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ANDREW ADAMS (1736-1797)
a Delegate from Connecticut; born in Stratford, Conn.,
January 7, 1736; pursued preparatory studies; was graduated from
Yale College in 1760; studied law, and was admitted to the Fairfield
County bar; prosecuting attorney of Litchfield County in 1772; moved
in 1774 to Litchfield, which thereafter remained his home; member of
the Connecticut Council of Safety for two years; served in the
Revolutionary War with the rank of colonel; member of the State
house of representatives 1776-1781, serving as speaker in 1779 and
1780; Member of the Continental Congress in 1778; signer of the
Articles of Confederation in 1778; member of the executive council
in 1789; appointed chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court in
1793 and served in this position until his death in Litchfield,
Conn., November 26, 1797; interment in East Cemetery.
[Source: Biographical Directory of the United States
Congress, 1771-Present; contributed by A. Newell.]
ALDRICH, Mrs. Josephine
Cables, author and philanthropist, born in
Connecticut She was but a few years old when her mother died,
leaving her in the care of two Puritan grandmothers of the most
severe school, strict in the observance of what they considered
their religious duties. They believed that a free use of the rod was
necessary to save the child's soul from destruction. This severe
treatment taught her that the Golden Rule was by far the best maxim
for morality and happiness, and no sooner was she in control of a
home of her own in Rochester, N. Y., than she gave such instruction
for the betterment of humanity by word and deed that her home became
a sort of Mecca for advance thinkers, not only of America, but
pilgrims came from Europe, Asia and Africa to confer with her. In
1882 she began inRochester, N. Y., the publication
of "The Occult World," a little paper devoted to advanced thought
and reform work. Her editorials taught liberality, justice and
mercy. Her greatest work has been in private life, and her influence
for good over the individual was remarkable. She was at one time
secretary of the Theosophical Society of the United
States, and president of the
Rochester Brotherhood. She is now in affluent circumstances in a
home in Aldrich, Ala., a mining town named for her husband Mr.
Aldrich fully sustains his wife in all her work, and she is in turn
assisting him to carry out a plan of his, whereby persons accused of
crime shall be defended before the court, at the public expense, as
diligently and ably as such persons are now prosecuted. The town of
Aldrich is a quiet, peaceful, moral
and refined community, where the rights of all are respected, and
where drink and tobacco are almost unknown. Mrs. Aldrich is
vice-president of the Woman's National Industrial League,
vice-president of the Woman's National Liberal Union, and one of the
founders of the Woman's National University and School of
Useful
and Ornamental Arts.
(American
Women, Fifteen Hundred Biographies, Vol 1, Publ. 1897. Transcribed
by Marla Snow.)
CHARLES
ARMSTRONG (1815- )
Justice of the Peace and Collector since 1862;
Harvard; born in Lime. New London Co., Conn., January 11, 1815;
resided in Big Foot Prairie, Wis., six years; came to this county in
1846; owns 163 acres of land; value of property, $8,000; was in the
Commissary Department and also Orderly Sergeant Co. C, Ninety-fifth
Regt. Ill, Vol. Inf. Married Lucretia Lake (first wife), of
Montgomery Co., New York, October 16, 1836, who died October
29,1865. Married Mary Louisa Lake (second wife), October 24,1866, of
Big Foot Prairie. Wis.; has four children by second wife - two boys
and two girls.
[Source: 1877 McHenry County, Illinois Directory;
contributed by K. Torp]
SAMUEL ARNOLD(1806-1869)
a Representative from Connecticut; born in Haddam, Conn., June 1,
1806; attended the local academy at Plainfield, Conn., and Westfield
Academy, Massachusetts; devoted most of his life to agricultural
pursuits; acquired a controlling interest in a stone quarry and
became owner of a line of schooners operating between New York and
Philadelphia; was, also, for a number of years, president of the
Bank of East Haddam; member of the State house of representatives in
1839, 1842, 1844, and again in 1851; elected as a Democrat to the
Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857-March 3, 1859); declined to be
a candidate for renomination in 1858; resumed agricultural pursuits
and quarrying; died in Haddam, Middlesex County, Conn., May 5, 1869;
interment in a mausoleum on his estate near Haddam.
[Source: Biographical Directory of the United States
Congress, 1771-Present; contributed by A.
Newell.]
 JAMES
ARTHUR ATWOOD
manager of two of Connecticut's foremost manufacturing
industries, bank president and leading citizen of Wauregan, Windham
County, Connecticut, was born in that town, May 18th, 1864. He is a
descendant of Francis and Mary Williams Atwood, of Providence, Rhode
Island, the latter a great-granddaughter of Boger Williams. Francis
Atwood's son, John Atwood, had a son John who was a sergeant in the
Revolutionary War. Sergeant John Atwood married Roby Kimball and
lived in Scituate, Rhode Island, where their son Kimball Atwood was
born. Kimball Atwood's son John moved to Williamsville, Connecticut,
and became part owner of The Williamsville Manufacturing Company,
which present representatives of the family own and manage. James S.
Atwood, son of John and father of James Arthur Atwood, was a
successful manufacturer of Wauregan, a loyal member of the
Congregational Church and a most upright, useful, and high-minded
citizen. James S. Atwood built the Wauregan Mills at Wauregan and
the Ponemah Mills at Taftville, Connecticut, and had charge of both
companies until his death. He was also president of The
Williamsville Manufacturing Company. He was representative and
presidential elector, and through example and generosity did much
for his town, especially in beautifying it and building up its
industries. Mr. Atwood's mother was Julia A. M. Haskell, a lineal
descendant of William Haskell who came from Salem, England, to
Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1642, and was prominent in the
military, religious, and political affairs of his day. He is also
descended on his father's side from Gov. Caleb Carr, Colonial
Governor of Rhode Island, and on his mother's side from Isaac
Allerton of the Mayflower. James Arthur Atwood attended the public
schools of Wauregan and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts,
where he graduated at the head of his class. He then entered the
Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, where he took the
course in mechanical engineering and graduated with the degree of
Ph.B. in 1885. On leaving college he and his twin brother, John
Walter, immediately became identified with the family manufacturing
interests in Wauregan, established by their father in 1853 and
already grown to large proportions and embracing an extensive
business.
In 1889 Mr. Atwood was appointed agent of the Wauregan
Company and he still holds the position. In 1897 he was appointed
agent of the Quinebaug Company of Danielson, Connecticut, and he
continues to hold the personal supervision of both these concerns
and devotes his time to their management. The two corporations
employ over thirteen hundred hands and comprise one of the largest
and most nourishing cotton goods industries in New England. Mr.
Atwood is also interested in the Samoset Company of Valley Falls,
Rhode Island, of which he is a director, and he is a former
president of The Williamsville Manufacturing Company of
Williamsville, Connecticut . He was a director of the Ponemah Mills
of Taftville and of the Sterling Dyeing and Finishing Company of
Sterling, Connecticut, until he sold out his interest in those
corporations. He is president of the Windham County National Bank of
Danielson, Connecticut, and a trustee of the Brooklyn Savings Bank
of Brooklyn, Connecticut.
With the exception of the college
fraternity of Delta Psi, Mr. Atwood has no fraternal ties, having
devoted all his time to business and home interests. His family
consists of a wife and two children. Mrs. Atwood is Helen Louise,
daughter of Philip and Helen Wolcott Mathewson, whom he married
December 11th, 1888. The children are J. Arthur Atwood, Jr., born
May 5th, 1890, and Dorothy, born March 27th, 1893.
General
JOHN WALTER ATWOOD
of Wauregan, Windham County, Connecticut, one of the most
successful manufacturers in New England, is of a family of
manufacturers, descendants of Francis Atwood of Providence, R. I.,
and of Mary Williams, his wife, who was great-granddaughter of Roger
Williams. Francis Atwood's son, John Atwood, had a son, John Atwood,
who was sergeant in the Revolutionary War and who settled in
Scituate, R. I. Sergeant John Atwood married Roby Kimball and they
resided the whole of their lives in Scituate, as did also their son,
Kimball Atwood.
John Atwood, son of Kimball Atwood, came to
Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut, where he was employed in the
old Williamsville mill, built in 1827 and owned by Caleb Williams.
In 1849 he became part owner and so continued till his death. His
sons, James S. and William A., inherited their father's interest in
the mill and owned a half interest in the corporation at their
death. His grandsons, Henry C. and William E. (of Williamsville) and
J. Arthur and John Walter (both of Wauregan) became sole owners of
the Williamsville Manufacturing Company in 1890, but in 1903, J.
Arthur and John Walter Atwood (both of Wauregan) sold their half
interest to their cousins, Henry C. and William E., who then became
sole owners of the corporation.
James S. Atwood, son of John and
father of J. Arthur and John Walter, who are twins, began his career
as a manufacturer in Wauregan in 1853, and met with great success,
developing the business along lines purely experimental at the
outset. The goods from Wauregan Mills and from the Poneinah Mills at
Taftville (which he built and had charge of until his death), were
sent to all parts of the world. The village of Wauregan, under the
watchful care of Mr. Atwood, became one of the most beautiful in New
England. He was a man whom everybody loved. He served in the
Legislatures of 1862 and 1868, and was an elector on the Republican
ticket in 1884.
His wife, Julia A. M. Haskell, was the daughter
of Willard Haskell, direct descendant of William Haskell, who,
coming from Salem, England, located in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in
1642, was deacon of the church, captain in the militia, selectman
and representative in the General Assembly six times.
General
John Walter Atwood, on his father's side, is also descended from
Gov. Caleb Carr, Colonial Governor of Rhode Island, and on his
mother's side, from Isaac Allerton of the Mayflower.
John Walter
Atwood was born in Wauregan, on May 18, 1864. After attending the
public schools he went to Phillips Academy at Andover,
Massachusetts, and thence to the Sheffield Scientific School, Yale.
On leaving college, he at once associated himself with the
manufacturing interests of the family. In 1888 he was appointed
superintendent of the Wauregan Mills, which position he still
occupies, displaying the same skill, judgment, and enterprise that
characterized his father and his grandfather. Also he has taken like
pride in the village of Wauregan and in every way the good works of
his ancestors are carried forward. Though always deeply interested
in public affairs and prominent in the councils of the Republican
party, he repeatedly declined office until 1899, when he accepted
election as representative in the General Assembly and served on the
committee on Appropriations. He was again elected as representative
to the General Assembly in 1903 and State Senator in 1905. He was
appointed Commissary General on the staff of the late Governor
George E. Lounsbury and later succeeded Human 0. Averill as
Paymaster General, a position to which he was reappointed by George
P. McLean, who succeeded Mr. Lounsbury as Governor.
On June 1,
1887, he married Ethel Alexander, daughter of Luther D. and Amelia
(Young) Alexander. They have two children, Helen Estelle and
Beatrice. Their home is in Wauregan.
Since the above was written,
General Atwood has been appointed Paymaster General on the staff of
Governor Woodruff.
CHARLES MONTAGUE BAKEWELL
(1867-1957)
a Representative from Connecticut; born in Pittsburgh, Pa., April
24, 1867; attended the public schools and the preparatory department
of Western University of Pennsylvania (now the University of
Pittsburgh); was graduated from the University of California at
Berkeley in 1889 and from Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., in
1894; attended the Universities of Berlin, Strassburg, and Paris
1894-1896; instructor in philosophy at Harvard University in 1896
and 1897 and at the University of California in 1897 and 1898;
associate professor at Bryn Mawr College 1898-1900; associate
professor and professor at the University of California 1900-1905;
professor of philosophy at Yale University 1905-1933; president of
the American Philosophical Association in 1910; during the First
World War served as inspector and historian, with rank of major and
deputy commissioner, under the Italian Commission of the American
Red Cross in Italy;
served in the State senate 1920-1924; served
as chairman of the commission to revise and codify the educational
laws of the State of Connecticut 1921-1923; also engaged as an
author and editor; elected as a Republican to the Seventy-third
Congress (March 4, 1933-January 3, 1935); unsuccessful candidate for
reelection in 1934 to the Seventy-fourth Congress; died in New
Haven, Conn., September 19, 1957; interment in Grove Street
Cemetery.
[Source: Biographical Directory of the United States
Congress, 1771-Present; contributed by A.
Newell.]
JOHN BALDWIN
(1772-1850)
a Representative from Connecticut; born in Mansfield, Conn.,
April 5, 1772; attended the common schools; was graduated from Brown
University, Providence, R.I., in 1797; studied law; was admitted to
the bar in 1800 and commenced practice in Windham, Conn.; probate
judge of Windham County 1818-1824; elected as an Adams to the
Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses (March 4, 1825-March 3, 1829);
affiliated with the Whig Party after its formation; resumed the
practice of law; died in Windham, Windham County, Conn., March 27,
1850; interment in Windham Cemetery.
[Source: Biographical Directory of the United States
Congress, 1771-Present; contributed by A. Newell.]
RAYMOND EARL BALDWIN
(1893-1986)
Senate Years of Service: 1946-1949
Party: Republican
a Senator from Connecticut; born
in Rye, Westchester County, N.Y., August 31, 1893; moved to
Middletown, Conn., in 1903 and attended the public schools;
graduated, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., 1916; entered
Yale University in 1916 but, when war was declared, enlisted as a
seaman in the United States Navy; assigned to officers? training
school, commissioned an ensign in February 1918, and promoted to
lieutenant (jg.) in September 1918; resigned from the Navy in August
1919 and returned to Yale University Law School, graduating in 1921;
admitted to the bar in 1921 and practiced in New Haven and
Bridgeport, Conn.; prosecutor of Stratford Town Court 1927-1930;
judge of Stratford Town Court 1931-1933; member of the State house
of representatives 1931-1933, serving as majority leader in 1933;
resumed the practice of law 1933-1938; town chairman of Stratford,
Conn. 1935-1937; Governor of Connecticut 1939-1940;
unsuccessful
candidate for reelection as Governor in 1940; again
elected Governor in 1942 and 1944, and served until his resignation
on December 25, 1946, having been elected United States Senator;
elected as a Republican to the United States Senate on November 5,
1946, to fill the vacancy in the term ending January 3, 1947, caused
by the death of Francis T. Maloney, and at the same time was elected
for the term commencing January 3, 1947, and served from December
27, 1946, until his resignation on December 16, 1949; associate
justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors; appointed chief
justice in 1959 and served until his retirement in 1963; chairman,
Connecticut Constitutional Convention 1965; died in Fairfield,
Conn., October 4, 1986; interment in Indian Hill Cemetery,
Middletown, Conn.
[Source: Biographical
Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present; contributed
by A. Newell.]
ROGER SHERMAN
BALDWIN (1793-1863)
Senate Years of Service:
1847-1851
Party: Whig
(son of Simeon Baldwin, grandson
of Roger Sherman, cousin of William Maxwell Evarts, George Frisbee
Hoar and Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar), a Senator from Connecticut; born
in New Haven, Conn., January 4, 1793; attended the common schools
and the Hopkins Grammar School; graduated from Yale College in 1811;
studied law in his father?s office and in 1812 entered the
Litchfield Law School; admitted to the bar in 1814 and commenced
practice in New Haven, Conn.; member, State senate 1837-1838;
member, State house of representatives 1840-1841; Governor of
Connecticut 1844-1846; appointed and subsequently elected as a Whig
to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death
of Jabez W. Huntington and served from November 11, 1847, to March
3, 1851; member of the peace convention held in Washington, D.C., in
1861 in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; died
in New Haven, Conn., February 19, 1863; interment
in the Grove
Street Cemetery.
[Source: Biographical Directory of the United States
Congress, 1771-Present; contributed by A. Newell.]
SIMEON BALDWIN (1761 -
1851)
(son-in-law of Roger Sherman, father of Roger Sherman Baldwin), a
Representative from Connecticut; born in Norwich, Conn., December
14, 1761; completed preparatory studies; was graduated from Yale
College in 1781; was preceptor of the academy at Albany in 1782;
tutor at Yale College from October 1783 until his resignation in
September 1786; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1786 and
commenced practice in New Haven, Conn., the same year; elected city
clerk in 1789 and served until June 1800; in 1790 was appointed
clerk of the District and Circuit Courts of the United States for
the District of Connecticut and served until November 1803, when he
resigned, having been elected to Congress; elected as a Federalist
to the Eighth Congress (March 4, 1803-March 3, 1805); declined to be
a candidate for reelection in 1804; again appointed to his former
clerkship, but was removed by Judge Edwards in 1806; associate judge
of the superior court
and of the supreme court of errors
1806-1817; president of the board of commissioners that located the
Farmington Canal 1822-1830, when he resigned; mayor of New Haven in
1826; died in New Haven, Conn., May 26, 1851; interment in the Grove
Street Cemetery.
[Source: Biographical Directory of the United States
Congress, 1771-Present.- contributed by A. Newell]
THOMAS RAYMOND BALL (1896 -
1943)
a Representative from Connecticut; born in New York City,
February 12, 1896; attended the public schools, Anglo-Saxon School,
Paris, France, Heathcote School, Harrison, N.Y., and the Art
Students League, New York City; engaged as a designer in 1916;
during the First World War served in the Depot Battalion, Seventh
New York Infantry, in 1917, and overseas with the Camouflage
Section, Fortieth United States Engineers, 1918-1919; after the war
located in Old Lyme, Conn., and engaged in architectural pursuits;
member of the board of education 1926-1938, and also served as
selectman of Old Lyme, Conn.; served in the State house of
representatives 1927-1937; elected as a Republican to the
Seventy-sixth Congress (January 3, 1939-January 3, 1941);
unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1940 to the Seventy-seventh
Congress; resumed his former pursuits at Old Lyme, Conn.; died in
Old Lyme, Conn., June 16, 1943; interment in Duck River
Cemetery.
[Source: Biographical Directory of the United States
Congress, 1771-Present; contributed by A. Newell.]
NOYES BARBER (1781 -
1844)
(uncle of Edwin Barbour Morgan and Christopher Morgan), a
Representative from Connecticut; born in Groton, New London County,
Conn., April 28, 1781; attended the common schools; engaged in
mercantile pursuits; major of the Eighth Connecticut Regiment in the
War of 1812; detailed to defend the coast towns during the blockade
by the British Fleet; member of the State house of representatives
in 1818; elected as a Republican to the Seventeenth Congress, an
Adams-Clay Republican to the Eighteenth, an Adams to the Nineteenth
and Twentieth, and an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first through
the Twenty-third Congresses (March 4, 1821-March 3, 1835);
unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1834 to the Twenty-fourth
Congress; resumed mercantile pursuits; member of all Whig State
conventions from 1836; died in Groton, Conn., January 3, 1844;
interment in Starr Cemetery.
[Source: Biographical Directory of the United States
Congress, 1771-Present; contributed by A. Newell.]
Farmer, Sec. 8; Coral P.O.; was born in
Manchester, Bennington Co., Vt., October 16, 1839; came to McHenry
Co. July 4, 1845 ; owns house and lot in village of Coral, valued at
$500; was Sergeant, in Co. K, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Regt.
Ill. Vol. Inf.
Married Harriet Oakley, of Willimantic, Conn.,
July 3, 1865 ; has four children.
[Source: 1877 McHenry County,
Illinois Directory; contributed by K. Torp]
LYMAN
BUSHNELL BRAINERD
president of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection &
Insurance Company, and director and trustee of some of the most
substantial institutions in Hartford, was born in Colchester, New
London County, Connecticut, March 27th, 1856, the son of Asa
Brainerd and Susan Elizabeth Brainerd. His father was a farmer and,
as there were seven other children to be provided for, the boy Lyman
was unable to secure a thorough education. He attended the public
schools in the country and studied one term at Wesleyan Academy,
Wilbraham, Massachusetts. After leaving school Mr. Brainerd taught a
district school in Moodus for a short time, but, although he was
successful as a teacher, he did not wish to make teaching his life
work and he embraced the first business opportunity that
offered.
In March, 1876, Mr. Brainerd began his business career
in Middletown, Connecticut, as fire-insurance solicitor for Mr.
Anson F. Fowler, who represented the Agricultural Insurance Company
of Watertown, New York, and from whom Mr. Brainerd learned the
details of the fire insurance business. Two years later, in 1878, he
left Mr. Fowler to become a canvasser for the State Mutual Fire
Insurance Company of Hartford, but at the end of a year he left this
company to accept a higher position with the Jersey City Fire
Insurance Company, with which he was identified for seven years
during which time he was promoted to the rank of general agent and
adjuster. In 1886 Mr. Brainerd entered the employ of the Equitable
Mortgage Company of New York City as negotiator of bonds. The
following year he was made secretary of the company and in 1890 he
became manager of its bond department. Mr. J. M. Allen was then
president of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance
Company and a friendship between Mr. Allen and Mr. Brainerd grew out
of Mr. Brainerd's business visits to Hartford. Through Mr. Allen Mr.
Brainerd was offered the position of assistant-treasurer of the
Hartford Steam Boiler Company and he entered upon the duties of that
office in 1894. In 1899 he was made treasurer and in 1903 he became
a director of the company. Mr. Allen died in 1903 and Mr. Brainerd
was considered the most capable and worthy man to fill his place and
on July 12th, 1904, he was elected president of the company. Mr.
Brainerd is also a director in the Case, Lockwood & Brainard
Company, in the Security Company, and in the latter he is a member
of the finance committee, he is a trustee and member of the loaning
committee of the Society for Savings, and trustee and chairman of
the executive committee of the Hartford Theological Seminary. He is
a member of the First Church of Christ ( Center Congregational
Church), of the Hartford Club and the Hartford Golf Club. He has
always been a Republican in political allegiance.
On the 28th of
October, 1903, Mr. Brainerd was married to Miss Lucy Morgan
Brainerd, by whom he has had one child, Mary Leverett. Their home is
at 144 Washington Street, Hartford.
ISAAC
WATTS BROOKS
senator from the Thirtieth District and president of the Brooks
National Bank of Torring- ton, is a native of Goshen, Litchfield
County, Connecticut . He was born at the ancestral home in the
southern part of that town on November 8th, 1838. His ancestry he
traces back to Thomas Brooks of England who came to this country in
the seventeenth century.
Mr. Brooks' parents were Watts H. Brooks
and Mary Wadhams Brooke. His father was an industrious farmer who
kept well abreast of the times and who represented Goshen in the
Legislature. The son grew up on the farm, taking his part in the
daily routine and obtaining a good education in the district schools
and at Goshen Academy. Later he went to Brown University in
Providence. He did not graduate, but subsequently he received the
degree of A.M. from that institution.
At the age of twenty-two,
he entered into the mercantile business in Goshen, where he
continued with success until 1871. During this period of ten years
he was the town clerk. In 1872 he removed to Torrington and with his
brother, under the firm name of Brooks Brothers, he established a
banking house which was to play an important part in the wonderful
industrial development of that section and of the Naugatuck Valley.
It is amply descriptive of the banking house to say that through
twenty-seven years no other bank of exchange was necessary in that
community, despite its wonderful growth as a manufacturing town. And
no national bank was organized there until 1899, when the Brooks
National Bank was incorporated with Mr. Brooks as president. Of the
Torrington Savings Bank he has been treasurer since its
incorporation in 1873, the year after he removed to
Torrington.
The benefit of his financial ability, amounting to
true genius, has been enjoyed by Torrington ever since he went there
to live, he having held the office of treasurer of the town ever
since his first election in 1872 and of the borough ever since its
incorporation in 1887. The books in each of these offices of
treasurer are remarkable for their clearness and accuracy.
From
the beginning he has been keenly interested in all that pertains to
the general welfare. Instrumental, among other things, in
establishing and perfecting the water system, he has served as
president of the Torrington Water Company since 1878. From 1885 to
1889, he was judge of the probate court for the district of
Torrington. His first term as a member of the General Assembly was
in 1884 when he was House chairman of the committee on finance. In
1893 he was again sent to represent his town in the House and was
the unanimous choice of the Republican caucus for speaker, a
position to which he was elected by a large majority in the House.
Present at every session, prompt, clear, and impartial in his
rulings, he made an enviable record as presiding officer, as was
attested by both Democrats and Republicans. In 1884 he was appointed
by Governor Waller a member of the state tax commission whose work
resulted in great improvement of the statutes relating to taxation.
In 1906 he was once more called upon to do duty in the Legislature,
this time as member of the Senate from the Thirtieth District.
In
1886 he was appointed one of the receivers for the Charter Oak Life
Insurance Company of Hartford, a position to test his abilities to
the utmost.
Senator Brooks' religious affiliations are with the
Congregational Church. He is a member of the Sons of the American
Revolution, of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America, of the
Society of Colonial Wars, and of the Torrington Club. His recreation
has been largely in the form of foreign travel.
MARO
SPAULDING CHAPMAN
late manufacturer, banker and public man, general manager,
secretary and treasurer of the Hartford Manufacturing Company,
president of the Plimpton Manufacturing Company, president of the
City Bank of Hartford, treasurer of the Manchester Light and Power
Company of Manchester, ex-representative and state senator, and a
man of great prominence in business and political affairs in
Manchester and Hartford, was born in East Haddam, Middlesex County,
Connecticut, February 13th, 1839. On the paternal side Mr. Chapman
is in the seventh generation of descent from Robert Chapman, born in
England in 1616, who came to Boston in 1635, and settled in Saybrook
in 1636. This original ancestor of the family in America was deputy
to the General Court from Saybrook forty-three times and held other
town offices of importance. Robert Chapman, second of the name, was
a prominent member of legislature, an extensive landowner and a town
surveyor. Mr. Chapman's father was Nathaniel Chapman, a tanner and
farmer, a man who was very active and energetic and who was
characterized by absolute straightforwardness and reliability and by
the strength of his convictions and opinions. His second wife, Mr.
Chapman's mother, was Hannah Percival Chapman, a woman of fine
education, strong character and vigorous mind, whose influence for
good was the strongest ever exerted upon her son.
A farmer's son
and naturally active and strong, Maro Chapman was busy both in and
out of school and began at the age of seventeen to be entirely
self-supporting. His education was confined to that afforded by the
common school of East Haddam and two years at a private school in
the same village. Farm duties took most of his time outside of
school and the home life was too busy for extensive reading, but he
made it a point then as throughout his later life to keep in touch
with all movements in business and politics. At seventeen he went to
work as clerk in the country store in his native village and a year
later he did similar work in Manchester, Connecticut.
At nineteen
he sold books by subscription throughout Pennsylvania. The next
change in his career was brought about by the outbreak of the Civil
War and its stirring challenge to young men of patriotic spirit like
young Mr. Chapman. He enlisted as a private in Company C, 12th
Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, and served with great faithfulness
for a year and six months.
At the close of his term of military
service, Mr. Chapman entered upon the career of business and public
activity which he has continued uninterruptedly ever since. From
1869 to 1874 he was engaged in the manufacture of commercial
envelopes as a member of the Plimpton Manufacturing Company of
Hartford, which secured the contract for the manufacture of stamped
envelopes for the United States government in 1874 and became the
United States Stamped Envelope Works, with Mr. Chapman as general
manager. The concern is now owned by the Hartford Manufacturing
Company, of which Mr. Chapman was general manager, secretary and
treasurer. The company employs three hundred and fifty persons and
its daily output is five and one-half million envelopes. It has
supplied all of the stamped envelopes used by the government and by
the post- office department at Washington for over thirty-two years.
It was through the tact, the perseverance and the executive ability
of Mr. Chapman that his company was able to secure the contract and
was capable of fulfilling it so successfully. The struggle for the
contract was a long and difficult one and in presenting his claim
Mr. Chapman faced tremendous opposition heavily involved in
political differences, but his shrewdness, justice and honest appeal
to the best interests of the government, backed by the high grade of
work done by his company, won the day and achieved the merited
victory.
Mr. Chapman also was most influential in starting and
developing other industries and financial organizations in Hartford
and Manchester. He was one of the founders of the Hartford Manila
Company and its president from 1878 to 1890. He originated the
Hartford, Manchester and Rockville Tramway Company, was its
president and general manager for ten years and held nearly two-
thirds of the stock until it was sold to the Shaw syndicate of
Boston in 1905. He was president of the Plimpton Manufacturing
Company, president of the City Bank of Hartford, and treasurer of
the Manchester Light and Power Company of Manchester,
Connecticut.
In public life Mr. Chapman had many honors and
responsibilities, particularly those in the gift of the Republican
party, with which he maintained a lifelong, active connection. He
represented Manchester in the State Legislature in 1882, during
which session he was chairman of the committee on cities and
boroughs. He was state senator from the second district in 1884 and
1885 and was then chairman of the committee on railroads. At the
Republican State Convention in 1900 he was unanimously chosen
presidential elector for Hartford and Tolland Counties. For ten
years he was chairman of the Road and Bridge Commission of
Manchester and he is now chairman of the " Committee of Fifteen"
appointed by the town of Manchester in 1905 to secure a better and
broader system of town government. He was a member of the Republican
Town Committee of Manchester for over thirty years and its chairman
for twelve years.
Fraternally Mr. Chapman was a Mason and an Odd
Fellow. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, of the
Drake Post of Manchester and was commander of that post continuously
for nine years. He was a Congregationalist in creed and a liberal
supporter of his church. His busy life allowed but little time for
recreation, though he always took much pleasure in driving a good
horse.
Mr. Chapman was twice married, in 1861 to Lucy Wood-
bridge, who died in 1869, leaving one daughter, and again in 1871 to
Helen Robbins of Manchester, who is the mother of two daughters.
Their home is in South Manchester, Connecticut.
The eminent
success won by Maro Chapman in business and political life added
force to his sound advice to young men starting in life. He bade
them to "be absolutely truthful and direct in everything. Strive to
make yourself so useful that you become a necessity to whatever
undertaking you engage in, or to your employer. Never watch the
clock. Be personally interested in all you attempt to do."
Maro
S. Chapman died at Yonkers, New York, March 21st, 1907. The
following editorial, taken from the Hartford Times of that date,
shows the esteem in which he was held.
" The death of Maro S.
Chapman is a loss to the community in which for many years he has
been an esteemed and useful citizen. He was a man of decisive
manner, who preferred to accomplish things peaceably and without
display, but he had courage and persistence
for any emergency. If
it came to a fight in politics or in business he took it as part of
his day's work, and always gave a good account of himself. In this
he was like the trained soldier who fights because it is his
business when certain contingencies arise, but is likely to be
rather more peaceful than some of those about him unless fighting is
the necessity of the situation. This temperament is as useful in
business as in soldiering, and Mr. Chapman was a first-rate man of
business. He made his plans carefully, he could look ahead and
estimate the future, and he was not a rainbow chaser. Fortune
interferes in the affairs of all men, but those who trust least to
fortune and guard as far as possible against contingencies become in
proportion to their capacity and opportunity the masters instead of
the slaves of chance. His business life is too well known to require
special mention here, although it is proper to mention as an
illustration his part in the making of the Manchester Street Railway
Company. He made that company what it became, and both in general
scheme and in the details of its operation he showed conclusively
his ability to plan soundly and execute effectively."
HENRY
SABIN CHASE
manufacturer and financier of Water- bury, New Haven
County, Connecticut, was born in that city, October 1st, 1855, a
descendant of early Puritan settlers who came from England to
Massachusetts in earliest Colonial days. He is the son of Augustus
Sabin Chase and Martha Starkweather Chase. His father was a banker
and manufacturer of Waterbury, and a man of prominence and
usefulness. He was the first town treasurer, served as
representative in the State Legislature, and was a member of several
of the city boards, and a promoter of many of Waterbury's foremost
institutions. Characterized by the best " New England traits"
integrity, thrift, and self-reliance, he was a man of just and cool
judgments, warm sympathies, and a great lover of nature and
literature. Mr. Chase's mother is an admirable woman whose influence
in her family has been strong and good in every respect.
Brought
up by well-to-do parents and blessed with good health, Henry S.
Chase had no obstacles to overcome to get an education. He was fond
of all boyish sports, but he was also fond of good books, and read
Latin, Greek, and English literature with zest and appreciation. He
also pursued more general courses of reading and gave more time to
this than does the average person. He attended the Waterbury public
schools, The Gunnery at Washington, Connecticut, Hopkins Grammar
School in New Haven, and then entered Yale College, where he
graduated in 1877 with the degree of B.A., and soon entered upon the
career of his choice, that of manufacturer.
The first work which
Mr. Chase undertook was that of a minor position in the office and
works of a brass mill. He is now president of the Chase Roiling Mill
Company, the Waterbury Manufacturing Company, director of the
Waterbury National Bank, and various other manufacturing and
financial corporations, and a trustee of many institutions. He is a
director of the Waterbury Hospital, the Waterbury Industrial School,
and treasurer of the Waterbury Sinking Fund. Mr. Chase is a man of
very wide interests. The growth
of manufacturing industries under
his care has been phenomenal. The personal elements that have
contributed to his success are good health, even temper,
fair-mindedness, attractive personality, tact, and intuitive
knowledge of men and affairs. He is manager of the Waterbury
American, a leading independent newspaper of New England.
As a
club man Mr. Chase has many ties and interests, being a member of
the Manhattan Club, the University Club, and the City Club of New
York, of several fishing clubs in Canada, and of various other
social and local clubs. In politics he is an Independent, having
been a Republican until 1884, when he " mugwumped." The family arc
attendants of St. John's Episcopal Church. In the matter of
recreation Mr. Chase has taken delight in horseback riding, driving,
and fishing, and, of late, automobiling; and, when indoors, whist or
other games of cards and reading. On the fourth of April, 1899, Mr.
Chase married Alice Morton, by whom he has had five children:
Mildred, Edith, Anne, Katherine, and Rodney, all of whom are now
living. Mr. Chase believes that the strongest influence upon his
life and the greatest incentive to success has been exerted by the
personality and example of his honored father. His own counsel for
others is " the pursuit of legitimate objects in legitimate ways;
hard, patient work, square and truthful dealings, and concentration
of mind and purpose."
SYLVESTER
CLARK DUNHAM
President of the Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford,
Connecticut, was born in Mansfield, Tolland County, Connecticut,
April 24th, 1846. He is the son of Jonathan Lyman Dunham and Abigail
Hunt Eldredge. On his mother's side Mr. Dunham's ancestry is
traceable to two names that will always thrill the sons and
daughters of New England; William Brewster, Ruling Elder of the
Pilgrim Company that founded the parent colony of New England at
Plymouth in 1620, and Stephen Hopkins, his fellow passenger on the
Mayflower. The part of these men in colonial history is too well
known to need repetition here. William Brewster, who was born in
1563, married Mary Eldridge, from whom Abigail Hunt Eldridge was
directly descended. The name of Eldredge, or Eldred, is of Saxon
origin, being the name of several early Saxon kings. John Eldred of
Great Saxham, Suffolk (1552-1632), was a great traveler, and one of
the founders of Virginia in 1607. He was a member of His Majesty's
Council for the Virginia Company of London, from which the Pilgrim
Fathers obtained their patent, though contrary winds carried them to
Massachusetts instead of Virginia. It is reasonably supposed that
the Mayflower Eldredges were related to this John Eldred in some
way.
Mr. Dunham's father was a farmer in occupation, a man who
was absolutely square in his relations with his fellow men. Mr.
Dunham's health as a boy was good, and as he lived in the country,
and was raised on a farm, his youth was one of vigorous industry. He
had many difficulties to overcome in acquiring an education, which
consisted of a few terms in the common schools, two country
academies, and Mount Union College. His taste in reading was of a
nature to supplement well this rather meager schooling, for he
delighted in history, biography, and the best fiction, and was a
devoted admirer of Dickens and Shakespeare, the only poet whom he
read extensively. He made such good use of his few educational
advantages that he began his work in life as a teacher in a district
school in Ohio in 1863, at the age of seventeen, choosing this
course for himself, and having parental approval and encouragement.
While in Ohio Mr. Dunham joined a little literary society organized
by the Rev. Edward Lamb, to whose influence he owes his first strong
impulse to win life's prizes. After teaching two years Mr. Dunham
became editor of the New Britain Record, spending the moments spared
from journalistic duties in studying law in the office of the Hon.
Charles E. Mitchell. He was also clerk of police court in New
Britain.
In 1871 Mr. Dunham was admitted to the Hartford County
Bar. and in 1873 he began the practice of law in Hartford in the
office of Hon. Henry C. Robinson, and he continued his legal
practice for ten years. During that time, on October 18th, 1877, he
married Man- Mercy Austin and one child, now living, was born to
them. During a part of this same decade Mr. Dunham was engaged in
mining litigations in the West for Eastern clients. From 1883 to
1885 he was secretary of the P. & F. Corbin Hardware Company of
New Britain, Connecticut. Then, at the request of the late President
James G. Batterson, he became General Counsel for the Travelers
Insurance Company of Hartford and acted in this capacity for two
years. In 1897 he was made vice-president of the company, and in
1901, upon Mr. Batterson's death, he was elected to the office of
president, which he still holds. Mr. Dunham is also a director in
several banks, insurance companies, and other corporations,
including the Connecticut Fire Insurance Company, the American
Hardware Corporation, and the International Banking Corporation, and
is treasurer of the Colorado Valley Land Company. Though his legal
education was self-conducted, Mr. Dunham's success as a lawyer won
him the position of city attorney of Hartford for three years. He
has served on the Board of Water Commissioners and in many other
official capacities.
Socially, Mr. Dunham is a member of the
Union League Club of New York, of the New England Society of
Mayflower Descendants, of the Sons of the American Revolution, of
the Twentieth Century Club of Hartford, of which literary society he
has been president, of the Hartford Club, of which he is now
vice-president, and of other local clubs and societies. Politically,
Mr. Dunham has been a life-long Republican, though he has not been
bound by party lines in local politics. His religious affiliation is
with the Congregational Church. He is a traveler of considerable
experience, and according to his own modest estimation he is "
something of a fisherman."
Though handicapped by a limited
education, and by many difficulties and disappointments, Mr. Dunham,
through the perseverance and industry which he deems the best
remedies for failure, has acquired great legal and business ability,
and a broad culture, and he has attained to such success in life as
his responsible position indicates and his steady purpose has
deserved. Mr. Dunham modestly declines to give advice to those
coming after him, but they may find it embodied in his life, the
key-note of which has been perseverance and self- development.
Professor
WILLIAM LEWIS ELKIN
director of the observatory at Yale University, is a native
of New Orleans, La., where he was born on April 29th, 1855. He was
the son. of Lewis and Jane Magoon Fitch Elkin of that city. His
father, prominent in mercantile life in the Gulf metropolis, was
especially interested in educational matters and held the important
position of superintendent of the public schools in New
Orleans.
Altogether, the youth was surrounded by an atmosphere
that inspired him to mental effort. Though his physical condition in
early childhood was not of the best, his power of application was
strong, and, under wise direction and with every advantage, his love
for learning was indulged to the utmost. After attending private
schools at home, he went abroad and studied in foreign lands, first
in Switzerland. In 1876 he was graduated from the Royal Polytechnic
School at Stuttgart, Germany, with the degree of civil
engineer.
Thence going to Strasburg he pursued his studies still
further under eminent instructors and in 1880 received from
Strasburg University the degree of Ph.D. Having followed his taste
for scientific study, and especially for astronomy, and having
received this degree, he wished to apply his knowledge and acquire
practical experience in the best way possible. Accordingly he seized
the opportunity to go to the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good
Hope, as a volunteer observer to begin with, and then, in 1881, as a
regular astronomer. There he was associated with Sir David Gill and
devoted much attention to the investigation of the parallaxes of the
southern stars.
Thus his education had been well rounded out,
when in 1884 he was summoned to New Haven to take the position of
astronomer at the University, where he now occupies the office of
director of the observatory, to which he was appointed in 1896. Yale
gave him the degree of M.A. in 1893.
Since his graduation at the
University of Strasburg, his pen has been busy with astronomical
subjects and details of his original researches, for astronomical
journals, and several valuable works have been published by him. His
investigations of the stellar parallax and of star clusters and his
photography of meteors have added materially to the scientific
literature of the day, receiving recognition in marked degree abroad
as well as in this country. He has been chosen a foreign associate
of the Royal Astronomical Society of London, and he holds membership
in the National Academy of Sciences.
Professor Elkin married Miss
Catherine Adams in 1896; their home at No. 477 Prospect Street, New
Haven, is not far from the observatory of which he is the
director.
FREDERICK
BUTTON GETMAN, Ph.D
physical chemist, instructor in physical science in the Stamford
High School and vice-president of the Getman and Judd Lumber Company
of Stamford, Connecticut, was born in Oswego, Oswego County, New
York, February 9th, 1877. His first ancestor in this country was
Frederick Getman (Kettemann) who came from Germany and settled in
the Mohawk Valley in New York State. Dr. Getman's father, Charles
Henry Getman, was a lumber merchant of Stamford and one of the most
progressive, influential and worthy citizens of that town. He was
president of the Stamford board of trade, a bank director and at one
time a member of the legislature and he was greatly esteemed for his
business capability and energy, his honesty, strength of character
and refinement. His wife, Dr. Getman's mother, was Alice Peake
Getman and her noble, womanly character and ideals exerted a
powerful influence for good upon her son's intellect and
character.
A marked interest in and aptitude for physical science
characterized Frederick Getman in early youth and promised a
scientific profession for his future work in life. He was brought up
in the small city of Stamford and his early education was acquired
at King's School in that place. He spent much time reading books on
physics and chemistry outside of school hours and as soon as he was
old enough entered the Bensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New
York, where he prepared himself for college. He then entered the
department of chemistry in the University of Virginia in
Charlottesville, Virginia, where he was graduated in 1896.
The
opening of the first school term after his graduation from the
University of Virginia found Mr. Getman in the position of
instructor in chemistry and physics in the Stamford High School,
where he remained from 1897 to 1901. From 1901 to 1903 he studied at
the Johns Hopkins University, where he was fellow in chemistry in
1902-3 and where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1903.
He spent
the college year of 1903-4 as Carnegie Research Assistant in
physical chemistry and in 1904 was called to the College of the City
of New York as lecturer in physical chemistry. In 1905 Dr. Getman
returned to Stamford as instructor in physical science in the High
School
Dr. Getman is the author of " Elements of Blowpipe
Analysis," published in 1899; of "Laboratory Exercises" and
"Exercises in Physical Chemistry," published in 1904, and of
numerous and valuable scientific articles on freezing points of
solutions and kindred subjects. He is a member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, of the American Chemical
Society, of the American Physical Society and of the Washington
Academy of Sciences and is a fellow of the London Chemical Society.
In undergraduate days his high standing won him membership in the
Phi Beta Kappa fraternity. In politics he unites with the Republican
party and in religion with the Presbyterian Church. Golf and
bicycling are his most pleasurable and helpful forms of recreation.
Dr. Getman was married November 26th, 1906, to Miss Ellen M.
Holbrook of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and makes his home at 811
Atlantic Street, Stamford. Home influences have been the strongest
upon his life and his professional success and he places " contact
with men in active life " and " private study " as next in
importance. Though a young man Dr. Getman has attained a high place
in scholarship and in scientific research and is one of the foremost
chemists of Connecticut.
A. W. GRANNISS
Farmer. Sec. 8 ; Coral P. O.; born in Litchfield, Litchfield Co.,
Conn.. September 28. 1802; came to McHenry Co. in April, 1857; owns
18 acres of land; value of property, $2,000. Married Susan Stoddard,
of Middletown, Vt.. August 11, 1839. She was born March 10, 1800;
have no children. Mrs. Granniss came from Bridgeport to McHenry
Co.
[Source: 1877 McHenry County,
Illinois Directory; contributed by K. Torp]
Farmer and Stock Raiser ; Sec. 18; Coral P. O.;
born in Suffield, Hartford Co.. Conn., April 25, 1815; came to
McHenry Co. in June, 1839 ; owns 160 acres of land; property valued
at $10,000 ; was School Commissioner four years, County Commissioner
three years and Sheriff two years; at present Township Assessor of
Coral. Married Hannah Granger, of Suffield, Hartford Co., Conn.,
October 20, 1838; she was born August 9, 1817; had nine children,
eight living.
[Source: 1877 McHenry County,
Illinois Directory; contributed by K. Torp]
Farmer and Dairy, Sec. 22; Union P.O.; Born in Yorkshire,
England, December 2, 1803 ; came to this country in June, 1819, and
to Cook Co. in May, 1834, to McHenry Co. April 15, 1842 ; owns 110
acres
[Source: 1877 McHenry County,
Illinois Directory; contributed by K. Torp]
WILLIAM
JOSEPH LONG
LONG, REV. WILLIAM JOSEPH, Ph.D., pastor
of the First Church (Congregational) of Stamford, Fairfield County,
Connecticut, who is well known for his eloquence as a preacher, his
liberality as a theologian, and for his high standing as a
naturalist and author, was born in North Attleboro, Massachusetts,
April 3d, 1867. He is of Irish parentage and is the son of Dennis
and Catherine (Burke) Long. On his mother's side he traces his
ancestry to the family of Edmund Burke. The American branch of the
family was founded in 1848.
After pursuing the courses prescribed
at the North Attleboro High School and the Bridgewater State Normal
School, William J. Long entered Harvard University, where he was
graduated in 1892. He spent the following three years in studying
for the ministry at Andover Theological Seminary, and after his
graduation from that institution he went abroad to study at the
Heidelberg University, where he received the degrees of A.M. and
Ph.D. in 1897. He also carried on further study at the Universities
of Paris and Rome, and spent the year of 1897 and '98 doing research
work in philosophy, history, and theology at those two Universities.
At that time and at later periods he traveled extensively in
Europe.
Upon his return to the United States in 1898 Dr. Long
gained immediate prominence as a preacher and liberal theologian
through his notable defense of ministerial liberty made before the
council at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in that year. In 1899 he was
ordained to the Congregational ministry at Stamford and he has been
pastor of the First Church of Stamford until recently, when overwork
and a threatened loss of eyesight compelled him most reluctantly to
resign. At present, though preaching occasionally in many cities, he
is released temporarily from the active work of the ministry.
As
a naturalist and writer William Joseph Long is well known to the
world of science and to the general public. He has made naturalistic
study the chief recreation of his vacation periods, which are spent
in exploring, in camping and salmon fishing, and which have led him
all over the northern part of North America in fruitful
explorations. Besides many excellent articles in magazines he is the
author of the following longer works: ?" The Making of Zimri
Bunker," 1898; "Ways of Wood Folk," 1899; "Wilderness Ways," 1900;
"Beasts of the Field," and "Fowls of the Air," 1901; "Following the
Deer," 1903; "School of the Woods," 1902; "A Little Brother to the
Bear," 1903; "Northern Trails," 1905; "Brier Patch Philosophy,"
1906; and "English Life and Literature," 1907; the last named book
being a scholarly history of Literature in England from the first
landing of the Anglo-Saxons until the present day. His animal books
show an intense love of nature and her folk, careful and patient
study of their ways, and are as attractive in style as they are
interesting and instructive in their nature.
In 1900 the author
married Frances Marsh Bancroft, daughter of Professor Cecil F. P.
Bancroft, LL.D., of Andover, Massachusetts. Three children, Lois,
Frances, and Bancroft Long, have been born to them. Dr. Long makes
his present home in Stamford, where, in addition to his literary
work, public lectures, and preaching, a part of his time is always
given to charitable work in his own city.
JOHN
EMERY MORRIS
MORRIS, JOHN EMERY, of Hartford, was
born in Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, November 30th,
1843. His father was Henry Morris, a sea captain who was lost at sea
when his son was an infant. On his father's side Mr. Morris is a
descendant of Edward Morris, who came from England and settled in
Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1633; and on his mother's side he traces
his ancestry back to Pierre Bontecou, a Huguenot refugee who left La
Rochelle, France, and came to New York in 1688.
Mr. Morris was
brought up in Springfield, where he attended the public schools, and
carried newspapers, until at the age of seventeen he became clerk in
the Charter Oak Bank in Hartford. This position he obtained through
the influence of his uncle, who was cashier in the bank. Four years
later he became clerk in the Travelers Insurance Company. Cashier
and assistant secretary were the steps by which in 1898 he reached
his present position of secretary and member of the board of
governors. In 1899 he became also director of the Charter Oak Bank,
a position which he still holds. For over twenty years he has been
clerk of the Second Ecclesiastical Society of Hartford. He is a
member of the Connecticut Historical Society, the Huguenot Society
of America, Sons of the American Revolution and the Order of
Founders and Patriots of America. He has written several
genealogical works.
Mr. Morris was married in 1867 to Mary P.
Felt . They have had three children, all of whom are living. He
attends the Congregational church. His favorite amusements are
fishing, tramping, and taking photographs. In the political world he
has always been associated with the Republican party.
The
successful life of Mr. Morris shows how by faithful application, and
without any exceptional advantages of education, the paper boy and
bank clerk may become a bank director and a man of prominence and
influence in the community.
CHARLES PHELPS
lawyer and state's attorney, Tolland County, Connecticut,
was born in East Hartford, Connecticut, August 10th, 1852. His
earliest ancestors in America were William and George Phelps who
emigrated from Tewksbury, England, to New England in 1630. George
Phelps first settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and came to
Windsor, Connecticut, in 1635, moving again to Westfield,
Massachusetts, where he died in 1687. Mr. Phelps is in the eighth
generation of descent from this George Phelps, the line of his
descent being through Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin (2), Benjamin (3),
Levi and the Rev. Benjamin C. Phelps, the last being Mr. Phelps'
father, a Methodist clergyman who was also chaplain and librarian of
the Connecticut State's Prison. Mr. Phelps' father was above
everything else a hard worker, and besides these offices and his
pastorate he went as missionary to the whalemen in the South
Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Mr. Phelps' mother was Sarah Parker
Humphrey and her influence was in all respects the strongest ever
exerted upon him.
It was with much difficulty that Mr. Phelps
acquired an education, for he was reared in a small village and
worked at intervals upon the farm. During one year of his school
life he went to sea. He was very fond of reading and took especial
pleasure in history and biography with Irving and Macaulay always
near at hand. After attending the schools in Wethersfield he
prepared for college and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1875.
He then read law for two years with B. H. Bill of Rockville, who was
State's Attorney, and was admitted to the Tolland County Bar in
1877.
Mr. Phelps has continued steadily in the practice of law
since his admission to the Bar, and his career as a lawyer has been
marked by many important and successful suits in both State and
United States Courts. He represented Tolland County on the State
Board of Examiners of applicants for admission to the Bar for many
years. He was county coroner from the time of the creation of that
office in 1883 until his appointment as State's Attorney, and he was
City Attorney and prosecuting attorney for a number of years. He was
the first Attorney-General of Connecticut, holding that office from
1899 to 1902. For two years, from 1897-99, he was Secretary of
State. In 1885 he was a member of the House of Representatives from
the town of Vernon, and in 1903 he was State Senator from the
twenty-third Senatorial District. In 1902 he was a delegate to the
Constitutional Convention.
The law and politics are by no means
the extent of Mr. Phelps' active interests. He is a member of the
college fraternity Psi Upsilon, of the Odd Fellows, both of the
Rising Star Lodge No. 49 at Rockville and of the Midian Encampment
at Hartford, and he is a member of the Congregational Church. He
finds his most congenial exercise in the saddle and on the links. In
addition to the other duties that make up Mr. Phelps' busy life he
is a director in the Rockville National Bank. On March 28th, 1900,
Mr. Phelps was married to Elsie Edith Sykes, a daughter of the late
George Sykes. They have had no children.
The profession of law
was Mr. Phelps' personal preference and he has persisted in it
faithfully and with great success. To home influences, first of all,
he owes his impulse to succeed and his steadfastness in following
that impulse.
[Source:
Men of Mark in Connecticut: Published by W.R. Goodspeed,
1907]
Biography Index
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