Danbury. He brought with him a cane inscribed " Win. Hamilton, Gentleman," which shows that he was a man of inark for the times in which he lived. Born in 1644, he died 1746, having by more than two years rounded out a century of life, and one of his daughters lived to the same good old age. From the original emigrant the line comes down through (2) Joseph, (3) Silas, (4) Paul, (5) David, who married Deborah Knapp Boughton. David Hamilton was a volunteer soldier in the war of 1812, and the subject of this sketch was the youngest son of his six children. The second, third, fourth and fifth generations of the family were all born in the same old homestead.
The common schools and Danbury Academy supplied all the education young Hamilton received, with the exception of a special course at a private school in Hartford. Until he was seventeen he remained on his father's farin, and the next two, years were spent teaching school in Hartford and Wethersfield. For the years 1851 and 1852, he was a clerk in the Hartford Post Office ; but the real work of his life began when he entered the employ of Rogers & Brothers, manufacturers of silver-ware in Hartford. Five years were well invested learning the details of the business. I11 1858, the plant was moved to Waterbury, and Mr. Hamilton went with the concern as both book-keeper and salesman. When the company was incor- porated in 1859 he was chosen secretary, but he still continued to attend to the outside business as before.
April 18, 1861, he was in Philadelphia, aud not realizing all that was happening, went on to Baltimore, on the last train before communications were cut off. After the exciting scenes of the 19th, Mr. Hamilton pushed on to Washington on the 20th, and there found that com- panies were being formed for the defence of the capital of the nation. He at once enlisted in a company commanded by Cassius M. Clay, and for two weeks he stood guard, and performed the other duties of a soldier. In response to Governor Buckingham's call for volunteers, three regiments had been raised before he got home, and he joined the fourth, which for some reason was not taken. He finally went into active service in July, 1861, and his command was placed in the Army of the Northern Potomac under General Banks. Lieutenant Hamilton was detailed to serve as corps quartermaster. When the armny went into winter quarters in 1861, he was made clothing officer for the fifth army corps, and was practically a member of Gen. Banks's staff. The care of camp equipage was included in his duties. He was the last officer to leave Strasburg, making his exit with twenty-three wagons about 2 P. M., after burning all the clothing and camp equipage which he was unable to take with him. His command getting cut off, he led his train of wagons and one hundred soldiers by a circuitous
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route, and after passing through some rare experiences, he saved every man and all the cquip- age. Lieutenant Hamilton was with his regiment at Cedar Mountain, where the regiment was badly cut up and placed in reserve, on the march from Culpepper to Washington, being in the skirmish at Warrenton Springs. They were in line of battle at Chantilly, but were not actually engaged. Soon after this, on the return of the regiment to Maryland, Lieutenant Hamilton was promoted to a captaincy. In the spring of 1863, he was honorably discharged.
While Mr. Hamilton was in the service of his country, the business of the Rogers & Brothers Company was carried on. He was made treasurer of the company in 1865, and four ycars later was made president, thoughi he has been manager of the company ever since his return from the war. They make a specialty of silver-plated flat table ware, and under his management thic output has been increased tenfold.
Mr. Hamilton has found time to devote to other corporations and enterprises besides the one of which he is the controlling spirit. Since its organization in 1881, he has been presi- dent of the Manufacturer's Bank, and has occupied the same position in the Waterbury Lumber Company since it was started in 1884.' He is president of the Connecticut Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company of Waterbury. He holds a directorship in the Meriden Britannia Company, in the Bridgeport Brass Company, in the William Rogers Company of Hartford, and the Wilcox & White Organ Company of Meriden, and has been a director in various other companies. In 1881, he had the honor of being the first Republican to be sent from the Waterbury district to the state Senate after the war. In the local offices he lias gone almost the entire round, having been councilman, alderman, selectman, water commissioner for twenty years, school visitor and president of the school board, and wherever lie lias been placed he has never disappointed the expectations of those who elected him to office. He is an excellent representative of the sturdy Connecticut yeomanry, and has gained an honorable name for himself in the manufacturing world.
D. B. Hamilton was married May 1, 1847, to Mary, daughter of Squire Rogers of Hart- ford. She died in 1859, leaving one son. He was married a second time in 1863, to Mary, daughter of Lewis Birely of Frederick, Md., who was a noted imanufacturer of leather. She died in 1870, leaving a son and a daugliter. He was married again in 1871, to Isabel Ely of Lyme, Conn., by whom he became the father of one son. His oldest son, Charles A. Hamilton, is president of the Rogers & Hamilton Company of Waterbury, and treasurer of the Bridgeport Brass Company.
NDERS, THOMAS OSTRAM, of West Hartford, ex-president of the Ætna Life Insurance Company, and of the United States Bank of Hartford, was born in Glen, N. Y., Sept. 21, 1832. His father, who bore the same name as the son, was a leading merchant and justice of the peace, and was recognized as one of the prominent citizens of the place.
The larger part of Mr. Enders's early life was passed in Meriden, where he received a thoroughi common school education. The late Jolin G. North, who was a prominent figure in fire underwriting and afterward in life insurance, was the first person to interest him in the subject of insurance, and employed him as a solicitor in Eastern Connecticut. At the age of twenty-two, Mr. Enders came to Hartford, and continued to reside in that city and West Hartford until his death. For a brief period he was a clerk in the dry goods store of Mr. Joseph Langdon. Entering the employ of the Ætna Life Insurance Company as clerk, lie was from the outset an invaluable cooperator with Pres. E. A. Bulkeley. By close application
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
he gained a comprehensive knowledge of the intricate details of life insurance, and four years later, then in his twenty-fourth year, he was elected secretary of the company. Upon the deatlı of Hon. Eliphalet Bulkeley, in 1872, he was chosen president, and the advancement was but a step along the line of legitimate promotion. He held this position until he was succeeded, in 1879, by ex-Gov. Morgan G. Bulkeley, son of the former president. It was during the period covered by Mr. Enders's management that the Ætna made such rapid strides as to become one of the largest and strongest life companies in the United States. He was a prudent and sagacious manager, and the true principles of safe life underwriting seemed to be born in him. A conservative investor and exceptionally well-skilled in the management of finances, he early foresaw the development of the life underwriting business in this country, and used every opportunity to advance his company's interests by enlarging its field of opera- tions and strengthening its resources.
In " Hartford in 1889," a volume published by the Board of Trade, occurs the following paragraphi regarding one feature of the Ætna's success :
Success far transcending the dreams of the founders, and on the whole perhaps unequaled in the records of life insurance, either in Europe or America, is easily explained in the light of the facts. One of the postu- lates of the business demands that investments shall yield an annual income of four per cent., the excess being available either for immediate distribution among the insured, or for building up a fund held in reserve to ineet claims maturing many years hence, when the rate of interest on approved security will certainly fall below that figure. The Atna Life was a pioneer in loaning to western farmers, having entered the field under higlily favorable conditions. At the time when its treasury began to be distended by the volume of inflowing premiums, the Illinois Central railway had a large number of outstanding contracts with settlers on their lands, agreeing to convey titles on payment of the purchase money. Both sides desired the completion of the contracts. At this juncture, the Atna Life came forward and furnished the needful funds, taking mortgages on the farms as security. All the early loans bore interest at ten per cent. The arrangement proved highly advantageous to both lender and borrower. The fertility of the soil attracted heavy immigration, with consequent enhancement in the value of the properties. While the company had abundant reason to be satisfied, thousands of farmers rose from poverty to wealthi by the aid thus afforded them. As the region grew rich, and the loans were paid off, the company pushed westward into Iowa, repeating the process on the same terms. Employing only trained and faithful agents, it seldom met with defaults, and when compelled to foreclose generally succeeded, by patience, in drawing a profit from the transaction. The perils of growing competition were met by increase of carefulness, one of the rules being to loan, in no case, in excess of the value assessed for taxation.
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