USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > West Hartford > West Hartford, Connecticut > Part 18
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This company has been prompt to render valuable assistance when called.
The South or Elmwood Fire District. The South Fire District was organized June 12, 1919, and the following officers elected: District Committee, Charles E. Lord, (Chairman), Prescott A. Sears, Dennis F. Ahern; Clerk, Richard J. Dillon; Treasurer, Richard J. Dillon; Collector of Taxes, Arthur R. Thompson; Ratemaker, Edward B. Barker; Auditors, Burton E. Hilton, William L. Shepard.
The property at number 1066 New Britain Avenue was purchased November 21, 1919, for $3,000 and remodeled for use as a fire house at an expense of $5,106.00. The equipment consists of a Maxim model M-3 triple combination hose, chemi- cal and pumping engine purchased for $12,025.00 and delivered to the district November 21, 1921.
The present officers are as follows: District committee, Charles E. Lord, Chairman, Dennis F. Ahern, Victor E. Brodeur; clerk, Richard J. Dillon; treasurer, Richard J. Dillon; collector of taxes, Arthur R. Thompson; ratemaker, Edward B. Barker; auditors, Burton E. Hilton, Howard E. Shaw. The men on force are as follows: eight regular men, eight substitutes, and fifteen call men.
The District is now taking up the matter of erecting a new and larger building.
II. POLICE DEPARTMENT
In 1917 the Legislature passed a special act making the se- lectman a Board of Police Commissioners and defining their duties. The selectmen of West Hartford, under the provisions of this act, at various times appointed special policemen to do
WHO WAS ALSO TOWN MANAGER, AND EIGHT REGULAR OFFICERS AND NINE SUPERNUMERARIES FIRST REGULAR POLICE DEPARTMENT OF WEST HARTFORD, CONSISTING OF CHIEF B. I. MILLER,
HISTORY OF WEST HARTFORD
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duty at the fairs at Charter Oak Park and on other occasions. On July 1, 1919, when Town Manager Miller took over the duties of the Selectmen, he became the Police Commissioner and or- ganized the first police department in West Hartford. On October 1, 1920, he appointed Constable Daniel W. Bushey the first regular policeman, and Frank J. Dellert, and on January 1, 1921, James Livingston, who had been a constable for many years, was appointed a regular policeman.
Later on, the police were all appointed by the Town Man- ager until the charter was adopted and the Town Council elected. The Council appointed the first Police and Fire Commission on April 20, 1921, consisting of John J. Grogan, Frank J. Cadwell, John E. Curran, Leonard J. Collins, and Horatio H. Armstrong; and this Commission made the appointments from this date, continued the Town Manager as supervisor of the department, and later appointed him the first Chief of Police.
With the rapid growth of the Town the department con- tinued to increase, and in January, 1923, the Town Manager and the Commission decided that the duties of the Town Manager had increased to such an extent that a full-time man should be secured for Chief of Police. On June 21, 1923, Town Manager Miller voluntarily resigned and the commission accepted his resignation with regret. At this time the force consisted of eight regular policemen and nine supernumeraries. After the resigna- tion of the Town Manager as Chief of Police, the Commission appointed Joseph F. Grogan Chief, and he has held the position ever since.
III, THE POSTOFFICE AND POSTMASTERS
The first post office in West Hartford was located in the northern part of the parish, in the Goodman Tavern, on the north- west corner of Main Street and the Talcott Mountain Turnpike. Aaron Goodman, the proprietor of the tavern, was appointed postmaster in 1820, and he continued in that position until 1832.
The post office consisted of a box divided into small compart- ments each one marked with a letter of the alphabet. All mail directed to people whose surnames began with A was put into the A compartment, and so on through the alphabet. When Mr. Brown or Mr. Brace called for his mail, the postmaster looked over the mail which was in the B compartment, to find whatever mail there might be for the inquiring person. The mail, in those early days, usually consisted mainly of weekly newspapers, with occasional letters. Persons residing in distant parts of the town usually went to the post office once a week. One person would get not only his own mail but also mail for his neighbors, who would come to his house after his return home to get whatever had been brought for them.
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In 1832, Elihu Olmsted was appointed to succeed Mr. Goodman. He lived at the Center in the brick house (still standing) on the west side of Goodman Park. It was the only building in that locality at that time. He purchased property on the northeast corner of Main Street and Farmington Turn- pike, built a house there, and a small building for a store and post office on the corner in front of the house. The house built and occupied by him and his family is now owned by Mrs. Susie B. Andrews. It was moved from its original location to the north when the new bank building was erected. The old post office building, after being twice removed and enlarged, converted first into a store and then into a dwelling, is now the two-family dwelling house located in the rear of the residence of Mrs. Susie B. Andrews.
Mr. Olmsted was succeeded by Nathan Burr in 1847. Mr. Burr had built a two-story building on the southwest corner of Farmington Turnpike and West Hartford Main Street, opposite the tavern, which was on the north side of the turnpike. On the first floor he had a small store with the post office boxes in the southeast corner. On the second floor, which was reached by an inside stairway south of the post office corner, he conducted a boot and shoe shop where several men were employed repairing and making boots and shoes. One of these men was Leonard Buckland who at a later date succeeded Mr. Burr as postmaster. Mr. Burr was not successful as a business man and a few years later was obliged to close his shop.
Mr. Buckland was appointed postmaster in 1856. He purchased the building in which the post office was located, enlarged it to include a family residence, and began to build up a grocery business in connection with the conduct of the post office. He continued in service until 1885 when Grover Cleve- land was elected President and Walter Cadwell was appointed. The post office was removed to a store on South Main Street which is now incorporated in M. J. Burnham's grocery store. This location was considered inconvenient and quite unsatisfac- tory by many of the people, and there was rejoicing when the office was restored to its former corner location in 1889 when Leonard Buckland was again appointed postmaster, which posi- tion he held until his death in 1896.
After Mr. Buckland's death his son Merton S. Buckland was appointed postmaster and retained that position until his death in 1906. Merton S. Buckland built an addition to the building on the front providing larger quarters. His son, Frank M. Buck- land succeeded him, and served until 1913; so with the excep- tion of four years, when Walter Cadwell was postmaster, the post office was conducted under the administration of the mem- bers of the Buckland family for 57 years.
Albert L. Lamb succeeded Frank M. Buckland as postmaster
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and served until 1918, when the West Hartford office was made a branch of the Hartford office and Mr. Lamb was appointed as superintendent of the Station. During his administration the post office was removed to a new building on the south side of Farmington Avenue, a short distance west of the former location. On the fifteenth of May 1925, M. D. Alling was appointed super- intendent of the Station and has continued to serve until the present time.
During the latter part of the administration of the Bucklands a rural delivery route was established covering the territory in the southern, western, and northern sections of the town. James
WEST HARTFORD EMANG
WEST HARTFORD POST OFFICE, 1929
THIS GROUP REPRESENTS THE CLERKS AND CARRIERS IN 1929. M. D. ALLING POSTMASTER IN THE CENTER.
Miller, who resided on North Main Street, was in charge for a number of years, rendering very efficient service. A rural de- livery route is still maintained. At the present time there are fifteen carriers who deliver the mail daily in the central part of the town, and four clerks are employed to assist Mr. Alling in the post office.
On March 1, 1929, the post office was removed to a new building constructed especially for its use, at the corner of Farm- ington Avenue and LaSalle Street, by the Americano Con- struction Company, by whom it is leased to the United States Government. Thus for the first time in its history the West
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Hartford post office is located in a separate building devoted exclusively to its use. The building contains 3,024 square feet of space, suitably divided and arranged for the satisfactory and most modern methods of conducting the business.
A post office was established in Elmwood in April 29, 1873. It was first located in the Elmwood Railroad Station and Wilbur E. Goodwin was postmaster until his death in 1905. He was succeeded by Charles E. Lord, then conducting a grocery store in Elmwood, and the post office was removed to his store. Wil- liam B. Johnson was appointed postmaster in 1914, holding the position until 1922, when Thomas C. Brown, the proprietor at that time of the Elmwood grocery, was appointed. He still occupies the position.
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THE BOYS AND GIRLS OF THIS GROUP PHOTOGRAPHED IN 1929 ARE DESCEN- DANTS OF SOME OF THE OLDEST FAMILIES IN WEST HARTFORD. THEIR GRANDPARENTS, GREAT GRANDPARENTS, AND, IN SOME CASES, GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS, WERE ACCUSTOMED TO ATTEND CHURCH SERVICES ON SUNDAY IN THIS BUILDING
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
A detailed genealogical survey of the earlier residents of West Hartford would be exceptionally difficult to make, in part
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due to the fact that there was a great deal of intermarrying among families. Fortunately such a survey would not be of general interest. It would be equally difficult to give a complete account of all who, especially in the earlier years, went forth to contribute to the professional, political, and industrial life in other com- munities; for there were many such, as was the case in nearly every New England town. It has seemed best to mention com- paratively few of the representatives of West Hartford in other parts of the world, and to focus attention upon those who, in a general way, were representative of the life and activity of the home community. The sketches here given, most of them neces- sarily brief, in some instances repeat information imparted fragmentarily in earlier chapters. It is needless to say that they do not include all who are worthy of mention.
Early Family Names. In connection with the petition sent in 1710 to the General Assembly asking the privilege of organizing a separate parish the following names appear: Arnold, Bull, Butler, Ensign, Flower, Gaylord, Gillet, Kellogg, Merrill, Merry, Morgan, Olmsted, Peck, Scott, Sedgwick, Shepherd, Smith, Steel, Watson, Webster, Williams.
At a later period in the history of the parish and town are found these additional names: Balch, Barr, Belden, Bevans, Bishop, Bissel, Brace, Braman, Cadwell, Colton, Deming, Ells- worth, Faxon, Flagg, Francis, Gilbert, Goodman, Goodwin, Gridley, Griswold, Hamilton, Hooker, Hurlburt, Millard, Mills, Mix, Perkins, Phelps, Root, Selden, Standly (now Stanley), Talcott, Wells, Whiting, Whitman.
The Stanleys. In the original layout of sections in the West Division in 1674, one section in the extreme northern part of the division was assigned to Caleb Standly, son of Thomas Standly, and another section in the southern part of the Division was assigned to Nathan Standly, another son of Thomas Standly. This family (later spelled Stanley) has had representatives in the parish and town ever since 1674.
Edward Stanley, son of Truman Stanley, was born in 1824 in the old Stanley homestead, located on the north side of the old road over Selden Hill, and just west of West Lane, now Mountain Road. He was the owner of a large farm embracing the tract of land now known as Beuna Vista and many acres of woodland. He was a breeder of fine horses and Devonshire cattle. He was a member and strong supporter of the Congre- gational Church, and his two-horse, three-seated family wagon conveying nine persons to church was a noticeable feature in the community for many years. He had the distinction of being the first person elected to the position of representative of the town in the General Assembly of Connecticut in 1855, and
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for twenty-four years subsequently he served the town as a selectman and much of the time as first selectman. He died in 1894.
EDWARD STANLEY, FIRST REPRESENTATIVE OF WEST HARTFORD IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1855
Everitt T. Stanley, oldest son of Edward Stanley, was born in 1846. He is still a resident of West Hartford and is a highly esteemed citizen. For many years he was a prosperous farmer and milk dealer. From 1885 until 1909 he occupied the position of first selectman of the town, in which office he rendered very efficient service during a period when extensive public develop- ments and improvements required a large amount of the time and attention of one occupying such an important position. Mr. Stanley was very diligent and efficient in his devotion to the affairs of the town and the promotion of its welfare. It is regret- ted by the writer that a picture cannot be presented in this con- nection of Mr. Stanley as he was seen daily driving with his fleet-footed horse to some part of the town in the discharge of his duties, and as he will always be remembered by those who saw him.
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The Sedgwicks. Many of the descendants of Samuel Sedg- wick, who came to West Hartford in 1865, have been, through the generations, influential citizens of the town, and other descendants have been prominent in local and national affairs as residents of other communities.
Benjamin Sedgwick, born in West Hartford in 1710, re- moved to Cromwell, Conn. He was an ancestor of General John Sedgwick, prominent in the War of the Revolution, and the later General John Sedgwick, prominent in the Civil War.
Theodore Sedgwick, grandson of Samuel, born in West Hartford in 1746, became a resident of Stockbridge, Mass. In 1796 he was representative from that State in the United States Senate. In 1797, he was Speaker of the House of Representatives and in 1802 he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. The statement has been made that during his residence in Washington he became a warm friend of President George Washington.
Catherine Sedgwick, daughter of Theodore Sedgwick, be- came a prominent writer.
William Thompson Sedgwick, born in West Hartford in 1855, was one of the most distinguished natives of the town. He was the son of William and Anne Thompson Sedgwick, a half brother of George Sedgwick of New York City, and of Timothy Sedg- wick, a former prominent citizen of West Hartford, the father of Mrs. Charles A. Griswold. He was a descendant of Samuel Sedgwick, grandson of Rev. Samuel Stone, who was the first Sedgwick to come to West Hartford to live.
He was graduated from the Hartford Public High School in 1874 and from the Yale Sheffield Scientific School in 1877. In 1879 he was offered a fellowship in Johns Hopkins University, where he soon became Professor of Biology. In 1883 he was ap- pointed Professor of Biology in Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, in which position he remained until his death in 1921.
He was a recognized authority in biological research, a leader in sanitation, public health, etc. He traveled abroad and received, from many educational institutions at home and abroad, various honorary degrees. He was recognized as a very success- ful educator, enjoying the esteem and affectionate regard of his associates and students, and of his fellow citizens as a friend and neighbor.
When the West Hartford Congregational Church celebrated its bicentennial anniversary in 1913, Professor Sedgwick was invited to give one of the principal addresses, and the older scholars from all the public schools, assembled in the Town Hall, listened with great interest to his account of his boyhood ex- periences in the town and in Farmington.
Professor Sedgwick died suddenly at his home in 1921, in the midst of an active and distinguished career.
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WILLIAM THOMPSON SEDGWICK
Professor Sedgwick's boyhood home was on the north side of Park Road about opposite the present residence of James E. Dissell. The house was removed some years ago by Anton King to a location on the Sedgwick farm farther west at the top of the hill. After the death of his father, William and his mother moved to her former home in Farmington.
The Gillets or Gillettes. This name, as it appears in the early records, gives evidence that the members of the family in suc-
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cessive generations were public spirited and patriotic citizens of the West Division.
Joseph Gillet came to the West Division in 1694, and es- tablished his home on one of the sections of land south of the South Middle Road to Farmington. His name appears on the list of the original members of the first church in the community, which was organized in 1713, and on subsequent records as a member of important committees.
A second Joseph Gillet, born in 1665, was either a soldier serving in defense of his country or an officer in the local militia, for on his tombstone in the old cemetery at West Hartford Center is the following inscription: "Lieutenant Joseph Gillitt, died 1747 aged 81."
His grandson, Jonathan Gillet or Gillette, born in 1738, enlisted in the Continental Army, and in the Battle of Long Island was captured by the British and confined in a prison ship, where he suffered such tortures and hardships that his health was ruined and his death hastened.
A second Jonathan Gillet, born in 1762, was in the army rendering services on the Hudson. He was taken prisoner at Horseneck and confined, with others, in an old sugar house in New York City for a time, but was finally released. Many years afterwards, when the old sugar house was torn down, four canes were made from one of the door posts, and these were given to four survivors who had been imprisoned there. One of them came to Jonathan Gillette, and has been handed down, in ac- cordance with his request, to the oldest son in the successive generations until the present time. In accordance with this cus- tom, it came into the possession of Henry J. Gillette, formerly the beloved City Missionary of Hartford, and, at his death, it passed to his oldest son, Rev. Edwin C. Gillette, D.D., now Superintendent of the Congregational Church Conference of Florida.
Mr. C. H. Gillette of Woodrow Street, West Hartford, formerly a resident of Canaan, is connected with this Gillette family, a descendant of one of the Gillettes who went from West Hartford to Canaan; and Frank W. Gillette, who formerly lived here on Pleasant Street, now residing at Wolcott Hill, is also of the same family line.
The Whitmans. In 1854 when West Hartford became a separate town and the first election of town officers was held, John Whitman, son of Samuel Whitman, Sr., was elected to the position of town clerk, in which he rendered efficient service until 1861. From 1856 until 1861 he also held the position of town treasurer. He was a farmer by occupation, but in the winter served as school-master, in accordance with the prevailing
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custom of those times. The writer has a very distinct and pleasurable remembrance of him, as his first male teacher, in the old Center School, more than seventy-five years ago. Mr. Whitman was a man of sterling character, a patriotic citizen, ready to render service in behalf of the community but never seeking office, highly esteemed by all who knew him.
JOHN WHITMAN, FIRST TOWN CLERK, 1854.
Samuel Whitman, the third in the Whitman family line in West Hartford to bear the name Samuel, was elected as the first Treasurer of the Town of West Hartford in 1854. In 1856 he was succeeded by his brother John Whitman, but was again elected Town Treasurer in 1879, and continued in service until 1890, when he retired on account of impaired eyesight and his son Henry C. Whitman was elected as his succesor. Mr. Whit- man was highly esteemed for his integrity, his conscientious and faithful discharge of his official duties, and his loyal citizenship. He was active in town affairs, serving many years as a member of the School Board, and was one of the prime movers for the open-
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ing of the High School in 1872, at which time he was a member of the Town School Committee. In 1877 Mr. Whitman represented the town in the General Assembly.
SAMUEL WHITMAN TOWN TREASURER 1854
Henry C. Whitman, son of Samuel Whitman, has devoted his life since early manhood, to efficient service in behalf of the town of West Hartford. His first public service was as a teacher, for a few years, in the West Hartford schools.
In October 1894 he was elected to the position of Town Clerk, in which position he continued until January 1929 when his resignation took effect.
He was elected in October 1890 to the position of Town Treasurer, and served as such until March 1925. During the greater part of this period he was the candidate of both political parties. At the annual elections of town officers, and during all the years of his efficient public service, to which he devoted his time and attention with marked fidelity, he was held in high esteem by all his fellow citizens, and is still so regarded by all who know him.
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In the position of Town Clerk he succeeded his uncle, John Whitman, although not directly, and in the position of Town Treasurer he succeeded his father, Samuel Whitman.
On the occasion of his retirement, his official associates in town affairs and other friends gave him a reception and presented him with a beautiful present as a token of their esteem and good will.
HENRY C. WHITMAN TOWN CLERK AND TOWN TREASURER
Rev. Nathan Perkins, D.D. Rev. Nathan Perkins, who came to West Hartford in 1773 as pastor of the Congregational Church and continued in that position until his death in 1838, was one of the most prominent citizens of the town during its early history, a man of distinguished ability and accomplishments.
He purchased the house on the west side of Goodman Park which had been built in 1758 for his predecessor, Rev. Nathaniel Hooker, Jr., and which is now the rectory of St. James Episcopal
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Church. This was his home during all the years of his pastorate. He owned also at one time over two hundred acres of land in the parish and was interested in the cultivation of grain and the breeding of fine horses. One section of land owned by him was on the north side of the Farmington Turnpike at the point now known as West Hill. He built there a fine house for his son, Nathan Perkins, Jr., which in later years became the residence of Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. It is now on a different site, and in a modernized condition is the residence of Frederick W. Ar- nold, at the corner of Farmington Avenue and Walkley Road.
REV. NAT HAN PERKINS, D.D.
Dr. Perkins was greatly interested in the cause of education. For many years he was a prominent member of the school com- mittee of the parish, visiting the schools regularly and at times questioning the scholars in respect to the contents of the cate- chism. He prepared for this purpose a catechism of his own. He taught young men who came to his home for instruction and recitation in preparation for entrance to college.
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In addition to the service which he rendered in the com- munity as pastor, preacher, and educational leader, he was prominently and efficiently identified with religious, educational, and missionary movements in the State and in broader fields. In 1789 he was appointed by the Association of Hartford County in cooperation with the General Association of Connecticut to go as a home missionary to preach the gospel to the "New Settle- ments in Vermont." He made the journey on horseback, leaving his home on the morning of April 27th. He spent the first night at the parsonage of the Congregational Church in Southwick, Mass. He reached Vermont on April 30th. He visited many frontier settlements, preaching in churches, barns, private dwellings, etc., until the twenty-second of June. His diary kept at the time reveals many conditions of living and of religious destitution in those frontier settlements, in marked contrast with conditions at West Hartford and in his own home.
Dr. Perkins was one of the company of ministers who met in Farmington in 1810 for the promotion of foreign missions through the organization known as the American Board. At a later date he invited a company of ministers to meet in the West Hartford parsonage to consider the proposition of establish- ing a theological school at East Windsor Hill, and in 1824 he was invited to lay the corner stone of the first building of the Connecticut Theological Institute, now the Hartford Theological Seminary.
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