Class. 
 
 Rnnir . HL 7 
 
 CopyrightN" 
 
 COPnaGHT DEPOSIE 
 

THOMAS M. WALLER, GOVERNOR OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
y 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, 
 
 Statistical and Industrial Review 
 
 OF THE 
 
 State of Connecticut. 
 
 I=J^K.T T. 
 
 " 'v?fici<; ti no otficr {ciiiv^ fific ificc, 
 
 '^fic fiomc, ffic poit o|' fvGcrltj 
 'Slioti fictst' tccn Clllb ificilt ouct 6c, 
 '©iff time i-^ o'c^." _j, 
 
 IIjLTJSTI^-A.TEID- 
 
 THIS ISSUE IS COMPLETE IN ITSELF AND IS A PORTION OF A LARGE VOLUME NOW IN 
 PROGRESS, REPRESENTING THE INDUSTRIES OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 PRICE, ONE DOLLAR. 
 
 NEW \' O R K : 
 W. S. WEI? B & CO. . PUBLISHERS, 4 9 A- 51 PARK PLACE, 
 
 1883. 
 

 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883, by 
 
 W. S. WEBB & CO., 
 
 In the oliJce of the Librarian of Congress, at WaBhington, D. 0> 
 
 I 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Tlie following pages, which represent the constant labor of a corps of reporters, writers, editors^ 
 and printer for several months, is i)rcseuted to the puhlic. 
 
 The general idea of a history is a large expensive volume, bound in heavy board covers, 
 associated with a library and accessible only with more or less trouble. That of the publishers is to- 
 furnish ii History of Connecticut and its representative industries at a low price and in such a portable- 
 shape that " lie wlio runs may read." In order to do this at a profit, large editions are printed,, 
 enabling the pultlisliers to furnish each part at a price so low that all who wish ain possess it. 
 
 It has been the aim to mention representative mercantile houses and manufacturing establish- 
 ments in the cities and villages of which this part especially treats, that would be of interest to 
 present and future generations. 
 
 Not a line within the covers of this work has been paid for as an advertisement and no- 
 expense has been spared in its typographical execution — facts which will go far toward ita 
 favorable reception by the general piiblic and those residing in this and foreign countries to 
 whom it wiU be sent, informing them of the great prosperity of Connecticut. Acknowledg- 
 ments are especially due to the proprietors of the Haa-tford Evening Pout for permission to use 
 illustrations of the State Capitol and the Governor, together with biograjjliical sketches of 
 the general State oflScers, which will be found in the first pages of this work ; to Messrs. 
 Crocker k Co., publishers . of the Popular History of New England, a work which haa 
 generally been consulted and that portion relating to Connecticut largely reprinted, when 
 occasion required. 
 
 Among authorities consulted have been Mansfield's History and Description of New England^ 
 Hayward's Gazetteer of New England, and Webb's New England Railway and Manufacturers*' 
 Statistical Gazetteer. With sincere thanks to those who have received the representatives of 
 this work in a spirit of courtesy, to the public for its generous support, to the press for its wiso 
 discrimination that induced its hearty aid and the expression of a hope that this work will 
 be received favorably and its usefulness felt generally, 
 
 The public's obedient servants, 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. PAOK. 
 
 Biographical Sketches 9 New Haven County 11<> 
 
 Connecticut. A Poem, by Fitz-Greene New London County 128 
 
 HaUeck 8 State Government IS 
 
 Fairfield County 75 Tolland County 137 
 
 Hartford County 85 Windham County 147 
 
 History of Connecticut 65 A detailed descrijition of Cities and Villages, 
 
 Index 267 with Mercantile Ho<ises and Manufactur- 
 
 Litchfield County 99 ing Establishments follows 156 
 
 Middlesex County 109 
 
CONNECTICUT. 
 
 BY FITZ-GREENE HALLBCK. 
 
 " The woods in which we had dwilt pleasantly rustled their green leaves in the song 
 eoand of all their waters."— Montrose. 
 
 and our streams were there with the 
 
 still her gray rocks tower above the sea 
 
 That crouches at their feet, a conquered wave ; 
 
 'Tia a rough land o£ earth, and stone, and tree, 
 Where breathe.s no castled lord or cabined slave ; 
 
 Where thoughts, and tongues and hands are bold and 
 free, 
 And friends will find a welcome, foes a grave ; 
 
 And where none kneel, save when to heaven they pray, 
 
 Js'or even then, unless in their own way. 
 
 II. 
 
 Theirs is a pure republic, wild, yet strong. 
 
 A •' fierce democracie," where all are true 
 To what themselves have voted — right or wrong — 
 
 And to their laws de.nominated blue ; 
 (If red, they might to Draco's code belong.) 
 
 A vestal state, which power could not subdue. 
 Nor promise win — like her own eagle's nest, 
 Sacred — the San Marino of the West. 
 
 III. 
 
 A justice of the peace, for thi! time being. 
 They bow to, but may turn him out next year ; 
 
 They reverence their priest, but disagreeing 
 In price or creed, dismiss him without fear; 
 
 They have a natural talent for foreseeing 
 
 And knowing all things ; and should Hark appear 
 
 From his long tour in .\frica, to show 
 
 The Niger's source,- they'd meet him with— we know 
 
 IV 
 
 They love their land, because it is their own. 
 And scorn to give auglit other reason why ; 
 
 Would shake hands with a king upon his throne. 
 And think it kindness to his majesty; 
 
 A stubborn race, fearing and llattering none. 
 Such are they nurtured, such they Hve and die : 
 
 All — but a few apostates, who are meddling 
 
 With merchandise, pounds, shillings, pence, and 
 peddling ; 
 
 Or wandering through the southern countries, teaching 
 The A B < ' from Webster's spelling-book ; 
 
 Gallant and godly, making love and preaching. 
 
 And gaining by what they call " hook and crook," 
 
 And what the moralists call over-reaching, 
 A decent living. The Virginians look 
 
 Upon them with as favorable eyes 
 
 As Gabriel on the devil in paradise. 
 
 VI. 
 
 But these are but their outcasts. View them near 
 At home, where all their worth and pride is placed ; 
 
 And there their hospitable fires bum clear. 
 
 And there the lowliest farmhouse hearth is graced 
 
 With manly hearts, in piety sincere, 
 
 Faithful in love, in honor stern and chaste, 
 
 In friendship warm and true, in danger brave. 
 
 Beloved in life, and sainted in the grave. 
 
 VII. 
 
 And minds have there been nurtured, whose con- 
 trol 
 
 Is felt even in their nation's destiny; 
 Men who swayed senates with a statesman's soul, 
 
 And looked on armies with a leader's eye; 
 Names that adorn and dignify the scroll. 
 
 Whose leaves contain their country's history. 
 And tales of love and war — listen to one 
 Of the (ireen-Muuntaineer — the Stark of Bennington. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 When on that field his band the Hessians fought. 
 Briefly he spoke before the fight began : 
 
 "Soldiers! tho.se German gentlemen are bought 
 For four pounds eight and sevenpeuce per man. 
 
 By England's king ; a bargain, as is thought. 
 
 Are we worth more ? Let's prove it now we can ; 
 
 For we must beat them, boys, ere set of sun, 
 
 Ou Mary Stark's a Widow.'' It was done. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Her clear, warm heaven at noon-the mist that shrouds 
 Her twilight hills — her cool and starry eves, 
 
 The glorious splendor of her sunset clouds. 
 The rainbow beauty of her forest leaves. 
 
 Come o'er the eye, in solitude and crowds, 
 Where'er his web of song her poet weaves; 
 
 And his mind's brightest vision but displays 
 
 The autumn scenery of his boyhood's days. 
 
 X. 
 
 And when you dream of woman, and her love ; 
 
 Her truth, her tenderness, her gentle power ; 
 The maiden listening in the moonlight grove, 
 
 The mother smiling in her infant's hower ; 
 Forms. features, worshipped while we breathe or move, 
 
 Be by some spirit of your dreaming hour 
 Borne, like Loretto's chapel, through the air 
 To the green land I sing, then wake, you'll find them 
 there. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 THOMAS M. WALLER, 
 
 Governor of Connecticut. 
 
 The career of the present (Joveriior of this State 
 is not an unconimou one, in a country which affords 
 ample opportunities for men of natural jicnius and 
 honoralile ambition to push their way in spite of 
 many obstacles ; hut in the case of Thomas M. 
 Waller, there is something more of romance tlian 
 is ordinarily furnished in the lives of many men 
 who have attained merited distinction in public 
 and business affairs. It is a matter of note that a 
 majority of the Governors of this commonwealth 
 have been the architects of their own fortunes. They 
 have been " poor boys," and have encountered hard 
 rows in the struggle which finally gave them 
 personal and financial success. 
 
 Gov Waller, now forty-three years of age, was 
 horn in Xew York. His parents were Thomas 
 Christoplier and JIary Armstrong. Hoth his mother 
 and his father and his only brother, who was his 
 junior, ilied before he wa.s nine years old, and he 
 found himself alone in a great city. Obtaining 
 some assistance he was able to buy newspapers, to 
 begin the life of a newsboy. His life from that 
 time has been filled with work, and every step of 
 his way toward his exalted position has been won 
 by his own devotion to duty and cheerful submis- 
 sion to the law of labor. Of his occupation then 
 the History of New London County, which contains 
 sketches of the distinguished residents of that 
 section, says: '• Kor some months he carried papcis 
 in the lower i>arts of tlie city, finding his lie-st 
 customers, in the Tammany Hall of those days, and 
 more than one night, while he was following this 
 life, he pillowed his head on the steps of the old 
 Tribune building." In a speech, made during the 
 bust campaign in this State, Gov. Waller himself, 
 said that anybody who knows him, will justify 
 him in saying : " Since I was a newsboy in New 
 York many years ago — ever since I was selling, 
 .lie •' Herald." the "Tribune," the "Sun" and 
 "Morning Star" — uj) to the moment I accepted 
 the nomination of Governor of the great Democratic 
 party of this Commonwealth, I have been endeavor- 
 ing in an honest way, by skilled lalior and careful 
 thought, to build for myself a reputation that I 
 should not bo ashamed of, and that five boys of 
 mine should not be ashamed of either." 
 
 He gave up selling papers to go to sea, and was 
 employed on several fishing vessels, as cabin-boy 
 and cook's mate, until in 184'.» he had made 
 arrangements to ship to California, on the "Mount 
 Vernon," from Xew London. It was at this time 
 that the late Robert K. Waller, of New London, 
 found the lad, and becoming interested in him 
 atlopted him, and thereafter he assumed the name 
 of Waller. He was treated with all the considera- 
 
 tion of an own son, and in after years was aljle to 
 show a son's kindness, to those who had protected 
 him He attended the public schools of New 
 London, and was graduated .at the Bartlett High 
 School, with honors. In isiil, he was admitted to 
 the bar, and very soon after, entered as a private in 
 the Second Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, and 
 was chosen fourth sergeant of Company E. He 
 went to the front with the regiment, but was com- 
 pelled, owing to a painful afiliction of the eyes, to 
 leave the service. His spirit-stirring addresses in 
 behalf of the Govermnent during the dark days of 
 he war, did much to promote loyalty and strength- 
 en the power of tlic government. 
 
 Upon his return he entered actively into the 
 practice of his ])rofession, and from that day has 
 successively filled honorable public positions, 
 and continually become more and more favora- 
 bly known to the poo|)le of the State. In 18(j7, 
 1868, 1872, nud 1876 he was elected to the lower 
 branch of the Legislature from New London, and 
 in the latter year was Speaker of the House, a 1)0- 
 sition he filled with distingui.shed ability. lu 
 1870 he was chosen Secretary of State on the Dem- 
 ocratic ticket, headed bv Gov. English, and in 
 that service made an bom)rable record. In 1873 he 
 wa.s elected IMayor of New London, and filled 
 that office in a biisiness-liko and most acceptable 
 manner for six years. In 1875 he was chosen by 
 the .Judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts 
 to be State's Attorney for New London County, 
 and up to the time of his election as Governor he 
 held that ])<isition. 
 
 Gov. Waller has been consistently a Democrat 
 in politics, but has never posse.ssed the lea.st 
 'ligotry as a politician. He has been frankly in- 
 dependent on many occasions in conventions of 
 his party, and in other places of partisan debate. 
 As an orator he is impressive to a degree which, 
 on occasions of party strife in important gather- 
 ings, has given him a magnetic hold of men, and 
 no man of his party in the State has so often car- 
 ried convictions by the jxiwer of eloquence or 
 any other influence. In jxT.sonal manner Gov. 
 Waller is a gentleman of many attractions. 
 Pleasant and fluent in <'onversatiou, easy of ap- 
 proach, strong in his friendships, he is' greatly 
 loved by his friends, of whom he has multitudes 
 in all i)olitical i)arties and among all classes, 
 
 GEORGE G. SUMNER, 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 The family of the Lieutenant-Governor of 
 Connecticut lived at the time of his birth, Jauu- 
 arv 14, 1841, in the north part of the society of 
 Gilead. in the town of Hebron. He wius named 
 after his mother's father, George Gleaaon, who 
 
10 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 lived near the Manchester line in Glastonbury. 
 His Krandfather on his father's side was Henry 
 Peterson Sumner, a Methodist preacher in 
 Gilead When lie was about six years of age, his 
 father, John W. Sumner, moved to CoUmsville, 
 where the latter was superintendent m the axo 
 factory estabUshed bv the Collinses, whose en- 
 terprise has resulted in the building \\\y of a 
 great nianufaoturing industry. In 1852 the 
 family moved to Bolton and has lived there 
 since" George, the son, attended the district 
 school, and when about fourteen years of age 
 was sent to the Bartlett High School, at New 
 London, where he studied for a year and a halt, 
 and there met for the first time Thomas M. Wal- 
 ler, who was in the same school, laying founda- 
 tions for the professional and public life which 
 both he and Mr. Sumner subsequently entered. 
 Before reaching the age of sixteen Mr. Sumner 
 became the teacher of a district school in 
 Audover, which he successfully conducted, and 
 then went to AVilliston Seminary, at East Hamp- 
 ton, Mass., and tttted for college; but his pur- 
 pose of obtaining a university education was de- 
 feated by impaired health, and with the good 
 mental equipment which he had obtained he re- 
 turned to the farm in Bolton, working in the 
 summer time and teaching winters for about four 
 years. During this pi'i-iod he was Town Clerk 
 "for three years. Probate Clerk, and Acting 
 School Visitor. The kindness and favors of the 
 people of Bolton in those years have often been 
 the subject of Mr. Sumner's conversation with 
 his friends, and he frequently expresses his 
 pleasure in renewing old associations there upon 
 his repeated visits to his home. In 1864 he be- 
 gan the study of law with Hon. David ^I. Cal- 
 houn, the present Judge of the Hartford County 
 Court of Common Pleas, then living in Manches- 
 ter, and afterwards came to Hartford and entered 
 the law office of Waldo i- Hyde, and in 1866 was 
 admitted to the bar. In 1867 he was elected a 
 Representative in the Legislature from Bolton, 
 and in the same year Mr. Waller was for the first 
 time a memljer of the House. He was chiefly 
 instruineutitl that year in securing the passage 
 of the l)ill for a public act which gives the ac- 
 cused in a criminal trial the right to testify in 
 his own behalf. In the same year Mr. Sumner 
 established his residence in Hartford, and in 
 1868 was elected to the Board of Aldermen from 
 the Fifth Ward, and served four years. He was 
 City Attorney for one term, Associate Judge of 
 the" City Court, and Police Commissioner for 
 three years, and Recorder of the City Court for 
 four years. In these positions he served the 
 public with zeal and fidelity, and there was a 
 manifest appreciation of his worth as a i)ublic 
 servant when, in the third year of Ins member- 
 ship, a Republican Common Council refu.sod to 
 accept his resignation, and increased the salary 
 of his office as an inducement for him to remain. 
 Mr. Sumner had been prominently named for 
 the Democratic nomination for Governor at the 
 last election, but he encouraged no active move- 
 ment in his behalf, and cordially concun-ed in 
 the nomination of Mr. Waller. By common con- 
 sent he was named for the second place. The 
 high school boys in New London in 1855, and 
 
 the young legislators in 1867 had come together 
 again, each in the pursuit of an honorable ambi- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Sumner is one of the rising men m his 
 party and in the State. He has in every place of 
 public trust so justified the confidence of the 
 people that his place in public aft'airs is tlie hon- 
 orable reward of faithful service. Besides the 
 integi-ity of his character, he is a man of most 
 kindly disposition, of generous impulses, a true 
 and iiianly friend, broad in his sympathies, and 
 fair in his judgment. While consistently a party 
 man, yet he is so broad in his views, and so tol- 
 erant "of the convictions of those who entertain 
 opposing opinions, that party lines furnish no 
 measure of the esteem in which he is popularly 
 held. 
 
 D. WARD NORTHROP, 
 
 Secretary of State. 
 
 Hon. D. Ward Northrop, of Middletown, Sec- 
 retary of State, was born in the town of Sher- 
 man, Conn., February 19, 1844, and is of Scotch 
 descent, the family being among the best citizens 
 in the western part of the State. On his mater- 
 nal side he is a descendant from the Rogens 
 family, straight down from the first martyr, 
 John Rogers, in Queen Mary's reign. His grand- , 
 moth ?r, Lucrecia Rogers, was an own cousin of 
 the late Gideon Welles. Judge Northrop spent 
 his early life on a farm, and attended the district 
 school. He prepared for college at Amenia 
 Seminary, in Duchess County, N. Y. After fin- 
 ishing h"is academic education he entered W^es- 
 leyan University, in the class of '68, graduating 
 with honors in that year. For a year after grad- 
 uating, Judge Northrop taught languages in the 
 Fort Edward Institute, N. Y., at the same time 
 reading law. He then entered the Albanv Law 
 School and completed the course there in 1870. 
 In the fall of 1870 he was admitted to the bar of 
 this State in Middlesex County, settled in Mid- 
 dletown and has remained there since. In 1873 
 Judge Northrop was elected Judge of Probate 
 for the district of Middletown, and served in that 
 position faithfully and honorably until 1881, re- 
 ceiving at each re-election a considerable number 
 of Republican votes. In 1881 he declined to be 
 a candidate for re-election. In 1871 Judge 
 Northrop was elected to the General Assembly, 
 and was Chairman of the School Fund Com- 
 mittee. He was again elected in 1881, and was 
 a member of the Judiciary Committee, also of 
 the committees on Engrossed Bills and State 
 House Grounds. He was a member in 1882, 
 served on the Judiciary Committee, and was also 
 Chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills. 
 On the floor of the house Judge Northrop was 
 the recognized leader on the part of the Dem- 
 ocrats and well earned the title. Locally, Judge 
 Northrop has been many times honored. He 
 has been a member of the Common Council, 
 meuiber and Secretary of the Board of Educa- 
 tion of the City School District, Assistant Clerk 
 of Courts for ten years, member of the Board of 
 Trustees of Wesle'yan University and of its Exe- 
 cutive Committee," and in other minor positions. 
 He was for a number of years a member of the 
 
BIOORAPIIICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 11 
 
 1 I. Tiinnrntio State Central Committee. Is a meni- 
 l rr (if till' I'si Upsiloii Chiipter loeat-od in Mi<l- 
 lUetowii, iind has continneil his interest in the 
 fraternitr sinoe lie left college, rendering niueh 
 aHHistunee in the erection anil maintenance of the 
 elegant chapter honse on livad street. 
 
 Judge Northrop's grandfather, David North- 
 rop, rejjresented the town of Sherman in IHIO as 
 a meniher of the House of Representatives, and 
 his fatlier, David Northroj), served in the same 
 capacity in 1H35, thus he is the third in the line 
 of succession as member of the General Assem- 
 bly. 
 
 Judge Northrop's family have always been 
 among the best and most honored citizens of 
 Sherman and the western ]iart of the State. 
 
 Judge Northrop's advancement to office since 
 he graduated from college in 18f)8 has been 
 rapid, and shows a rare estimation of his abili- 
 ties and the esteem in which he is held among 
 all classes of citizens in the community where he 
 resides. 
 
 ALFRED R. GOODRICH, 
 
 state Treasurer. 
 
 Hon. Alfred R. Goodrich, State Treasurer, is a 
 direct descendant of Ensign William Goodricli, 
 who, with his brotlicr, .lohn Goodrich, settled in 
 Wethersticld about the year U5:!(). His grandfather, 
 Gcf)rge Goodrich, served in the Ui^volutionary war, 
 and after its close removed to the town of (rill, 
 Mass., where lie died at the advanced age of ninety- 
 two years. .V large family of cliildren survived 
 him, but his wife, Luciiulii Wells, <lied in 1S14. 
 Alfred Goodricli, the father of Alfred R. Goodrieli. 
 was bom in Gill in 1787, and occupied the old 
 homestead, where he also reared a large family of 
 children. He died in IHUfi at tlie age of seventy- 
 nine. His wife was Abigail Howland. dauglitcrof 
 Solomon Ibiwland, of Greenfield, Mas.s. She died 
 in 1821, leaving tliree sons, of whom the subject of 
 the present sketeli wsis the youngest. He was born 
 at Gill in 1818. At the age of nine years he was 
 installe<l in the family of a near relative at Vernon, 
 and has since resided there. Mr. Goodrich was 
 educated at the Deerficld Academy. Sulisetiuently 
 lie became an associate teaclier and principal in the 
 institution. In 184;i ho commen('ed the study of 
 medicine under the instruction of tlie late Alden 
 Skinner, and graduated in ls4(iwitli distinction 
 from the Berksliire Medical College. He practiced 
 for some time in New York City, and remained 
 there during the terrililc epidemic of ship fever. 
 Dr. Goodrich was himself prostrated l)y the disor 
 der, buftinally recovered from the attack. After 
 his restoration to health he returned to Vernon, and 
 has since been engaged in his i)rofession there, en- 
 tering also into mercantile and manufacturing 
 interests. In 1870 Dr. Goodricli was elected as the 
 first Democratic Representative from his town, 
 receiving, as he lias invariably done when a candi- 
 date for public olliee, a very flattering vote from 
 his ])iilitical opponents. In 1871 he wius the Demo- 
 cratic nominee for Congress in tlie tirst di.strict, and 
 came very near securing liis election. Dr. Good- 
 rich was elected State Comptroller in 1873, and 
 was reelected for the three succeeding terms, dis- 
 charging the duties of the office witli fidelity and 
 
 honor. He was successful iu largely peducing llic 
 expenses of the State. Since 1^74 he lias been 
 President of the Mutual Benefit Life Company of 
 Hartford. Previous to 1 874 he was Vice-president 
 of the Company. In 187il Dr.'Goodrich was elected 
 President of the Connecticut State Medical Society, 
 but he declined a re-election. He is also a member 
 of the State Board of Agriculture. He is a director 
 in the Rockville Savings Bank, and in the Hartford 
 Spring and Axle Company. In addition to his 
 business associations, he is still engaged in the 
 practice of his profession. Dr. Goodrich married 
 Charlotte Dobson, daughter of the late Hon. Peter 
 Dobson, the founder of cotton manufacturing 
 interests in Vernon. In politics Dr. Goodrich is a 
 Democrat 
 
 FRANK D. SLOAT, 
 
 state Comptroller. 
 
 General Frank D. Sloat, of New Haven, State 
 Comptroller, was born at Fishkill, New York, Sep- 
 tember 28, 183.5. His ancestry were Hollanders, 
 and his mother's English. After a few years of 
 clerksliip, the latter portion of the time in New 
 York City, he became identified with the New York 
 Steam Heating Company as salesman. He con- 
 tinued in this position two years, and was then in- 
 vited, in 18,")!), to become the manager of the com- 
 pany's manufactory, located at New Haven, Conn. 
 In 1802 he enlisted in a company then recruiting 
 for the Fifteenth Regiment C. V. Being too late 
 to enter that regiment, his comjiany was assigned to 
 the Twenty-seventh Regiment C. V. At the elec- 
 tion of company otliccrs, General Sloat was made 
 Second Lieutenant, and before having the post 
 rendezvous for the seat of war he was appointed 
 First Lieutenant. The term of service of the 
 regiment having expired, it returned to New Haven, 
 where General Sloat was offered the position of 
 bookkeeper and confidential secretary for Mr. C. 8. 
 Bushnell. He was also while thus employed Presi- 
 dent of the Steam Heating Company. 
 
 General Sloat, when absent from home in 1864, 
 was nominated for the imi)ortant office of Town 
 Clerk of the Town of New Ilaven by the Republi- 
 cans, and was elected. 
 
 From 1807 to 1870 he resided in Wisconsin, and 
 later was an officer of a manufacturing company in 
 Middletown, Conn. With the exception of a year 
 or two, General Sloat has resided in New Haven. 
 The exception was a residence in Middletown, 
 where he was elected a member of the Common 
 Council of that city by a fiattering majority. 
 
 General Sloat is a veteran Mason for one of his 
 age, having been a member since his majority. He 
 is a member of the Knights of Honor, and has been 
 Grand Dictator of the Grand Lodge, etc., etc. 
 
 He is a prominent member of the Grand Army of 
 the Republic, and there is no society of which he 
 is a member that has a warmer place in his heart. 
 
 A Republicim in principle, he is in no sense a 
 partisan. No man can be more sensitive and care- 
 ful than he that politics shall not cloud his friend- 
 ships and social ties. Many of General Sloat's 
 warmest friends are Democrats, and it would canse 
 him great unpleasantness to kuow that political 
 differences had lost him a friend. 
 
>e ^ 
 
 
The State Government, 1883, 
 
 OoTeninr— Tlioma-s M. Widler, Now London. 
 IjifUtenmit-Ciovernor — George G. Swmner, 
 
 Hartford. 
 Secretary of State— D. AVard Northrop, Mid- 
 
 dlotown. 
 Troa-surcr - .\. 
 Comptrollrr 
 
 R. Goodrich, Vernon. 
 Frank D. Sloat, New Haven. 
 
 SENATE. 
 
 .Vlsoi>, .Iosoi)li W. 
 Baker, TiUlniadf,'c 
 Barnes, Chester W. 
 Barrows, Clark E. 
 Boss, Euficno S. 
 Clark. William .T. 
 Coit, Kolxrt 
 Cooke, Lorrin B. 
 De Forest, Robert E. 
 Dennis. Eheuezer C 
 Elton James S. 
 Gilbert Ralph P. 
 Gunn, Gi'orj^e M. 
 Hills, .J.ihii R. 
 Kiufi, < >weii B. 
 Xorthro|i, William N. 
 Plunk.tt, .Joseph V. 
 Richardson, Milo B. 
 Scotield, Edwin L. 
 Spenci-r, Ri<'hard P. 
 Strickland, Rial 
 Sturtevaiit. Charles P. 
 Welch, Elislui N. 
 i'ale, Charles I). 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- 
 TIVES. 
 
 Abell, Charles.!., I^ebanon. 
 Alenander, Pardon M., Groton. 
 Alhii, Charles N., Putnam. 
 Amadon, William Perry, Stafford. 
 .:Vndrews, C'harles H., Darien. 
 Andrews, (Miarles S., New Britain. 
 .\rnold, Titus E., Chatliam. 
 Aver, K. Kui;ene, Franklin. 
 Babbitt, Lsaac, Bridi;ewaler. 
 Bailey, K/.ra B., Wind.sor Locks. 
 Baker, George 11., Ash ford. 
 Baldwin, Herbert C, Beacon Falls. 
 Biincroft, Horace M. , East Windsor. 
 Bantle, .Jacob, Glastonbury. 
 Barrows, Royal R., Hebron. 
 Bartlett. Prescott, Putnam. 
 Barton, Merrick, Chaplin. 
 Bass, Waterman C, Scotland 
 
 Beard, .lames II., Iluntinjiton. 
 
 Beebe, AVdIiam II., Lyme. • 
 
 Bell, Charles W.,Xorwalk. 
 
 Benedict, Abel, Sharon. 
 
 Bennett, Charles, Canterbury. 
 
 Bentley, .Fohn S., North Stonington. 
 
 Bentley, William H., C(d.,New London. 
 
 Binilhamnicr, Henry, Vernon. 
 
 Blackman, Samuel .V., Newtown. 
 
 Blackwell, .)ohn, Bloomtield. 
 
 Bliss, .John F., New Canaan. 
 
 Bowman, George A., Rev., South WimUor. 
 
 Bradley, Edward E., Gcn'l., Orange. 
 
 Branch, Levi .1.. Sprague. 
 
 Bristol, Freeman, Cheshire. 
 
 Brcuison, Ely, .Middlebury. 
 
 Brown, Frank T., Norwich. 
 
 Brown, Frederick .L, Waterbury. 
 
 Brown, Wni. .T., Ledyard. 
 
 Bulkley, Stephen, Wethersficld. 
 
 Bunnell, Norris W. , Burlington. 
 
 Burnham, James A., Hampton. 
 
 Burr, Myron .St. Clare, Killingworth. 
 
 Butler Horace B. , Middletown. 
 
 Carlisle, Elihu, Goshen. 
 
 Carrier, Ral|)h T. , Colchester. 
 
 Carroll, Patrick, Newtown. 
 
 Carter, Cilvin II., Wiiterbury. 
 
 Carter, Henry B.. Wolcott. 
 
 Carter, Ruel, Warnii . 
 
 Case, Fred us M., Windsor. 
 
 Catlin Lyman S. . Stratford. 
 
 Cheney, Frank JL, Manchester. 
 
 Child, Joliii, Saylirook. 
 
 Clark, Thos. G. . Canterbury. 
 
 Clark, Wm. H., Jr.. Chester. 
 
 Cleveland, Edward S., Hartford. 
 
 Coleman, .Alarvin P., Coventry. 
 
 Cook, James N. , Voluntown. 
 
 Cook, Marcus E., Wallingforil. 
 
 Cook, Reuben T., Meriden. 
 
 Couch, E. P., Stonington. 
 
 Cowdery, Oliver P., Hartland. 
 
 Cowles, Geo. R., Norwalk. 
 
 Cowles, Horace, Morris. 
 
 Cressey, R. I , Norfolk. 
 
 Cundall, EilwardL., Brooklyn. 
 
 Curtiss, Wallace K., Harwinton. 
 
 Daggett, S. Henry, .\ndover. 
 
 Davis, Clinton B., Haddam. 
 
 Davis, Noah Chapin, Staft'ord. 
 
 Delano, Thos. H., Greenwich. 
 
 De Wolfe. Roger W., Old Lyme. 
 
 Downes, William E.. Derby. 
 
 Doyle, William H., Litchfield. 
 
 Drak.', .Samuel 1)., Windsor. 
 
 Durand, George G., Bethel. 
 
14 
 
 THE STATE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Diiraud, Wm. Cecil, Milford. 
 Eaton, .\i-thiir W., East Hartford. 
 Edwards, Geo. W., M. D., (Irauby. 
 Eldredge, Geo., Groton. 
 Eno, Luman B., Somers. 
 Essex, Charles C, Williugtou. 
 Fitts, Thos. K., Ashford. 
 Fleischer, Hermann, New Britain. 
 Fonda, John E., Colebrook. 
 Foote, Charles, North Brauford. 
 Forbes, Alex. W., East Haven. 
 Fowler, Amos T. , Windham. 
 French, Wm. G., Watertown. 
 Gardner, Washington E. , Waterford. 
 Gates, Wm. P., Lebanon. 
 Gay, Erastus, Farmington. 
 Geib, Henry P., Stamford. 
 Gillette, Rufus M., Prospect. 
 Oilman, Ashbel, East Hartford. 
 Gladwin, Richard H., East Iladdam. 
 Gorham, Frank, M. D., Weston. 
 Griswold, Edward, Guilford. 
 Griswold, Rufus W., Rocky Hill. 
 Grover, Lester K.. Somers. 
 Grover, Wm. B., Fairfield. 
 Hart, Lewis D., Winchester. 
 Henry, E. Stevens, Vernon. 
 Hilliard, Elisha C, Manchester. 
 Hitclicock, Roland Judge, Winchester. 
 Horace, M. Bancroft, East Windsor. 
 Howe, Andrew J., Bozrah. 
 Hoyt, Albert B., Danl)ury. 
 Huhbell, James T., Wilton. 
 Humphrey, Lucius C. , Farmington. 
 Hungcrford, L. Beach, Sherman. 
 Hurcl, Samuel S., Monroe. 
 Hurll)ut, Hiram II., Bristol. 
 Husted, Neliemiah H., Greenwich. 
 Hyde, Fred'k, Pomfret. 
 Jackson, Alfred, Durham. 
 James, Coley, Torrington. 
 Johnson, John P., Clinton. 
 Jones, Flavel, Marlborough. 
 Kellogg, Henry A., New Hartford. 
 Kirtland, Ozias H., Old Saybrook. 
 Law, Geo. II., Killingly. 
 Law, Wm. H., New Haven. 
 Lockwood, David B., Bridgeport. 
 Loomis, Geo. H., Columbia. 
 Lucas, Aaron, Preston. 
 Luther, Linus A., Lyme. 
 Lyman, Charles P., Washington. 
 Lyon, George N., Eastport. 
 Mahan, Bryan F., New London. 
 Main, Charles H. , North Stonington. 
 Maun, Bela A., Hamden. 
 Markham, H. P., Chatham. 
 McCarty, Thomas, Lisbon. 
 McLean, George P., Simsbury. 
 McNamara, Timothy B., Plymouth. 
 Mead, Henry J. , North Canaan. 
 Merrill, Henry C. ,• New Hartford, 
 Merwin, Nathan P. , Milford. 
 Middleton, John, Entield. 
 Miller, Edward D. , Glastonbury. 
 Miller, James E., Redding. 
 Mills, Gustavus D., East Granby. 
 Miner, Edward S., Torrington. 
 Miner, William C, Madison. 
 
 Minor, Chas. William, Stamford. 
 
 Mitchell, Nelson W., Southbury. 
 
 Mix, John W., Cheshire. 
 
 !Mooney, Patrick, WaUingford. 
 
 Morehouse, Chas. B. , Jr., Ridgelield. 
 
 Morgan, Daniel N. , Bridgeport. 
 
 Morse, John, Meriden. 
 
 Morse, Nathan C, Woodstock. 
 
 Morton, Arthur J., Tolland. 
 
 Munger, Elisha, East Lyme. 
 
 Neal, Elisha J., Southingtou. 
 
 Newcomb, Loren, Tolland. 
 
 Newton, William C, Durham. 
 
 Nichols, Geo, II., Thompson, 
 
 Nickerson, Leonard J., Cornwall. 
 
 North, Geo. P. Thomaston. 
 
 Odell, Wm. T., Washington. 
 
 Osborn, Newton, Newington. 
 
 Osborn, Orlando O., Oxford. 
 
 Palmer, Alex. S., Jr., Stonington. 
 
 Pease, Lorin H., Entield. 
 
 Perkins Cliarles C, Bethany. 
 
 Perkins. John S., Salisl)ury. 
 
 Perkins, Orlando, Cornwall. 
 
 Perry, Wilbert Warren, Hartford. 
 
 Pine. Charles H. (Speaker of the House, Session of 
 
 1883), Derby. 
 Pomeroy, Newton S., Suffield. 
 Porter, Charles, Redding. 
 Post, John A., Westbrook. 
 Rathbone, George B., Colchester. 
 Richmond, Henry A., Preston. 
 Rindge, Thomas, Union. 
 Bobbins, Edward Denmore, Wetherafield. 
 Rogers, Frank L., Fairfield. 
 Rogers, J. Randolph, Muntville. 
 Rosiibrooks, Geo. L. , Mansfield. 
 Rossiter, Henry M., Guilford. 
 Rouse, Willis D., Plainfield. 
 Buggies, Sidney B. , Southington. 
 Russell, Charles A., Col., Killingly. 
 Russel, Cliarles T., Harwinton. 
 Ryder, James, Gen'I, Danbury. 
 Savage, Geo. P., Cromwell. 
 Sedgwick, Timothy, West Hartford. 
 Sevin, N. Douglass, Norwich. 
 Shailer, Orrin, Haddam. 
 Sherwood, Moses, Westport. 
 Simonds, William E., Canton. 
 Sissou, Wm. M., East Haddam. 
 Smith, Guilford, Windham. 
 Snow, O. M., Norfolk. 
 Southworth, Jabez, Saybrook. 
 Spencer, Thomas B., Colebrook. 
 Sjjerry, Norman, Seymour. 
 Sprague, Albert B., Plainfield. 
 Squires, Aaron H., New Milford. 
 Starkey, Horace W. , Essex. 
 Starr, E. Ratchford, Litchfield. 
 Stevens, Daniel K. , Killiugworth. 
 Still, James S., WilUugton. 
 St. John, Edward F., Simsbury. 
 Street, Gilbert S., Salisbury. 
 Strong, Newton B., Portland. 
 Sumner, Edwin G., Mansfield. 
 Tavlor, Charles, New MUford. 
 Terrill, Moses W., Middlefield. 
 Thomas, Albert N. , Ridgefield. 
 Thomi)son, Joseph Abbott, Ellington. 
 
rilE STATE i;0VKliNMt:yT. 
 
 15 
 
 Tiffanr, St('])h('ii, OriKwold. 
 Tiffiuiv, Tiiiiotliv C, Uinklmnistcd. 
 Todd,' !•'. Havili'ii, Nortli Hiivcii. 
 ToUes, Fivimmt W., Naufjutnck. 
 Towni', Eilwanl S., Hc>v., Plaiuville. 
 Towno, Eli M., Wooilhurv. 
 Troll]), Aloxamlcr, New Haven. 
 Vieto, Henry <f., Oranhv. 
 Wa<lliani», Willmr II.. Goslien. 
 Waitc, Silas .V., Sterling. 
 ■\\'alo8, Andrew .1., Union. 
 Walker, CliarlesT., Woodbridge. 
 Walker, Frcd'k A., Woodbury. 
 Walsh, Jolin T., Middletown. 
 Ward. James J., Kiiston. 
 Ward, .lolin E., Bristol. 
 Ward, William .M. W., Ilartland. 
 Warner. Charles ('., Sufficld. 
 Warner, Klihu S., Berlin. 
 Wells, Lewis G., Woodstock. 
 Wells, Philip W., Roxhury. 
 Wheeler, John K. , Coventry. 
 White, Jahez Lee, Bolton. 
 Whitehead, James S. . New Fairfield. 
 Wilbur, Thomas, Thompson. 
 Williams, Amos L., Brookfield. 
 Williams Charles G., Pomfret. 
 
 Williams, Joseph Ilanford, Trumbull. 
 Williams, Nelson N., Salem. 
 Wilson, James Martin, Avon. 
 Wincluster, Kdwin M., Sharon. 
 Winegar, liinus B. , Kent. 
 Wol(!(jtt. ('harles E., Canaan. 
 Wood, Jonathan Nichols, Hebron. 
 Woottcn, Jonathan, B<tlileliem. 
 Wright, William Alvin, Branford. 
 Youngs, Wilfred D., Barkhamsted. 
 
 UNITED STATES SENATORS. 
 
 Orville H. Piatt, term expires 1885. 
 Joseph R. Hawley, term expires 1887. 
 
 REPRESENTATIVES IN 
 CONGRESS. 
 
 Term began March 4, 1883. 
 Wm. W. Eaton, First District. 
 Charles L. Mitchell. Second District. 
 John T. Wait, Third District. 
 Edward W. Seymour, Fourth District. 
 
 •*|^ 
 
 /• 
 
CONNECTICUT. 
 
 -►* — ♦♦♦ *4 
 
 THE State of Connecticut dcrivos its nnnio from 
 its most lieautifiil natunil feature, tlie eliief 
 river of New Knglimcl, wliieli, entiriny its north- 
 ern borders from Massnchusctts. divides the State, 
 east and west, into two unequal portions, and 
 empties iuto Long Island Sound between the towns 
 of Old Lyme and Saybrook. The river's name, in 
 the original Indian tongue, was C^uinnituk, which, 
 as has been ascertained l)y that Connceticut 
 scholar, Dr. .1. Hammond Trumlmll, who is the 
 foremost authority in this country on Indian lan- 
 guage, signified, "The long, tidal river." This 
 river is at this day navigable for steaml)oats only 
 as far as Hartford, its capital, some fifty miles 
 from its mouth, and it was only to a point a short 
 distance above Hartford that the first white 
 explorers of the river attained. 
 
 It was in I'll t that this first exploring expedition 
 was made, under comnuuid of ('apt. Adrian Block, 
 commander of an .Vnisterdam ship, one of five 
 vessels sent out from the Xew Netherlands, who, 
 having entered Long Island Sound from the east- 
 ward, coasted along until he found the river, up 
 which he sailed, as stated. Block Island, near the 
 entrance of the Sound, still preserves the name of 
 this discoverer, upon whose voyage, most glowingly 
 reported at liome, the Dutch laid tlieir claim to the 
 territory now known as Connecticut. 
 
 The English claim to this same land was based 
 prinnuily upon a patent granted, in Ui:jl, to Lord 
 Say and Seal, Lord Brooke, Sir Kichard Saltonstall 
 and their associates, by Kobert, P^arl of Warwick, 
 who derived his title from the patent of New Eng- 
 land granted by .lames I. in 1(!','0. 
 
 In l(!:i;t, the rival claimants each made their first 
 lodgments on the soil of the State, the Dutch 
 building a fort on the river at Hartford, and one 
 William Holmes, of Plymouth Colony, a house at 
 Windsor, some seven miles north. For a few years 
 there wtis contention between the two nationalities, 
 but ere long the Dutch yielded, sold out to the 
 English, and retired. 
 
 In lii35 and IG'.ifi, Rev. Thomas Hooker, who 
 had won a reputation in England and Holland as 
 one of the alilest of the non-conforming clergy, 
 emigrated, with nearly his whole congregation, 
 from Cambridge, Mass., where he had been settled, 
 and f<inuded the towns of Hartford, Wethersfiekl 
 and Windsor. 
 
 The motive for the wholesale emigration of Mr. 
 Hooker and his church, including his associate 
 teacher, Samuel Stone, and, a little later, .John 
 Haynes, who in ir>:i.5, was governor of Massachu- 
 setts, has been a matter of .some speculation. 
 
 In D!:i5. also, .John Winthrop the younger, son 
 of the Massachusetts governor, built a fort at Say- 
 brook under direct commission from the English 
 proprietaries. 
 
 It is a satisfaction to record tliat Hartford, then 
 a tract of six square miles, was honorably purchased 
 of the Indian tribes who inhabited it. 
 
 In lOUG, the first General Court was held at 
 Hartford 
 
 In 1637, the new Colony found itself, in its very 
 beginnings, involved in war with the powerful 
 Pe(iuod Indians — a war whi h threatened its v<iy 
 existence, but which ended in 1037 with the virtual 
 extermination of the tribe, conseunent upon two 
 crushing defeats inflicted upon them by colonial 
 troops led by Capt. .John Mason. 
 
 New Haven was settled in 1()3S from Boston by 
 English .settlers, headed by Thcophilus Eaton and 
 Uev. .John Davenport. These ailopted a constitu- 
 tion of their own, without warrant or sanction 
 from England, and, purchasing the land from the 
 Indians, proceeded to lay out the beautiful Elm 
 City in regular squares, upon a plain as level as 
 Huunymctle, with a fine liarbor opening into the 
 Sound. The site was chosen with reference to its 
 facilities for trade and con\mercc, avocations in 
 which the settlers had been engaged in England. 
 The inhabitants of this Colony were greatly annoyed 
 at the consolidation with Connecticut Colony by 
 order of the crown in l(i(J.5, especially as in New 
 Haven, suffrage had been restricted to church- 
 members, a restriction that did not prevail in Con- 
 necticut. From 1701 to 1S72, the legislature met 
 alternately in Hartford and New Haven ; but, in 
 IH72, the people of the State voted that Hartford 
 .should be the single capital, and a very largo and 
 handsome State capitol building was completed 
 in 1879, and occupied in that city. It is built 
 of marble, and cost, site included, more than 
 ^3,000.0110. 
 
 In I (i'-VJ. the people of the State adopted their 
 first constitution, of which that ripestudent of New 
 England history. Dr. Leonard Bac(ni, of New 
 Haven, has said that " It is the earliest precedent 
 of a written constitution proceeding from a people, 
 and in their name, establishing and defining 
 a government." 
 
 The first governor chosen under the constitution 
 w.is .lohn Haynes, who alternated in the office with 
 Edward Hopkins for many years ; for until Ki.'jy, 
 it was not the custom to allow a governor to serve 
 two consecutive years, although in the alternate 
 years he might be, and generally was, elected 
 "deputy governor," an otJice equivalent to that of 
 onr modern lieutenant-governor. 
 
 In lOJiS, Connecticut joined the New England 
 Confederation — a creation, in the main, of Haynes 
 and Hooker, for the purpose of combining the 
 strength of the Colonies against Indian wars and 
 Dutch aggression. 
 
 In l().j7, ex-Covemor Hopkins died in England, 
 leaving haudsume legacies to executors in the 
 
€6 
 
 THE mSTORWAL, STATISTICAL AXD IXDCSTRIAL 
 
 Colonies " foi' the breeding up of hopeful youths 
 both at the graininiir school and college, for the 
 pul)lic service of the country in future times." 
 These funds were the foundation of the present 
 Hopkins grammar school, of New Haven, and the 
 Hartford high school. In 10.57, John Winthrop 
 was elected governor of Connecticut, a position to 
 which, after the year l(i.58, he was annually 
 re-elected until his death in 1G7G. Few names in 
 the New England annals are comparable to that of 
 this gentlemen, scliolar, traveler, and physician of 
 note, wliose name is ))reserved in many parts of the 
 State, notably in New London, which he founded 
 in l(i4G. 
 
 In 16()2, Governor Winthrop made a visit to 
 England in the interests of the Colony. He found 
 in Lord Say and Seal, the only survivor of the 
 original patentees, a warm friend, through whose 
 influence he was enabled to gain audience with 
 Charles II. At this interview, Wintlirop, with his 
 wonted tact, first presented the king a ring tliat 
 had been given by Charles I. to his grandfather, 
 and then presented a petition from the Colony of 
 Connecticut for a I'oyal charter. This charter, freely 
 granted by the king, can still be seen in the office 
 of tlie secretary of state at Hartford, framed with 
 wood from the Charter Oak. Based, as this instru- 
 ment was, upon the colonial constitution of 1639, 
 it was indeed a royal gift, and proved of great 
 value to the young Colony, as evidenced by the 
 many subsequent attempts to revoke it on the part 
 of the successors of Charles II. 
 
 L'ljon the death of Gov. Winthrop, in 1676, 
 William Leete — who had served a term of six years 
 as governor of New Haven Colony — was chosen his 
 successor, Connecticut thus showing that the union 
 with New Haven was complete and cordial. In 
 1683, 3Iaj. Roljert Treat succeeded to the guberna- 
 torial chair on the death of Gov. Leete. He was a 
 son of one of the original patentees of the Colony, 
 and at the time of his election a resident of 
 Milford. He was one of the few men in tliat sec- 
 tion who dared to favor the union of New Haven 
 with Connecticut, in face of the opposition of 
 Davenport, and was instrumental, with Winthrop, 
 in bringing about that union. Like his predecessor. 
 Gov. Leete, he was one of those who helped to 
 harlior, conceal, and assist the regicides, Goffe and 
 Whalley, during their concealmeut in New Haven 
 Colony. He won his military rank during King 
 Philip's war in 167.5-G, in course of which he 
 distinguished himself in command of the Connecti- 
 cut troops serving in Massacliusetts. 
 
 In 1687, during the administration of Gov. Treat, 
 came the usurpation of Sir Kdniund Andros, who, 
 having l)een ap|)ointed governor of New England 
 Jjy James H., assumed sway over the Colonies until 
 the news of the fall of his royal master reached 
 America in IGS'J. Tlie tale of Andros' futile ef- 
 forts to get the charter of Connecticut, and of how 
 it disappeared, to reappear after his downfall, lias 
 made the name and fame of the Charter Oak 
 synonymous with that of tlie State. 
 
 In KiOO, and again in l(i03, the State furnished 
 its quota of troops for the war against tlie French 
 and Indians. 
 
 In 1 093, Gov. Fletcher, of the New York Col- 
 ony, demanded of Connecticut that its militia 
 should be jjut under his orders, under powers con- 
 
 ferred ujion him by William and Mary. The as- 
 sembly and the people declined to accede to this 
 demand, and sent Fitz John Wintlirop— son of the 
 late governor — to England to remonstrate. He was 
 successful in procuring a revocation of the order, 
 and was i-ewarded tlierefor Ijy the assembly with a 
 jjreseut of three hundred pounds sterling, and in 
 1097, was chosen governor. 
 
 In 1701. the college was founded at Saybrook. 
 that, seventeen years later, was removed to New 
 Haven, and christened Yale College in honor of its 
 first private benefactor, Elihu Yale. 
 
 During the reign of Queen Anne (1703-1 4), an- 
 other futile attempt was made in England to force 
 Connecticut to give up its charter, tlie failure of 
 which was due, as in prior cases, to the cool- 
 headed obstinacy of the colonists. 
 
 In 1707, Fitz John Winthrop died while gover- 
 nor. He was succeeded by Rev. Gurdon Salton- 
 stall, a gentleman of marked nobility of carriage 
 and character, wlio left the ministry to become 
 governor — an office to which he was re-elected for 
 seventeen years. During liis administration, " elec- 
 tion sermons were inaugurated, it being enacted by 
 the legislature that, on the day apjiointed by law for 
 choosing rulers, the ministers of the gospel should 
 jjreach to the freemen a sermon projier for their 
 direction in the work before them." This custom 
 was ol)served, almost without intermission, until 
 1 830, when it was finally abandoned. A compan- 
 ion custom of baking "election cake" for the same 
 ceremony, whose origin is venerable, but unknown, 
 lasted until the abandonment of spring elections in 
 1870. 
 
 In 1708, the "Siybrook Platform " was adopted 
 by the clergy of the State assembled in council at 
 the College Commencement. This furnished a 
 uniform standard or confession of faith for the 
 churches of the State, and a guide for the instruc- 
 tion of the college which was then designed chiefly 
 for the education of the young men for the minis- 
 try. As all the churches first formed were Congre- 
 gational, this iJlatform was a matter of such im- 
 portance that, when the churches had ratified it, 
 the Assembly passed a vote expressing its gratifica- 
 tion thereat. 
 
 In 1710, the Saybrook Platform was published 
 in_ book form by Thomas Short— the first book 
 ])rinted in Connecticut. Short soon died and was 
 succeeded by Timothy Greene, who settled in New 
 London as State printer — a ]josition held l)y him- 
 self and heirs till after the Revolution. The first 
 newspaper in tlie State was the ''Connecticut Ga- 
 zette," published in New Haven in 17.5.5; the 
 second, the "New London Summary," was stivrted 
 by Greene in 17.58, and the third, "the "Connec- 
 ticut Courant," begun in Hartford in 1704, has 
 been continuously published there ever since, its 
 principal editors at this date being Gen. Joseph R. 
 Hawley, and the equally well-known Charles Dud- 
 ley Warner. 
 
 In 1 734, Gov. Saltonstall died, and was succeeded 
 by Joseph Talcott, wlio, like his iiredecessor, was 
 elected every year until his death in 1741. A touch- 
 ing incident of his guliernatorial career was the 
 sudden death of his wife during the legislative 
 session of 1738. Custom then required the pres- 
 ence of governor, or deputy governor, ,at all ses- 
 sions of the assembly, and as the latter was absent 
 
RE\1K\\' OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICi'T. 
 
 6'^ 
 
 
 SCENE AT HIGH ROCK GROVE. A SUMMER RESORT ON THE NAUGATUCK RAILROAD 
 
68 
 
 THE IHSTOHICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 from the city, and liis wife had died after the 
 morning session, Gov. Talcott was compelled to 
 leave her dead l>ody to preside over the afternoon ses- 
 sion, which was, of course, made as short as pos- 
 sil)le. His conduct on this occasiou is spoken of 
 in an address of condolence made by the iissemlily, 
 as betokening " greatness and i)reseuce of mind." 
 In 1750, the towns of Eiitield, Sufiield, Wood- 
 stock and Somers, which since 1713 had been gov- 
 erned by Massachusetts, were returned to Connec- 
 cut. It "is owing to a confusion that then occurred 
 as to the correct boundaries of tlie town of Sutfield 
 that a tract of hi'.ul of two miles square on tlie 
 west of that town, and cast of Granby belongs to 
 Massachusetts, making that queer jut that appears 
 on the northern boundary of Connecticut. As tlie 
 Southwick ponds, projecting well into Massaciiu- 
 sctts, cover most of this space no recent attempts 
 have been made to recti fv the line. 
 
 In 1751, Gen. Roger 'Wolcott, who had won his 
 rank in tlie French war, became governor. A scion 
 of a family that had held office in the Colony from 
 its first settlement, he was the first to attain the 
 chief magistracy, an honor afterwards held by his 
 son, Oliver, in 17'J(J and 1797, and grandson. Oliver 
 •2d, from 1>S18 to 1827 ; while his daughter, Ursula, 
 who married Gov. Matthew Griswold (1784), and 
 was the mother of Gov. Roger Griswold (1811), 
 was related and connected with twelve governors 
 and thirty-two judges, as shown by an interesting 
 paper prepared by Prof. E. E. Salisbury, of New 
 Haven, for the "New England Genealogical Reg- 
 ister." 
 
 In 175fi, Connecticut furnished 2,000 men for 
 operations against Canada in the English war 
 against the French, and 5,000 more after the dis- 
 aster at Fort AV'iUiam Henry. It was in this war 
 that Israel Putnam and Benedict Arnold won their 
 first laurels as Connecticut soldiers. 
 
 In 1763, a small band of Connecticut emigrants 
 settled the beautiful Wyoming Valley in Pennsyl- 
 vania — a section of country over which Connecticut 
 claimed jurisdiction under its original patents — a 
 claim disputed, however, by Pennsylvania. The 
 settlers suffered much annoyance from the disputed 
 proprietorship, but maintained their position in the 
 valley, although in 177S, during the Revolution, a 
 band of 400 British and 700 Indians overran the 
 valley, the latter putting to the torture so many 
 of its iuhal->itants, that the " Massacre of AVyom- 
 ing" has i)assed into history and legend as an ex- 
 ample of barbaric cruelty. The title to the land 
 was finally awarded Pennsylvania, to whose govern- 
 ment the Connecticut cjlo.iists then submitted.. 
 
 When in 1705, the "Stamp Act " went into force, 
 all Connecticut was abliizj with indignation, and 
 Jared IngersoU of New Haven, the stamp-master 
 appointed by the crown, was forced to resign tlie 
 ])ost, in peril of his life, by a body of some 500 
 farmers, all bearing staves, who overhauled him in 
 the streets of old Wethersfield, as he was on his 
 way to Hartford to put himself in communication 
 with Gov. Fitch (liimself of Tory jiroclivitics), and 
 the assembly. Tlie clergy of the State, headed by 
 that earnest patriot. Rev. Stephen .Johnson of Lyme, 
 were active in incitin;; tlie jieople to opposition, 
 and when in October Ciov. Fitch, dcsjiite the earnest 
 remonstrance of two-thirds of his council, took 
 the oath to enforce the Stamp Act, seven of the 
 
 eleven councilors — .among whom were two of his 
 successors in the executive chair — .Jonathan Trum- 
 bull and Matthew Cxiiswold. left the room rather 
 than witness the humiliating spectacle. The as- 
 sembly and people indorsed this protest and, in 
 the ensuing election in 17(jfi, replaced Fitch, the 
 Tory, with William Pitkin, the patriot, with Trum- 
 bull as deputy governor. 
 
 In 1709, .Jonathan Trumbull, who was the famed 
 " Brother Jonathan" of the Revolution, was pro- 
 moted to be governor, a ])ost to which he was 
 annually re-elected till 1784, when, at the age of 
 seventy-three, he refused fuither service, after 
 having held one public otlice and another in the 
 State for fifty-one years. Tlie friend and counsellor 
 of Washington, who bestowed upon him that name, 
 " Brother .Jonathan," that has since come to be ap- 
 plied to the United States as a nation, the honor of 
 having been the great war governor of the Revolu- 
 tion belongs to Trumbull, as did a similar honor to 
 his townsman Wm. A. Buckingham, iu the war of 
 the Rebellion. As iu the case of Wolcott, a son and 
 grandson of Trumbull became governors of the 
 State. 
 
 In 1774, Connecticut prepared for hostilities, 
 ordering New London fortified, and the towns to 
 lay in ammunition. 
 
 In 1775, the assembly commissioned David 
 Wooster a major-general, and Israel Putnam, a 
 brigadier. With the first news of Lexington, Put- 
 nam rode post-haste to Camliridge, whither he had 
 ordered his troojis to join him. In the words of 
 Bancroft, who is no partisan of Putnam, "He 
 brought to the service of his country, courage 
 which during the war was never questioned, and a 
 heart than which none throbbed more honestly or 
 warmly for American freedom." From all over 
 Connecticut volunteers were jjushing for the seat of 
 war, when the assembly voteil to raise six regiments 
 of 1,000 each. The total number of men raised by 
 the State during the whole war was 31,959, out of 
 a population of 238,141, a larger number than were 
 enlisted in any other State excejit Massachusetts, 
 although Connecticut was but seventh in population 
 of the Old Thirteen. At Bunker Hill Geu. Put- 
 nam was certainly ))resent, aud useful, however the 
 question of who held command may lie settled. 
 
 At the disastrous rejmlso of the Revolutionary 
 troops at Qujbec, Arnold, who had been in service 
 from the outbreak of the war, was in command, 
 with Montgomery, aud had his leg shattered. 
 
 In June, 1776, the assembly instructed its repre- 
 sentatives in Congress to "give their assent to a 
 Declaration of Independence." The Connecticut 
 signers of the great document of July 4th. 1776, 
 were Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William 
 Williams and Oliver Wolcott, two of whom, 
 Huntington and Wolcott, were afterwards gov- 
 ernors of the State. 
 
 In August, 1776, Putnam commanded the 
 Americans in the battle of Long Island, a defeat 
 for which th(^ latest and most careful writers on the 
 subject acepiit him of the resjjonsibility. 
 
 It was soon after this that Nathan Hale, a gallant 
 young officer of a Connecticut regiment, a native 
 of Coventry, but twenty-one years old at this time, 
 met the sad fate of a spy, owing to his capture by 
 the British, while returning from their camp on 
 Long Island, whither he had Ijeen sent by Wash- 
 
i:i:V[EW OP THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 m 
 
 ington to procure inteUi'^encc and jilans of the 
 cni-my's works, in wliicli he lia<l entirely succeeileil. 
 The story of liis tirutal execution, denied l)otli a 
 Uililo and ilergy and of these nieniorahlo words of 
 liiH. " I only regret that I have but one life to lose 
 for my country," lias enrolled his name among 
 lierocs as the young martyr of the American Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 In April, 1777, Gov. Tryon, Tory Governor of 
 New York, raided into Connecticut, burned a por- 
 
 burned thirteen British vessels, captured ninety 
 prisoners, and returned scatheless. 
 
 This year Arnold was made a major-general, and 
 did splendid service at the battle of Saratoga. 
 
 In February, 177!l, Tryon made another raid over 
 the boid'jr. Putnam tried to stop him, at Green- 
 wich, with a few old ruld-|iicees and si.xty men, 
 but seeing that his position could be easily tlanked, 
 galloped otT to Stamford for reinforcements, taking 
 
 SCENE AT HIGH ROCK GROVE, A SUMMER RESORT ON THE NAUGATUCK RAILROAD. 
 
 tion of Danbury, and. when his troops were at- 
 tacked on their retreat by Gen. Wooster with a 
 small force, repulsed their assaults. Gen. Wooster 
 being .shot and killed. Arnold, who commanded 
 another detachment of Americans, narrowly 
 escaped a similar fate, his horse being shot under 
 him; yetlie succeeded in liarrassing Tryon's retreat 
 to such an extent that the latter lost one hundred 
 and seventv of his men, killed and wounded. 
 
 JIiiv 21st, Col. Meigs, with 200 men, retaliated 
 for Tryon's visit 1)V a raid in boats from New 
 Haven "to Sag Ilarlior, Long Island, where they 
 
 neck, the centennial anniversary of which has but 
 lately been appropriately celebrated at Greenwich, 
 .luly oth, 17011. a British fleet landed .S.nOO troops 
 at the entrance of New Haven harbor, who after a 
 stern resistance from the few patriots that could 
 hastily be gathered, burned a number of stores and 
 l)rivate houses, pillaged others, murdered several 
 prisoners, and insulted and stabbed IJcv. Dr. Pag- 
 gett, president of Yale College, who was only 
 spared at the intercession of a Tory guide of the 
 Bnti.sh, who had been an old pupil of the Doctor, 
 who, for his part, told his ccptors that he should 
 
70 
 
 riiE msroiiWAL, statistical and ixdusth/al 
 
 take arms ii^ainst tliom wlipiiever opportunity 
 offered. The Htitisli emliiuked on tlic fitli, Imt on 
 tlie Stli landed iit Kuirtield, where tliey plundered 
 and hurned the vilhij^e to iishcs, intiicting the same 
 fate on Xorwalk on the 11th. 
 
 In 1780, Bouodi<-t Arnold turned traitor to his 
 country, and in Sei)teml)er, 1781, appeared off 
 Now London with a British fleet of twenty four 
 ships. Cai)turin{j the city aud Fort Trumbull, 
 on the Gth of September, with little difficulty, a 
 portion of liis force attacked Fort Griswold on 
 the Grotou bank of the Thames river, which w as 
 most bravely defended by Colonel Ledyard and 
 the Americans under his command. Overpow- 
 ered at last by the greatly superior number of 
 the enemy, who wore jxuiring into the fort, 
 Ledyard surrendered, but was brutally murdered 
 witli his own sword by the British officer to 
 whom he gave it up. Eighty-five Americans 
 were killed in the assault, whose bravery is com- 
 memorated by a handsome granite monument 
 one hundred and twenty-seven feet high, which 
 was erected close by the fort in 1830. In New 
 London, sixty-five dwellings and eighty other 
 buildings were destroved by fire, and damage 
 done to the extent of §500,000. 
 
 A native of Norwich, which is but fourteen 
 miles from New London, it is not to be won- 
 dered at that Arnold has ever been especially 
 execrated in Connecticut, that once had high 
 hopes of him. 
 
 'I'his was the last act of the Revohition on 
 Connecticut soil, and the State eagerly welcomed 
 the honorable peace aud independence that fol- 
 lowed the surrender of Cornwallis in October, 
 1781. 
 
 Connecticut came oiit of the Eevolutionai'y 
 war with an nntarnished reputation, and, as 
 appears from the Silas Deane corresijoudence, in 
 the files of the State Historical Society, and 
 other sotirces, with the reputation of having a 
 model governor, and a constitution that was 
 "superior to any other," aud which served a 
 high imrpose in furnishing a pattern for that 
 soon adopted for the nation. 
 
 At the convention that formed the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States, in 1787, the Connecti- 
 cut delegates were Koger Sherman, Oliver Ells- 
 worth (later Chief Justice of the United States), 
 and William S. Johnson. Originally a poor 
 shoemaker, Roger Sherman won such a rejjuta- 
 tion as a statesman, that it is his statue, with that 
 of Jonathan Trunil)ull, that Connecticut has])ut 
 up in the National Capitol, "as the two other 
 deceased citizens illustrious for their historic 
 renown, or for distinguished civil or militai-y 
 services." So successful were Sherman and 
 Ellsworth in their efTorts at harmonizing aud 
 compromising the varied and dissenting ele- 
 ments in the convention that adopted the 
 Constitution, that nole.ss an authority than John 
 C. Calhoun has said that it is to these two men 
 and Judge Patterson of New Jersey that "we 
 are indebted for the National Government." 
 Connecticut ratified the Constitution in Januarv, 
 1788. 
 
 Gov. Trumbull, who retired in 1784 and died in 
 1785, was succeeded as chief magistrate by Jlat- 
 thcw Griswold, who had been lieutenant-governor 
 
 for fifteen years. lie in turn was succeeded in 
 ITSfi l)y Samuel Huntington, one of the signers of 
 tlu- Declaration, who governed until 179(i. It was 
 daring these administrations tliat national parties 
 licgan to take fixed shape throughout the country, 
 the masses of Connecticut folk and the governors 
 being stanch Federalists. 
 
 In 1790, Oliver Wolcott, Sr., iiecanie governor, 
 to be succeeded in 1798 by Jonathan Trumbull, a 
 son of •' Brother Jonathan, " who continued to be 
 chosen till his death in August, ]8()9. Early in 
 that year President Jefferson called upon Gov. 
 Truml)ull to designate special officers of militia, 
 upon whom the United States customs collectors 
 could rely for aid in carrying out the Enforcing 
 Act, which was designed to put in force the cele- 
 brated "Embargo," of Jefferson's administration. 
 The governor declined to comply, on tlie ground 
 that Congress had overstepped its authority, and 
 called a session of the Legislature, which adopted 
 a protest to Congress against the embargo, which 
 contril)uted greatly to the repeal thereof in Feb- 
 ruary, 1809. 
 
 In 1812. Roger Griswold, a son of the first Gov. 
 Griswold, wlio was then governor, adopted a sim- 
 ilar course wlien called upon to furnish detach- 
 ments of the State militia to Maj. Gen. Dearborn 
 for service in the war just declared against Great 
 Britain. He based his non-compliance with the 
 President's request upon the grounds that the con- 
 stitutional contingency in which the militia of the 
 State could be called into the Federal service did 
 not exist, and, moreover, that the militia could not 
 be constrained to S(!rve under other than their own 
 officers, except under the President of the United 
 States personally in the field. Gov. Griswold's 
 position was sustained by his council, aud by the 
 large Federal majority in the State. 
 
 In 1813, Commodore Stephen Decatur, with his 
 little fleet of American vessels, was blockaded in 
 New London Harbor and the river Tliames, and so 
 closely watched Ijy the British that, in his vexation 
 at being unable to get out at sea, the coramotlore 
 charged tliat "blue lights" had been burned Ijy 
 the Federalists on the shores of the harbor to advise 
 the enemy when he .sought to run the blockade, 
 compelling him to abandon the project. This 
 story was long used to stigmatize the anti-war 
 party as "Connecticut blue-light Federalists"; 
 but neither the gallant, but hasty sailor, nor any 
 one since his day, has been able to substantiate the 
 charge. 
 
 April 7, 1814, a detachment of two hundred 
 sailors and marines from the British fleet off New 
 London, made an expedition up the Connecticut 
 Hiver to Essex, where they burned some twenty- 
 five vessels, destroying some $'.;00,000 of property. 
 
 On the 9th of August, Capt. Hardy of tlie block- 
 ading fleet, with five of his vessels, began a bom- 
 bardment of Stonington, which continued some 
 forty-eight hours, but was so Ijravely resisted by a 
 small force of militia, gathered behind a little 
 battery of three guns, that he finally retired with 
 damaged ships, and a loss of seventy-five men killed 
 and wound<'d, while the Americans had none 
 killed, and only six W(mnded. 
 
 Dec. 15, 1814, the New England discontent with 
 tlie war came to a focus in the " Hartford Conven- 
 tion," whereat twenty-six delegates, apiiointed hy 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 7t 
 
 the New Enj;l!in(l lefcislaturcs, asseml)le(l tO]ttetlicr. 
 After a session of twenty days, tlie convention ad- 
 journed, having adopted a report making a respect- 
 ful protest against certain acts of Congress in origi- 
 nating and carrying on tlie war. This protest was 
 adopted by tlie legislatures of Connecticut and 
 
 favor of a constitutional convention, which was 
 speedily called, met in August, and formed a con- 
 stitution, which was ratified liythe pco])le in Octo- 
 ber. Under this constitution, with but few amend- 
 ments, the State is still governed. It is no light 
 tribute to the value of the charter obtained by John 
 
 SCENE AT HIGH ROCK GROVE, A SUMMER RESORT ON THE NAUGATUCK RAILROAD. 
 
 Massachusetts, but was rendered useless by the con- 
 clusion of peace Feb. 17, 1S1.5. 
 
 The return of peace not only put an end to the 
 dissatisfaction with the war, but, in a short time, 
 to the old Federal jiarty that had held continuous 
 sway in the State; and in 1817 Oliver Wolcott, 2d, 
 son of the last Gov. Wolcott, wa,s elected governor 
 by a combination of the opposition elements. In 
 1818 the same combination elected a legislature in 
 
 Wintlirop, that the Colony and State had needed 
 no other constitution for 150 years, and that the 
 pre-sent constitution is based in the main upon that 
 old charter, but few changes being necessary even 
 in tlie direction of wider religious toleration and 
 sutTrage. 
 
 The most important of recent amendments to the 
 constitution of 1818, beside such as conform to 
 changes in the Federal Constitution, is tliat of 1875, 
 
THE HISTORICAL, STAirST/CAL AXD INDUSTRIAL 
 
 extending the governor's term to two years. Another 
 amendment recently submitted to the people pro- 
 viding for biennial sessions of the legislature was 
 defeated. 
 
 In 1821 Trinity College was started at Hartford, 
 under control of tlie Protestant Episcopal Church. 
 In 1872 the college grounds were sold to the State 
 for $000,000, as a site for the new Capitol liuilding, 
 and a new location, a mile south, purcliased for the 
 college, wliere tine buildings of Portland freestone 
 have been erected for its use. 
 
 In 18;U, Wesleyan University, the oldest and best 
 known American college under control of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, was organized at 
 Middletown, where it now occupies a number of 
 handsome buildings on a commanding knoll. 
 
 In 1847, Connecticut furnished a company for the 
 New England ie;,nmeut in the Mexican war, a regi- 
 ment of which Tliomas H. Seymour, of Hartford, 
 returned as colonel, liaving distinguished himself 
 in the war. He was subsequeutly (1850-54) gov- 
 ernor of the State. 
 
 Connecticut continued greatly to increase and pros- 
 per until the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion 
 in 1861. This event found in the governor's chair 
 William A. Buckingham of Norwich, who, like his 
 great prototype, Trumbull, was a native of Lebanon. 
 Fortunate it was for the State that tliis courtly,. 
 Christian gentlemen, of devoted patriotism, unde- 
 viating integrity, great generosity, and largo wealth 
 was at its helm. It was in great measure owing to 
 liim that Connecticut was among the first to get her 
 troops to tlio front, tliat her regiments were, as a rule, 
 udmiralily officered, tliat her soldiers never lacked 
 attention from the State during his term of office, 
 as the writer can testify from jjersonal exiJerience. 
 Tlie total number of men credited to the State dur- 
 ing the wliole war was 54,882, which, reduced to a 
 three years' standing (the terms of enlistment vary- 
 ing a little), equals 48,181, an excess of 7,000 over 
 its quota, of whom but 263 were drafted men. As 
 Trumbull was the friend of Washington, so Buck- 
 ingham was a tried and trusted friend of President 
 Lincoln. 
 
 The Connecticut troops raised during the war of 
 the lleljellion consisted of twenty -eight regiments 
 of infantry (two colored), two of heavy artillery, 
 a regiment and squadron of cavalry, and three 
 liglit batteries. Tliese were so distriljuted among 
 the different Union armies, that there was hardly 
 a battle of moment during tlie war in wliicli 
 Connecticut troops were not engaged, and some of 
 the infantry regiments, notablv the 7th, 8tli, 1 0th, 
 nth, 14th, "l6th and 21st, hail a list of Ixxttlcs to 
 show at its close rarely ever equaled in the same 
 space of time. To enumerate these battles, or to 
 specify instances where Connecticut men distin- 
 guished themselves therein, would be to write a 
 history of the war, for which we have no space. 
 In the navy, too, which was presided over during 
 the whole contest l)y a Connecticut man, Gideon 
 Welles, who was throughimt Mr. Lincoln's adminis- 
 tration Secretary of the Navy, Connecticut won new 
 glory and renown. 
 
 A few of the more prominent officers of the army 
 and navy who were spns of Connecticut, who lost 
 their lives in the C(]|itest, were Generals Lyon, 
 Sedgwick and Mansfield, Admiral Foote and Cap- 
 tain Ward. The foUowinsr-uamed attained dis- 
 
 tinction and the rank of general officers in the 
 volunteer service, in nearly every instance winning 
 their rank by hard and gallant field service: H. G. 
 Wright, J. A. Mower, A. II. Terry, R. O. Tyler, 
 H. W. Birge, H. W. Benham, J. R. Hawley, R. S. 
 Mackenzie, H. L. Abliot, Alex. Shailer, A. S. Wil- 
 liams, J. W. Ri))ley, Daniel Tyler, W. S. Ketchum, 
 O. S. Ferry, H. W. Wessells, H. D. Terry, Edward 
 Harlaud, H. B. Carrington, A. C. Harding and L. 
 P. Bradley. 
 
 At home the State nobly sustained its grand and 
 good governor, and its legislators never faltered in 
 voting men and money in resijouse to every call he 
 made upon them. 
 
 In May, 1866, Governor Buckingham's last term 
 expired, he refusing longer service now that the 
 war had ended. He was succeeded as Governor by 
 General Joseph R. Hawley, who had won his way 
 up from captain to general in the volunteer service, 
 and has, since the war, won a reinitation as one of 
 the leading Republican statesmen of his day, and 
 as jiresident of the Centennial Commission of 1876, 
 and lately as United States Senator. Governor 
 Buckingham was elected a United States Senator 
 from Connecticut in 1868, and died while holding 
 that office in 1875. Governor Hawley's successors 
 in office have been James E. English, Marshall 
 Jewell, Charles R. Ingersoll, Richard I). Hubbard, 
 Charles B. Andrews, Hobart B. Bigelow and 
 Tliomas M. Waller, the present incumbent. To 
 Governor Hubbard, confessedly one of the first 
 statesmen and lawyers, as he is one of the first 
 orators in the country, is due the credit of many 
 reforms in the legislative and legal practice of the 
 State, all in the line of retrenchment, reform and 
 simplification of methods. As he served liut a 
 single terra of two years, much of the work that lie 
 began fell upon his successor, who, though of ano- 
 ther political party, showed such zeal and judg- 
 ment in the same direction, that it is clearly evident 
 that in Governor Andrews the State added another 
 to its long list of distinguished and able governors. 
 
 Connecticut has an area of 4,750 square miles. 
 Its population in 1880 was 022,68;!. It is bounded 
 on the east by Rhode Island, north by Massachusetts, 
 west by New York, south by Long Island Sound. 
 Its climate is changealjle but healthful ; its soil, 
 especially in the valley ot tlie Connecticut River, 
 good, liut, as a whole, best adapted for grass grow- 
 ing. Its woods are abundant and valualtle, while 
 its fruits are excellent and plentiful. Tobacco is 
 extensively raised, especially in Hartford County, 
 along the Connecticut river, and has in years past 
 been a most profitable crop, though at the low 
 prices which have prevailed since 1873, it has been 
 much less so than of old. 
 
 The mineral resources of the State are varied 
 and extensive, the most valuable quarries being 
 those of red sandstone or freestone, found in 
 abundance at Portland on the Connecticut. At 
 Canaan is found the white marble of which the 
 new State House is built ; at Bolton, a micaceous 
 slate, useful for flagging ; while at Salisbury and 
 Kent iron ore is found in such abundance that 
 iron production has become the chief interest of 
 that section of tlie State. Granite and lime- 
 stone are also aliuiidant in various sections, and 
 of excellent quality ; while cobalt, feldspar and 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 73 
 
 coppi'r aro found in lesser quantity, with clay in 
 abundance for bricks. 
 
 But it is in nianufiicturing that the State is 
 pre-eminent, the provcrliial iu^enuity of the 
 Connecticut Yankee, wliicii has been satirized in 
 the m\"thical wooden nutmeg, winning most of its 
 triumphs in this sphere of action. The reports of 
 the patent office shows the pi-oportion of ])atents 
 granted to Connecticut ti> be in excess of those 
 of any other Stat<', Iteing one to every 82il inhab- 
 itants. (Mocks, India-rubber goods, carriages, 
 cotton and woolen goods, hardware, britannia 
 and nickel-plate ware, table silver, cutlery, 
 machinery, sewing silk, cotton warjis and shoddy 
 arc among the i)rinripal productions. Insurance 
 and bunking emiilov much of the capital of the 
 Slate, Hartford being especially interested 
 therein, and famed all over the world for the 
 number and strength of its life and tire insurance 
 companies of large assets. 
 
 The common-school system of the State has 
 been jierfected in recent years to such an extent 
 that '.IS p(>r cent, of the children of the school 
 age aro school attendants. 
 
 The State ])ossesses a "school fund " of S2,- 
 031,:M'5, the princii)al of the fund being derived 
 from the sale of the so-called " Connecticut Re- 
 serve" in the northern jiortion of Ohio, in 1786, 
 for *1,2(J<),(HMI. This "Reserve" consisted of 
 3,3ltl),0{K) acres of land, received by Counectictit 
 at the time of its cession to the general govern- 
 ment of its share of vacant lands in the unoccu- 
 pied ten-itory of the West. The State gi-anted 
 fiOO.OOO acres of this reserve to such of the citi- 
 zens of New London, Groton, Fairfield, Norwalk 
 and Danlmry as had suflered from British de])re- 
 dutious during the war, and sold the remainder. 
 The high schools of most of the larger towns and 
 cities ttt ])ui)ils for college or business life, while 
 the universities within its borders send forth 
 graduates all over the world. 
 
 In literature, theology and science the State 
 has always maintained a higli reputation, giWng 
 to the world, or claiming as residents, such poets 
 as Trumbull. Percival. Brainard, Halleck and 
 Stedman ; such phihilogists as Xoali Webster 
 and J. Hammond Trumbull ; such theologians 
 as Horace Bushuell, Leonard Bacon and Noah 
 
 Porter ; siich antiquarian .students and historians 
 as C. J. Houdley ; sucli writers on educational 
 topii's as Henry Barnard ; such political econ- 
 omists as Theodore Woolsey, D. A. Wells and 
 W . (J. Sumner ; such writers of fiction and 
 essayists as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles Dud- 
 ley Warner, Donald G. Jlitchell, .Samuel L. 
 Clemens (Mark Twaui), and many others; and 
 in science, the elder Sillimau, Clarence King, 
 and many more. 
 
 In legal circles such names a.s Ellsworth, 
 W'ttite (the present chief justice is of Connec- 
 ticut birth i, (Jould, Goddard, Storrs, Seymour, 
 Waldo, and many others have been famous ; 
 wliile at the bar, a very long array of men of 
 talent could be named. t)f living members of 
 the profession who have attained more than local 
 fame are Hubbard and Robinson of Hartford, 
 Harrison and Ingerscdl of New Haven, Seymour 
 of Litchfield, and Halsey of Norwich. 
 
 Of orators there is also a long array, including 
 such names as Sherman, Griswohl, Baldwin, 
 Demiug, Stuart, Harrison and Hubbard. 
 
 In art, Col. John Trumbull of Connecticut 
 wa.s the finest i>ainter of the Revolutionary era, 
 and Fred. E. Church ranks among the first to- 
 day. 
 
 The early settlers of Connecticut were men of 
 cdTication and enterprise, as well as of character 
 and piety. Hooker at Hartford, and Davenport 
 at New Haven, meant to imjilaut free common- 
 wealths of (rod-serving people. The seed they 
 planted lu'onght forth such fruit that the dis- 
 tinguishing name of the State has long been 
 " Land of Steady Habits." 
 
 Its State seal, which has been in use with but 
 slight modification since 1656, bears, " Ai'gent, 
 three vines supported and fruited ; " with the 
 legend, "Qui tniiis/ulit sn.ttinet" — "He who 
 transplanted will sustain." In this faith the 
 citizens of tlie State have seen their grand old 
 Commonwciiltli increa.se and prosper year by 
 year ; in this faith they fought French and 
 Indians, Jlotlier England herself, and treason 
 against the Union. So long as loyalty to this 
 motto inspires her 2)eople, so long may they 
 hojje for prosjierity . 
 
 

 ^^ 
 
FAIRFIELD COUNTY, 
 
 It was Rix years before the landing of the Pil- 
 
 frims at I'lyniouth Kock, nineteen years l)efore the 
 rst frunic house was erected at Windsor in Con- 
 necticut, and about twenty-three years l>cfore we 
 bftve liny knowledge of Europeans si'tting foot on 
 the soil of tli« State west of the llousutonic Hiver 
 in what is now Fairfield county, tliat the adven- 
 turous Adrian Block, a Dutch explorer, sailed into 
 Lon-j Island Sound, from the little settlement of 
 his own countrymen on Manhattan Island, compris- 
 ing only about four houses, in his ship of state, 
 the '• Restless," and made the discovery of the 
 ■hores of Fairfield county; first observini; the 
 Norwalk Islands, which he named the Archipela- 
 goes, and then sailing to the mouth of the llousa- 
 tonic Uivor, its ciustern l)oundary, which he named 
 the river of the l{ed Mountain; and thus, as early 
 as the year Uj14, this comity and tlie Connecticut 
 Uiver, and the entire coast of the State, for the first 
 time became known to a race of beings different 
 from the aborigines. The first knowledge of the 
 desirable situation and great mitural advantages of 
 this ciiunty for future settlements, was obtained by 
 the Knglish colonists while pursuing the retreating 
 I'eipiot Indians westward to the "great swamp" 
 in the present town of Fairfield, where, July 11!, 
 li!:{7. a decisive battle was fought. In a short 
 time thereafter the formation of settlements and 
 towns commenced. 
 
 In 1 (WJ, Mr. Ludlow, a distinguished lawyer, of 
 Windsor, who was at the Indian swamp fight aliout 
 two years before, when he became most favorably 
 impressed with the locality, commenced a settle- 
 ment at Fairfield, called l>y the natives Unfjuowa. 
 He brought about ten families witli him, and 
 settlers joined them from Watertown and Concord, 
 Mass. The territory was generally purchased of 
 the natives; and the settlers soon formed a town- 
 ship, and came under the jurisdiction of tlie Con- 
 necticut Colony. The same year Mr. Fairchild 
 came from England and ])urchased a plantation at 
 Stratford, comprising Perpionnock and Cupheag, 
 as they were known Viy tlie Indians, situated be- 
 tween Fairfield and tlie Ilousatonic River; and 
 settlements were commenced immediately, although 
 William Judson is said to liave settled here in 
 10:is, and to have erected a stone liouse. .John and 
 William Eustice and Samuel llawley came from 
 Roxbury. and .Joseph Judson and Timothy Wil- 
 coxson from Concord, Mass. A few years later 
 Samuel Wells came from Wethcrsfield, and some 
 others from Boston. The first clergyman at this 
 place was Adam Blackman, an eminent and greatly 
 lieloved preacher, formerly of the Cliurch of Eng- 
 land, who came directly from Derbyshire. Many 
 of his admirers followed him to these shores, de- 
 claring that " thy people shall be our people and 
 thy God our God." 
 
 On this early settled territory, and within a com- 
 paratively recent period, Bridgeport, the third city 
 in size and importance in the State, ha.s sprung 
 into existence. The exact date of the commence- 
 ment of the Settlement in this latter locality seems 
 to be in doubt; Ijut, in Ki.'iO, it is evident tliitt a 
 few families were residing in this section of Toil- 
 some Hill, where Capl. David Sherman, a Iciuler 
 in matters of church and stale, was born and re- 
 sided ; and that, although the po|>ulalion has 
 changed in locality, this was the germ of the 
 future city. In Ki'.II a parish was formed named 
 Fairfield Village. In ITOl Fairfield Village was 
 named Stratfield by tlie fJcneral Court ; and, after 
 a period of seventy-five years contained only about 
 1,000 inlial)itants. With the gradual increase in 
 population, the business began to centre at the head 
 of tide-water, and down the harbor or river east of 
 Golden Hill, and near the cast side of Peipionnock 
 River, in the town of Stratford, when it was named 
 Newfield. In ITOo tlie present JIain street of the 
 city was merely a cart-path, and there was a small 
 ferry to the iioiiit on tin- east side of the harbor. 
 In 1S20 Xewfieid proper contained only about 800 
 inhabitants. Tliis place became an incorporated 
 borough in the year 1800, and was then named 
 Bridgeport, although, as a town, it had no legal 
 existence until 18;Jl,wlien a tract of ti;rritory of 
 about ten square miles on the harbor and river Wiis 
 organized as a town, then containing not far from 
 1,700 inh.abitants. The borough was organized 
 under a city charter in 18:36, with a jjopulation of 
 about :5,400. 
 
 The next section of the county occupied' by 
 whites, after the territory covered Ijy Fairtield and 
 Stratford, was Stamford, the Indian name of 
 which was Rippowains. Capt. Nathaniel Turner 
 made the purchase of the place of the Indians for 
 the New Haven Colony, for the consideration 
 generally of a dozen each of coats, hoes, hatchets, 
 and knives, two kettles and four fathom of white 
 wampum. In the latter part of 1<U1 about thirty- 
 five families had made this their place of residence ; 
 and the next year, .John Wndtmore and Mr. Mit<thel 
 were admitted mcmljers of the General Court of the 
 New Haven Colony, from the new plantation, when 
 it received its present name. The first minister at 
 this place was Richard Denton. 
 
 The town of Greenwich w.as purchased of the 
 natives in the year 11140 by Robert Feaks and 
 Daniel Patrick, with the expectation that it would 
 adhere to tlie New Haven Colony ; but New \m- 
 sterdam, in the New Netherlands Colony, was so 
 near, and its influence so potent, that the pur- 
 chasers lietrayed the ccuifidence of the ('olony, and 
 commenced the settlement under the Dutcli govern- 
 ment, in which course the inhabitants seem to have 
 acquiesced. The unfriendly relations l)etween the 
 
^6 
 
 THE HISTORICAL. STATISTICAL AXD INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Indians in these parts, and the Dutch, and their 
 intrusions upon tlie settlers, whose hinds were their 
 frequent and Ijloody battle-fields, were uiidoul)ted- 
 ly the chief reasons why. in the year llir)7, they 
 freely yielded to the jurisdiction of the New Haven 
 Colony. The dividing line between the States of 
 New York and Connecticut, as fixed in 1GG4, 
 brought the plantation of Rye into the Colony of 
 Connecticut, and that town was admitted to the 
 jurisdiction in 1605 : but in 1683, the dividing line 
 between the two colonies at Greenwich was so 
 changed at to leave it nearly as it is at present. 
 
 The first authentic settlement of Norwalk was 
 in the year 1651, although it is probal)le that 
 there were some scattering inhabitants here the 
 year before, and perhaps some in 1640, after 
 Mr. Roger Ludlow of Fairfield purchased the 
 eastern part of the place from the Norwalk 
 Indians on the 26th of February of that year, as 
 worded in the deed, " from the sea a day's walk 
 into the country." In April Cajitain Patrick 
 purchased two islands and the meadows and uj)- 
 lands on the west side of the Norwalk River "as 
 far up in the country as an Indian can go in a day 
 from sun rising to sun setting." In June, 1650, 
 Nathan Ely, Richard Olmsted and others, secured 
 permission from the Connecticut Colony to com- 
 mence a plantation at Norwalk, and obtained a 
 deed of the territory from the Indians, February 
 15, 1631 ; and in September, 1051, the General 
 Court organized it into a town. Thomas Han- 
 ford was the first minister at this place. The 
 name of the town was derived from the Nor- 
 walk River, although there is a common tradition 
 that it was taken from the day's "North-walk " 
 which fixed the northern boundary in the Indian 
 •deeds. The surnames of Benedict, Raymond, Fitch, 
 Lockwood, Betts and some others of the first set- 
 tlers are cpiite common in the city and town at the 
 present day. Norwalk was made a borough in 
 1836, and the village of Old "tt'ell, named from an 
 ancient well where vessels were supjjlied with 
 water, was incorporated as a city in 1808, and 
 named South Norwalk two years afterward. 
 
 In 1684, a settlementat Danbury called Pahquio- 
 que by the Indians, or Paquiage in the Colony re- 
 cords, was commenced. The pioneer settlers were 
 ThomasTaylor, Francis Bushnell, Thomas Barnum 
 and others, who were mostly from Norwalk. Dr. 
 Wood and .losiah Starr came from Long Island, 
 and Joseph Mygatt came soon after from Hartford ; 
 and men of the name of Picket, Knajii) and 
 Wildman were among the earliest settlers, of whose 
 names are a number still common in the town. 
 The settlement was called Danbury, from a village 
 in Essex, Eng., and it was laid out six miles square. 
 The town ])at(mt, from the General Court, was 
 given in 170'J, and it was made a borough in 1822. 
 The Rev. Setli Shove, probably ordained in 1090, 
 was the first minister. 
 
 The next section occupied by the English settlers 
 ■was at Pootatuck, the Indian name of Newtown. 
 In May, 1708, several persons petitioned the Gene- 
 ral Court, or Assembly, as it began to be called, for 
 a committee to survey the land and consider what 
 number of inhabitants the tract would accommo- 
 date, and determine where the settlement should 
 be ; and in 1711, the town was incorijoratcd. 
 
 The town of Ridgefield was purchased of the 
 
 Indians in 1708 by John Baldwin and others, and 
 a second ])urchase was made of tlie natives in 
 1715. Ill October, 1709, Maj. Peter Burr of Fair- 
 field, John Copp of Norwalk. and Josiah Starr of 
 Danbury reported a suiTey of the tract to the 
 General Assembly, and the gnrnt of the town was 
 then made ; Ijut the patent was not signed till the 
 year 1714. After the Assembly, in 1714, gave the 
 inhabitants of the town the right to settle an 
 orthodox minister, it is probable that the Rev. 
 Thos. Ilawley became the first settled minister at 
 this place. 
 
 Several inhabitants of Fairfield secured a grant 
 of the present town of New Fairfield in 1707. The 
 territory was jmrchased of the natives in 1729, but 
 it does not appear to have been settled until the 
 next year. It was organized as a town in 1740. 
 The boundary line between New York and Connec- 
 ticut on the western limit of this town was settled 
 in 1731, when, for lands on the Sound, the section 
 known as Oblong was granted to New York. The 
 first minister was the Rev. Benejah Case, ordained 
 in 1742. 
 
 In 1701, a township which is said to have been 
 named Reading, after Col. John Read, one of the 
 early settlers, was incorporated and taken princi- 
 pally from the old town of Fairfield. 
 
 AYeston, originally a parish in the town of Fair- 
 field, was granted town ijrivileges in 1 787, about 
 fifty years after the locality was first settled. 
 
 Brookfield, originally a part of New Milford, 
 Danlniry, and Ne'n'town, and known as the society 
 of Newbury, was incorporated as a town in 1788. 
 It is said to have lieen named after its first minister, 
 the Rev. Thomas Brooks, who was ordained Sept. 
 28, 1758, when the church was formed. 
 
 Huntington, comprising the parishes of Riptou 
 and New Stratford in Stratford, was created a town 
 in 178St. The Rev. Jedediah Mills, ordained in 
 1724, was probably the first clergyman. 
 
 Trumliull, a part of the old town of Stratford, 
 was organized in the year 1798. 
 
 New Canaan was formerly Canaan parish in Nor- 
 walk and Stamford, and was made a separate town 
 in 1801. The parish had existed since 1731, when 
 the Rev. John Eells of Milford became the first 
 minister. 
 
 Sherman was made a town in 1802, and was 
 formed from the north pai t of New Fairfield : and 
 Wilton was also incorporated the same year, having 
 fiirnierlv been a societv in Norwalk from the vear 
 1726. 
 
 The year before Bridgeport was given town 
 [jrivileges, Darien, in the year 1820, was taken 
 from Stamford and made a town, having before 
 ))een known as the Middlesex parish. 
 
 Monroe, formerly the jjarish of New Stratford in 
 Huntington, was formed into a town in 1823. 
 
 Westport, on the Saugatuck River, was formerly 
 a part of Fairfield, Norwalk and Weston, and was 
 granted town powers in 1835. 
 
 Easton, formerly a parish with Weston in the 
 town of Fairfield, was taken from the eastern jiart 
 of Weston, and made a town in 1845; and Betliel, 
 the 23d and the last town formed in the county, 
 was incorporated in 1855, having been a portion of 
 Danbury. 
 
 The county was constituted in the year 1 006. and 
 Fairfield was made the shire town. Bridgeport, 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 77 
 
 however, wns j;ivi'n that honor iil)i>ut tlio year ISSt. 
 Danbury was cieutcil u half shire towu in May, 
 1TS4. 
 
 The Indian )iistory of the county, though not as 
 thrilin<.', pcrlinps, ns the liistory of the {;reat sava<;e 
 tril>es living to the east and nortli, is interesting, 
 however, as showing the complaints, struggles, and 
 grailiml extinction of the race of red men here. At 
 the time of the settUnient of the county, the 
 principal tribes within its borders were the Pau- 
 gussetts, who inhabited Stratford, Huntington, and 
 the adjoining towns, and the Norwalk tribe, which 
 was nearly a elan; but there were some consuler- 
 able clans at Newton, New Fairtield, Uidgetlcld, 
 Greenwich, Stamford, Fairtield, and Bridgeport. 
 They were more luuncrous, however, along the sea- 
 coast, at the mouths of the rivere and along their 
 courses ; and the inland tribes visited those on the 
 coast and were treated to oystei-s, clams, and other 
 sea food, the entertainers returning these civilities, 
 to s«'cure lamprey-eels and the privilege of indulg- 
 ing in l)etter hunting. In !().")'.(, eighty acres of 
 land at Golden Hill, Bridgeport, were made a 
 reservation by the Geueral C'<iurt for the Pe<|Uon- 
 nock Indians; and it was ordered that when they 
 rteseit their land it shall revert to Stratford ])lanta- 
 tion. which shall pay Fairtield one-half of the 
 consideration received. All the Indians residing 
 within the limits of this county were, with thee.xctp- 
 lion perhaps of those living at Greenwich and Stam- 
 lord, friendly to the early settlers, who always made 
 lionorable purchases of their lands before attempt- 
 ing to take possession; but the natives and first 
 -L'ttlers were greatly harrassedby the fierce and very 
 powerful Iroquois or Mohawks, the mere rumor of 
 whose a|)pearance created the wildest alarm. Com- 
 ing annually to collect tribute of the natives, their 
 natural ferocity was exercised in killing and 
 destroying on every hand, if their demands were 
 refused. They were defeated, however, eventually 
 (liU7i by the Paugussetts in one battle, while 
 attempting to take the fortress, near the mouth of 
 the Housatonic Uiver. The war with the Peipiots 
 closed with the tight at Sasco Swamp, near the sea 
 sliorc, in the town of Fairfield, about two years 
 before the county w.is |)ermanently settled, when 
 700 warriors were killed and captured; and as this- 
 tribe then became broken and discouraged, they 
 were not a source of danger to the early inhabitants. 
 The Fairtield County Indians participated in a 
 war which sprung from selling intoxicating liquors 
 to an Indian by some Dutch traders of New 
 Amsterdam in 1042. The Indian, while intoxicated, 
 killed two whites; and, in retaliation, by consent 
 of the Dutch governor, some eighty natives were 
 slain. Several tribes on the Hudson River having 
 been defeated by the Mohawks, the remnant fled to 
 New Amsterdam for protection, but the governor 
 again had his revenge, and about one hundred of 
 them were killed. In lli4:i. the Indians on Long 
 Island, on the Hudson and in Connecticut, arose to 
 avenge their wrongs, and the territory of Green- 
 wich and Stamford was the theatre of many bloody 
 conflicts. 
 
 A tinitedbody of more than \JyO0 warriors had their 
 encampment on this territory, and the tomahawk 
 did its work of massacring women and children as 
 well as men. Kven animals wer» driven into 
 buildings and destroyed by tire. In February, 
 
 1044, a battle was fought at Strickland's Plain, 
 in this county, between the Dutch and Indians. 
 After a tedious march, the former came upon the 
 Indian village in the light of a brilliant full moon, 
 after a heavy snow-storm, when, after a fierce con- 
 flict of an hour, a victory was achieved, and the 
 blood of one hundred and eiglity warriors crim- 
 soned the snow. This put an end to the war, and 
 in April, the Indians consented to a peace ; but 
 there were some murilers of settlers in Greenwich 
 and Stamford aft<'r this time. 
 
 This county has sustained its share of the loss 
 of life and treasure in the colonial wars as well 
 as in tho.se of later times. 
 
 There were .said to be twenty-five wigwams on 
 Golden Hill, Hridgi'i)ort, in 1710 ; and only three 
 women and four men remaineil in VHm. They 
 were ejected from their reservation in 17G0. and 
 after it was restored to them, they gave it all up 
 for thirty bushels of corn, blankets worth £3, 
 twelve acres of land on the west bank of the 
 Pequonunck Kiver, and eight acres of woodland 
 on Koek Hill. About the yew 1810 their land.s 
 were sold ; and the fund secured, in 1842, 
 amounted to SI, 175, of which sum S500 was 
 used to purchase a house and twenty acres of 
 land in Trumbull. In 18.50 there were two 
 .squaws and six half-breeds living. Their family 
 name was Sherman. 
 
 In 1774 tlioro were thirty-fivp Indians in Strat- 
 ford. Monroe, Huntington, Trumliulluud Bridge- 
 l>ort, only eight in Greenwich, nine in Norwalk 
 and Stamford. It is quite jirobable that the 
 Pootatuek elan in Newtown, had many years be- 
 fore joined the. tril>e in Southbury, and after- 
 wards the Weantinogues at the Great Falls on 
 the Housatonic River in New Milford. 
 
 With the early settlers the train-band of inde- 
 pendent military comjianies was as much of 
 a necessary institution in each town as the 
 church, and was comi)elled to be on the watch 
 at all times, and to train one day in the first 
 week of March, April, May, September, October 
 and November. 
 
 In 1709, the militia was made more effective, 
 and a eonimittee of war for Fairfield County was 
 ajijiointcd to i)rovide for the defense of the 
 frontier towns in the county. In the French 
 and Indian wars this county furnished about 
 3,000 men to maintain the honor of the mother 
 country. The war of the Revolution, however, 
 called forth all the ])atriotic ardor of its peojde, 
 and although not having tlio war-sjiirit at the 
 Lexington alarm in April, 1775, as had the 
 counties nearer Boston, on account of its near- 
 ness to New York, with which was its princijjal 
 trade, yet fifty men marched from Fairfield and 
 fifty-eight from Greenwich for the rehef of Bo.s- 
 ton" :.t that time, and thirty-three also went from 
 Stamford to defend New York. 
 
 There weri" three regiments formed from this 
 county in ITTd, and its quota was kept up during 
 the war. Lying on Long Island .Sound, the county 
 was particularly exposed to the incursions of the 
 enemy. On Sunday, the 2Tth of April, 1777, a 
 force of more than two thousand of the enemy, 
 under command of Gov. Tryon of New York, 
 arrived in Danbury for the purpose of destroying 
 the large quantity of military supplies stored there. 
 
78 
 
 Till-: HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AM> /XDUSTIilAL 
 
 Tlip few American troops in the jjlace being forced 
 to withdraw, the supplies, and all the dwellings 
 and Ijuildings belonging to the patriot inhabitants 
 Imt one or two, were destroyed by tire. Tlie indi- 
 vidii.il losses were estimated at more than t'l(!,000. 
 The town records were burned, but the probate 
 records were saved by being taken to New Fairfield. 
 Gen. David Wooster took (command of the few 
 American troops at. his disposal, and followed the 
 enemy to Ridgefield, where he was nuirtally 
 wounded. Gen. Arnold look immediate command, 
 and followed them to the mouth of the river, where 
 they re-eml)arked. Tlie only real fight was where 
 the gallant Wooster was fatally shot ; and, on the 
 evidence of an eye witness, sixteen British and eight 
 American.s were killed and several wounded. Sev- 
 eral dwellings, and otlier houses at Ridgefield, 
 were burned and ))lundered. 
 
 .July Sand 9, 177'.), Gov. Tryon's troops plun- 
 dered and Ijurned two hundred and twelve houses, 
 barns and stores, three churches, and two school- 
 houses. The court-houses at Fairfield, and Green's 
 Farms were also consumed. The Rev. Dr. Daggett 
 was one of the wounded. The loss of the British 
 was about eighty. Tryon landed at Norwalk in the 
 evening of July 11, and destroyed the vessels in the 
 harbor, magazines, and stores, with the whole vil- 
 lage of one hundred and ninety dwellings. Gen. 
 Putnam was stationed with his army at Reading in 
 1 77!), to support the garrison at West Point if 
 attacked, and also cover the Sound, and while here 
 quieted a discontent in his army by a short, sharp 
 speech. Greenwich became famous as the town 
 where he made his celebrated plunge down a steep 
 precipice at " llurseneck " to save his life, one shot 
 of the many going through his liat. On Sunday, 
 .July 22, 17S2, at Darien, the British troops, made 
 up of Tories mostly, residing in this neighborhood, 
 took iMoses Slather, D. D., and his congregation, 
 prisoners. Thus this county, from its situation, 
 suffered heavily during the war, but was amply 
 compensated for its losses pecuniarily by the State, 
 ' which, in 1792, granted to those in this and New 
 London County, whose property was destroyed by 
 the invasions of the British, in addition to what 
 they had already received, 500,000 acres of land of 
 the western part of the reserve in Ghio, known as 
 the Fire Lands. 
 
 During the war of 1812, the county furnished its 
 full proportion of troops to defend tlie State, and a 
 small fort erected at Black Rock Harbor, Fairfield, 
 was manned by a small force of militia, to protect 
 the coasting trade of the Sound, which was almost 
 entirely suspended by the ])artial blockade of the 
 ports. A British privateer captured the sloops 
 "Minerva," Capt. ISaldwin, and "Victriss," Capt. 
 Pcnnoyer, both of Bridgeport, packets plying 
 between this port and New York. Whale-boats of 
 light draft were used in the trade between New 
 York and Bridgeport. Commodore Isaac Chauncey 
 of Black Rock commanded our forces on Lake 
 Ontario; and the privateer "Scourge" of Stratford, 
 commanded by Capt. Nichols, took so many prizes 
 in the North and Baltic seas that two English 
 frigates attempted to capture her, but unsuccess- 
 fully. One afternoon, towards the close of the 
 war, Bridgei)ort was startled by the appearance of 
 two British men-of-war coming to anchor in the 
 harbor, with port-holes open, and great activity on 
 
 board, as if intending to immediately shell the 
 town. The inhabitants remembered the burning 
 <jf neighljoring towns in the Revolutionary war, 
 and there was no sleej) that night. The church bells 
 were rung, valuables and the money in the bank 
 were removed to a place of safety ; the militia were 
 called out, and messengers sent for re-enforcements, 
 and the wildest alarm prevailed ; but long breaths 
 were taken in the morning when it was known that 
 the war-ships had disappeared. 
 
 During the war of 18G1, this county furnished 
 about 8,000 men. 
 
 The first church of Bridgeport was formally 
 organized in 1095, and Rev. Charles Chauncey, a 
 grandson of the president of Harvard College, 
 became the first minister. In 1706, the Rev. 
 George Slurison, an Episcopal missionarj' in the 
 town of Rye, and the Hon. Caleb Heathcotc nade 
 a tour from Greenwich to Stratford, where about 
 twenty-four persons were baptized. The next year 
 they were organized into a parish. The first 
 Episcopal church edifice in the Colony was erected 
 here, and opened for divine service on Christmas 
 Day, 1724. From this beginning Episcopacy soon 
 spread to Fairfield and other towns. The Rev. 
 Samuel Seabury, consecrated in 1784, in Scotland, 
 the first bishop of Connecticut, formerly under the 
 jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, made his 
 first visit to the church at Stratford. There are 
 now thirty-four Episcopal parishes in the county. 
 
 Stratford is also the ])arent of Methodism, not 
 only in this county but in the State. It was here 
 that, in September, 1789, the first society was 
 organized ; the second one was established at 
 Reading. At the town of Weston, in this county, 
 " Lee's Chapel " was the first house of worship 
 erected by this denomination in New England. 
 This building stood until 1813. There are now 
 nearly fifty Jlethodist churches in the county, 
 within the jurisdiction of the New Y''ork East 
 Conference. 
 
 The flrst Bajjtist cliurcli in the coiiutv was 
 constituted at Stratfield, now Bridgeport, in the 
 year 1751. There are at present fifteen churches 
 of this denomination in the couutv. 
 
 From about 1830 to 1840, the Eoman Catholic 
 Church commenced organizing iu the county, 
 and, in 1838, the first service was held at Dan- 
 burv. From these beginnings it has increased 
 till there are ten chiu'ches in the most central 
 places in the county. A Sandemanian church 
 was formed at Danburv iu 176.5, by Kobert San- 
 deman, a native of Scotland, who was buried at 
 this place iu 1771, and iu 1798 there were three 
 of these churches iu the town. 
 
 The early settlers seemed to be as desirous of 
 promoting the cause of education, as of estab- 
 lishing the church, and it may be said that the 
 school and state were as united, nearly, as church 
 and state. In many of the jjetitions of the 
 settlers in this county for church privileges, 
 their needs of a school were also set forth. A 
 little more than thirty-three years after the first 
 settlement of the county, six hundred acres of 
 laud were gx'anted by the CJeneral Court to Fair- 
 field County, as well as the others, for a gram- 
 mar school, to be establi.shed at the county town 
 forever, whicji should be maintained so as to fit 
 young men for college, which, it is believed, was 
 
liEriEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 79 
 
 ncceptod by this county ; so tlmt, in those parly 
 times, the jicople Imd not only the ftilvantagcs of 
 tlie coniiuon srhools in the county, Imt of a 
 (^runinmr or Latin school also. There arc now 
 two liunilrcil anil forty common anil forty -seven 
 jfrudeil sr'liools in the county. 
 
 la iKl'.Mhe IJrookticld I' nion Librni-y Associa- 
 tion was organized, and since that time there 
 have lioou ten of these institutions formed in tlie 
 county. William Augustus White of Brooklyn, 
 N. Y." who died in IHIJH, left :?1(I,(K«I l.y will, in 
 trust, for a public library at Danbury, and after- 
 wards the old White homestead was deeded by 
 Alexander M. and Granvilk- White for the same 
 T)uri>ose. In 187() they maile a gift of about 
 ?2.j,(XH» for the erection of a library building, 
 whieli WU.S couimenced in 1H77. 
 
 There was an academy established liy Presi- 
 dent l>wight of Yale College at Fairfield, which 
 sM-tained a very high reputntion, and wius sub- 
 
 iMi-ntlya seminary for young ladies. After- 
 \4 111 lis, such institutions were established at 
 several other towns in the county, but they have 
 been on the decline since our admirably per- 
 fected common-school system has become so 
 popular. 
 
 For the promotion of agriculture, manufactures 
 and commerce, jierliaps this county was more favor- 
 al>ly situated than some other portions of the 
 Colony, lu'cause of its nearness to j»cw York. Near 
 the beginning of the present century, the Fairtield 
 County farmers commenced improving their hinds 
 by systematic drainage, when hundreds of .icrcs of 
 swamp lands, in tlie towns of Grcenwicli, Danbury, 
 West|K)rt, Hidgcficld, and other towns were 
 reclaimed and were made vastly more [iroductive 
 than before. 
 
 The farmers, having become awake to the bene- 
 fits of agricultural societies, four \\nxe been organ- 
 ized in the county, tlie oldest of which, the County 
 Bociety at Norwalk, was organized aliout forty-five 
 years ago. In 1860 the first cattle show and fair of 
 the Danbury Agricultural Society was held. 
 
 Since the days of railroads, most of tlie grain 
 comes from the West, and tlie only grain elevator 
 on the sea-coast between New York and Boston was 
 erected by .Messrs. C'rane& Ilurd in 1871, at Bridge- 
 port. The grain is trans|)ortcd l>v rail or water, 
 and l,.jOO,000 bushels liave been landed in it in a 
 year. 
 
 The manufacturing industries of the county have 
 grown up mainly since the Revolution. Hats were 
 first manufactured at Danbury in 1780 by Zadoc 
 Benedict, wlio, witli one journeynian and two 
 apprentices, made iibmit three in a dav. About 
 1790, Messrs. Burr iV Wliite built the first hat fac- 
 tory in the town, employing tliirty hands and pro- 
 ducing fifteen dozen per week. There were pro- 
 duced in ISOO, at this place, 20,000, fur hats mostly, 
 surpassing any other town in the United States in 
 the annual manufacture. Al)out forty years ago 
 there were fifty seven hat factories liere, making 
 about 270,000 anuually, witli a capital of about 
 $200,000. There were eleven hat factories in Nor- 
 walk forty-five years ago, making about 31!, 000 hats 
 annually. Besides these, there were numerous facto- 
 ries in other towns of the county. This county 
 stands first in this branch of business, liaving manu- 
 factured nearly twice as many hats as aU the other 
 
 counties of the State. Machinery of all kinds, 
 steam-engines and boilers were first made in the 
 county at Bridgeport more than fifty years ago. In 
 1702 a paper-mill was carried into successful opera- 
 tion af Diuibury, which produced about I , .500 renins 
 annually; fifty years afterwards Faircliild's ^lill at 
 Bridgeport was the only one in the county. Car- 
 riages were manufactured exten ivelyat Bridgeport 
 at an early day by Mott «.t Burr. Fifty ycare ago 
 there were fouiteen tin factories in the county, em- 
 ploying a capital of over $40,000. Combs were 
 largely manufactured in Newtown in 18:!t ; and in 
 \M~>, there were nineteen factories engaged in this 
 business in the county. In the early part of the 
 present century the boot and shoe business gave 
 employment to many men, and the most extensive 
 business in this branch of manufacture in the county 
 has been done at "Norwalk. About ls;i() there was 
 over .S20,000 capital employed in the manufacture 
 of felt-cloth at Norwalk. and the business has been 
 largely prosecuted since that time. Forsome twenty 
 years the manufacture of rubber-belting has been 
 carried on at Newtown on an extensive scale. In the 
 early growth of Bridgeport the manufacture of 
 \Saddles and harnesses was an important industrj'. 
 
 Among the more recent manufacturing industries 
 of the county has been that of patent leather. In 
 184.5, Mr. S. J. Patterson commenced this business 
 at Bridgei)ort, and soon after tlie Bridgeport Patent 
 Leather Company was formed, which has done 
 a heavy business. The fi ret practicable machine for 
 sewing was patented by Elias Howe, Jr., in 1^46, 
 and consisted, generally, of a needle with the eye 
 in the point, and a shuttle to unite two edges in a 
 seam, forming the stitch by interlocking two 
 threads. In 18G2, he established his business at 
 Bridgeport, and erected a large factory, where the 
 Secor Company also have their works. In 18.57 
 the world-renowned Wheeler and Wilson Sewing- 
 MachineCom|)any established their works at Bridge- 
 port. One of tlie heaviest and most successful 
 industries of Bridgeport has been the steel works, 
 from which the Union Car-Spring Company of 
 Jersey City, N. J., were supplied with bar steel ; 
 but, about 1874, this company removed their works 
 to Bridgeport, and both are now under one ni.an- 
 agement in the making of car-springs not only for 
 their pwn, but for foreign markets. The manufac- 
 ture of cartridges of all kinds was commenced at 
 Bridgeport in l.'sOO. The makers of the celebrated 
 Sharp's rifle located their armorj' here in 1875. 
 
 In IfisO, when there were but twenty-six towns 
 in the Colony, the little commerce of this county 
 was managed at Fairfield, where ships of about 300 
 tons burden could come into the harbor of Black 
 Uock. The principal centre for the trade of the 
 county for a long period prior to the rise of Bridge- 
 port, was at Norwalk, from which jilace regular 
 lines of passenger and freight sloops sailed to New 
 York. The first incorporated steamboat company 
 in the county was formed at Norwalk in 1824 ; and 
 soon after the first regular line of steamboats made 
 trips to the metropolis; and, about 1825, com- 
 menced to run from Stamford. It was not, however, 
 till 18IJ2, that the first steamboat connection was 
 made with Hridge])ort and New York, and about 
 thirteen years since with Port JefTcrsou on Long 
 Island. For t he past forty years Bridgeport has taken 
 the lead as a commercial centre, and the commerce 
 
80 
 
 THE msTOUICAL, STATISTICAL ASD mDUSTRIAL 
 
 has been confined mostly to the coasting trade, as the 
 export trade is still in its infancy. This place wiis a 
 grain mart up to 1833; and extensive commerce 
 was carried on from here with eastern and southern 
 ports. Prior to 1 840, the West Indian trade was 
 very considerable, and made good business for mil- 
 lers and coopers. Three ships were at one time 
 engaged in the v liale-fisheries from here, and a 
 company jjursued cod-fishing on the banks of New- 
 foundland ; and, for tlie last few years, a large 
 trade in ice has been developed. There are six light- 
 houses on the coast of this county. The Peufield 
 Reef light-house at Black Hock harbor, erected in 
 1873, has a fiashing red light, with a fog-bell. The 
 Bridgeport light-house, completed in 1871, has a 
 fixed red liglit. 
 
 The firftt board of trade formed in the county 
 was organized at Bridgeport in 1875, for the pur- 
 pose of giving every possible impetus to commer- 
 cial and manufacturing enterprises. 
 
 In 1G87, roads leading from one plantation to 
 another were first designated as king's highways 
 or country roads. The first road of this character 
 in the county was laid out from Stratford over 
 Golden Hill at Pcquonnock, for horses and carts, 
 which afterwards became a section of the regular 
 stage-road and post-route through the county from 
 New York to Boston. 
 
 At tlie commencement of the present century, it 
 took thirty hours to travel by the mail-stage on 
 the route from Hartford through Danbury, the 
 half-way place, to New York, not including the 
 time required to stop over-night at Danbury ; and 
 the stage-fare alone was §(5.i>0, with fourteen 
 pounds of baggage, and a single fare extra, if it 
 weighed over one hundred jjouuds. In place of 
 the old king's highway, the New York and New 
 Haven Ilailroad Company, incorporated in 1844, 
 and consolidated with the New Haven and Hart- 
 ford Company in 1 873, but which commenced lius- 
 iness in this county in 1839, was a great stimulus to 
 all kinds of industry in tlie towns along the sea- 
 coast. The Housatonic Railroad, incorporated in 
 1830, running through the western part of Con- 
 necticut, and fully opened for l)usiness in 1842 — 
 the result of the great i)erseveranee and energy of 
 Alfred Bisho]) — placed Bridgeport in ;i8 favorable 
 a position as any other seaport town in New Eng- 
 land in its railway connections with the West ; and 
 was the germ of the rapid growth of the manufac- 
 tures and commerce of that city. Hardly less im- 
 portant, however, has l)een the effect of the Nauga- 
 tuck Railroad upon tliis |)art of the county, which, 
 incorporatedin 1845, to run from Winsted to Bridge- 
 port, and not fully operated till 1849, has opened 
 up to this county, and to Bridgeport in particular, 
 the advantages that flow from the extensive manu- 
 facturing interests in the Naugatuek Valley. From 
 the time of the oi)ening of the Danbury and Nor- 
 walk Railroad in 18.5'3, Danbury has grown rapidly 
 in population and business activity. The New 
 York and Housatonic Northern Company, char- 
 tered in 1803, since 1870 lias been run from Brook- 
 tield to Danbury by the Housatonic Company. 
 The New Canaan R:ii,lroad commenced operations 
 in 1808, and runs to Stamford. The New York 
 and New England Railroad Company runs through 
 Danljury from the west to Boston, and has become 
 a grand trunk line through the county, making 
 
 more direct communication with New England and 
 the West. 
 
 The first savings bank was organized at Bridge- 
 port in 1842, from whicli time there have been 
 seventeen monetary institutions of this kind formed 
 in the county, with deposits amounting to nearly 
 §14,000,000. 
 
 The first newspaper iiublishcd in tlie county was 
 the "Fairfield Gazette," ninety-six years ago, at 
 the county seat. The oldest newsjiaper pul^lished 
 in the county is the " Republican Farmer," still a 
 flourisliing paper, with a large circulation. The 
 " Farmer's Journal " was established at Danb.ury 
 the same year (1790). The " Norwalk Gazette" 
 was first lirought out in 1818, and still maintains 
 its leading position in the southwestern part of the 
 county. 
 
 In 1829 the "Stamford Advocate" was first 
 published. The " Republican Standard " of Bridge- 
 port first made its appearance in 1842. The 
 " Evening Standard " was the first daily paper 
 published in the county ; its initial number was 
 issued in 1854. The next daily jxijier successfully 
 estaljlished was the "Evening Farmer," also of 
 Bridgeport. The " South Norwalk Sentinel " was 
 issued in 1870. The world-renowned " Danbury 
 News " was established in 1870, having grown out 
 of the consolidation of the " Danbury Times " and 
 the " Jeffiersonian." The centennial issue of the 
 " News," printed in blue ink, gave a graphic ac- 
 count of the great celebration in Danbury July .5, 
 1876, when the people rejoiced for the final victory 
 whicli was achieved over the torch of Gov. Tryon. 
 
 The other papers are the "Greenwich Graphic," 
 "Stamford Herald," "New Canaan Messenger," 
 " South Norwalk Repuljlican," " Norwalk Hour," 
 " Westport Westporter," "Bridgeport News," 
 " Bridgeport Leader," " Ridgcfield Press," " New- 
 town Bee," ." Danbury Democrat,'' " Danbury 
 Repulilican," and "Danliury Item."' 
 
 The jjopulatioii of Fairfield (!ounty has increased, 
 next to New Haven and Hartford counties, with 
 greater rapidity than any other in the State. In 1GG9 
 there were only about 165 freemen in the county, 
 which then comprised the four plantations of Strat- 
 ford, Fairfield, Norwalk, and Stamford, not includ- 
 ing that of Rye. In the year 1756, the population 
 was 19.849; in 1870, 95,370; and in 1880 the 
 county had a population of 112,044. 
 
 Towns. 
 
 Bridgeport, most favorably situated on L'ong- 
 Island Sound, fifty -eight miles from New York, has 
 a poiHilation of about 30,000. Tliis thriving city 
 is in first-class railroad communication with New 
 York and Boston, with the West from Albany, and 
 with the Naugatuek Valley ; and there are seventy 
 arrivals and departures of trains daily at this point. 
 Its facilities for commerce are unsurpassed, having 
 witliin its limits the Bridgeport, and one-half of the 
 Black Rock, harbors. Tliat part of the city known 
 as East Bridgeport is connected with the other part 
 by four free public bridges across the Pcquonnock 
 river ; and there is an ample foot-bridge on the 
 New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad 
 bridge. 
 
 A large portion of the population are skilled 
 artisans, who are employed m a great variety of 
 manufacturing ; and among the long list of pro- 
 
 II 
 
UKviHW or rm: ar/.TJi of cossecticlt. 
 
 81 
 
 ductions, wliicli may l)c niitupJ to show the extent 
 of this iiidustiT, lire macliinery, stfiiin-eii<;ines. 
 iKjilcrs, aiul ciistiiigs (if nil descriptions; cast-stiel 
 and car-s|)rinj;s, springs, perclies and axles, brass 
 ware, pumps, locks, hardware, cutlery. Sharp's 
 rides un<I sportinj; fjuns, liits and liraces, silver- 
 plated ^'nods for earria<;es, saddlery and liotse 
 triMiniinij-!, and electro-platinj; in !.;old, silver and 
 nickel ; and sewini; innchines. for which the 
 Wheeler and Wilson Company occupies four entire 
 blocks, with a capital stock of .*l, 000, 000, employ- 
 inj^t 1.400 hands, with a monthly pay-roll of 
 $100,000 and producing about 000 machines per 
 day ; whih; the Howe Company, with a capital of 
 lj« 1,000,000 a!si>. and having a branch house in 
 Glasgow. Scot., is doing an enormous business. 
 There are here two patent-leatiier companies of 
 $100,000 each, of which the Patent Leather Com- 
 pany handles and linishes about 'JO.OOO hides per 
 annum, and the .lohn S. Way A: Company producih 
 russet grain leather to the amount of ^5,000 sides 
 annually: and besides annually dresses !l.(l(10 
 buffalo robes, running two factories and employing 
 about eighty men. Cartridges are also manufac- 
 tured here, with $:i00,000 capital, and a working 
 force of 4")0 men ; also percussion caps, and paper 
 and metallic shells, paper and paper boxes, carria- 
 ges and coaches, coach-lace and coach-lamps, hats, 
 furniture, shirts (employees numbering about liOO, 
 with about 400 who take work outside the factory), 
 ornanientiil wood, wood-finishing goods, novel- 
 ties and toys (employing several hundred hands), 
 saddles and harnesses, cement, sewer and drain 
 pipes, having branches in many places in western 
 Connecticut ; silk, ribbon, varnish of a superior 
 quality, soaj), water-motors, jewelry of a cheap 
 grade, boots, shoes, etc. 
 
 The eoninierce of the city is mostly in the coast- 
 ing trade. The business of the Custom-house for 
 the Kairlield district is located here. The Bridge- 
 port Steamboat Company dispatches two first class 
 steamers, the •'Bridgeport" and the "Laura,"' to 
 New York daily. The monetary institutions con.sist 
 of live national and tlirec savings banks and a 
 mutual fire insurance company. There are seven- 
 teen most attractive public school buildings, one 
 of which will accommodate over 1,000 pupils, a 
 high school, a young ladies' seminary, and numer- 
 ons private schools. The Uridgeport Liljrary 
 Contains over H.OOO volumes. 
 
 The city has three daily, two weekly, and three 
 semi-weekly newspapers. Its water supply is am- 
 ple. The streets and avenues are kept in a cleanly 
 condition; are well curbed and thoroughly lighted 
 with gius; the walks are mostly of stone and con- 
 crete, and the system of drainage is effected by over 
 eighteen miles of sewer pipes. A well-equipped 
 horse railroad and its branches aeconimodate the 
 people from the centre to the suburbs of East 
 Bridgeport and Fairfield, and to the cemetery and 
 the parks. Mountain Grove Cemetery, on the ex- 
 treme western limits of the city, covers about eighty 
 aCTes. It is laid out with most exquisite tjiste, and 
 is adorned witli niiissive and costly monuments. 
 This city cannot l)e surpassed for its favorite drives 
 and popular plesusure grounds. Seaside Park is a 
 most charming place for recreation and pleasure. 
 Here, in tliis most appropriate S]>ot. has been erected 
 an imposing and costly granite monument, adorned 
 
 with marble statues and bron;re medallions, to the 
 memory of the soldiers and sailors who fell in the 
 late war. Washington Park, in East Bridgei)ort, 
 containing a fine grove of old forests, is also an 
 attractive place. 
 
 The city is not deficient in fine blocks of build- 
 in"s and pul)lic edifices. Some of those that attract 
 atfcntion are the Bridgeport and People's Savings 
 Bulk buildings, the City National Bank ; the Court- 
 house, built of freestone at a cost of 87.5,0(10; 
 Wheeler's Block, which containsthe PublicLibrary ; 
 the Standard Association Building, and two opera- 
 houses, one of which is a fine structure. 
 
 The churches of the city are twenty-nine in num- 
 ber. St. .Vugustine's Koinan Catholic Church is a 
 massive Gothic edifice, built of granite at a cost of 
 about S1'>0,000. St. >Iary's Catholic Church, in 
 E.ist Bridgeport, is of a striking ar<hitectural 
 design. St. .lohn's Episcopal Church is of handsome 
 Gothic design, and cost about ijlOd.OOO. 
 
 The First Presbyterian Church editico is of a 
 peculiarly novel design throughout. It is of 
 undressed blue stone, trimmed with light granite, 
 with a tower about 150 feet in height. 
 
 Nathaniel Hewit, D. D., an eminent jiulpit 
 orator atui reformer, was born at New Loudon, 
 C!onn., in 17HM. He grniluated at Yale C'oUege, 
 and studied law, which he abandoned for the 
 miuistrv. Ho was installed over the Second Con- 
 gi-egational Chnreh at Bridgeport in 1830, and 
 over the Fir.st Presbytei'iau Church in 1853. He 
 died iu February. 18(17. 
 
 Hon. WilliamD. Bishop, a native of Bridge- 
 port, ha.s been n member of Congress and Com- 
 missioner of Patents. He was a long time Pres- 
 ident of the New York, New Haven and Hart- 
 ford Railroad Comijany. 
 
 Hon. P. T. Barnum, born in Bethel. Conn., in 
 1810, is not only the greatest showman of the 
 age, but a good lecturer and a jiopular temper- 
 ance advocate. He Las id.so been mayor of 
 Bridgeport. 
 
 The city of South Norwalk, and the borough 
 and town of Xorwalk. — The city, situated on 
 the west .side of Xorwalk harlior, is one of the 
 most important stations on the line of the N'ew 
 York, New Haven and Hai-tford Railroad. Itha.s 
 an estimated population of about 6,000. The 
 manufacturing interests at this jioint are quite 
 extensive ; its nearness to the great metropolis, 
 audits tirst-class water and railway communica- 
 tions rendering it one of the most ibsirable loca- 
 tions for carrying on the great industries. 
 Among sonu! of the most important manufactures 
 are locks, knobs and In-ouze ware ; steam-engines 
 and the cehOirated Earl's steam-pump at the Xor- 
 walk Iron Works ; tine hats by several different 
 companies, also straw hats ; boots and shoes on 
 an extensive scale, and jiaper boxes. There are 
 also two large planing-mill comjiauies doing a 
 heavy business. Attention is al.so largely given 
 to sliipViuilding and the cultivation of the oyster. 
 
 The sitinition of the city renders its commerce 
 of great importance to its growth. Besides the 
 large number of vessels biiilt and owned here, 
 and others, engaged iu the coa.sting trade, the 
 transportation lines of steamers are continually 
 engaged iu a profitable business. Twenty jias- 
 senger trains arrive from and depart for X'ew 
 
82 
 
 THh: HISTORICAL. STATISTICAL AXD IXDVSTIilAL 
 
 Ybrk daily, and five to and from Danlnirv daily. 
 A line of freight i)r()iiellcrs runs regularly to and 
 from N(!W York, and large and commodious 
 jjassenger steamers make daily trips all the year 
 round, conveying passengers at the low fare of 
 thirty-five cents a distance of forty-tive miles, or 
 the trij] to New York and return, ninety miles, 
 for fifty cents. The sail is delightful, and con- 
 nections are made with the New York and New 
 Haven and Danhury trains. A'essels drawing 
 twelve feet of water" discharge their cargoes at 
 the w harves. Boats are also run by the Steam 
 Freighting Company. 
 
 The city is growing rapidly, having about 
 doubled its po))ulation during the last decade. 
 It has .some fine blocks of buildings and church 
 edifices, and a handsome opera-house. The 
 school facilities are excellent. The religious 
 interests are represented by five churches. The 
 water works are among the most complete in 
 Kew England . 
 
 The borough of Norwalk is situated in the 
 centre of the town, on the river, nearly one and 
 a half miles north of the city. It contains about 
 7..5(iOinhabitants, and has five banks, six churches, 
 and several manufacturing establishments. There 
 are two academies in the borough, and four 
 newspaper offices. 
 
 The town of Norwalk contains about twenty 
 square miles of territory, and had a population 
 of 13,95(5 in 1880. There are five national, two 
 savings banks and ten churches. 
 
 Hon. Thomas Fitch was l)orn about 1697 ; was 
 deputy-governor of the Colony for four years 
 from 1750; governor for twelve consecutive 
 years from 175i. He was a lawyer, distinguished 
 for great abilities and large acquirements. He 
 died July 18, 1774. 
 
 Hon. Thomas Beldeu Butler was born August 
 22, 1806 ; graduated at the Yale Medical School, 
 and settled at Norwalk in 1829, as a physician, 
 but on account of his nervous temperament 
 abandoned that profession, studied law, and was 
 admitted to the bar in 1837. He was a member 
 of C'ongress one term ; was elected a judge of 
 the Sui)erior Court in 1855 ; of the Supreme 
 Court in 1861, and was made chief justice in 
 1870. He resigned this ottice in 1873, because 
 of ill health. He was the author of an elaborate 
 work on the atmospheric system ; an inventor, 
 and obtained several patents, ami took an active 
 interest in agriculture. He died June 8, 1873. 
 
 Clark Bissell, LL.D., was governor of the 
 State, and a judge of the Sujireme Court of 
 Errors from 1829 to 1839. 
 
 Hon. Orris S. Ferry was born at Bethel, Conn., 
 August 15, 1823 ; graduated at Yale College, and 
 settled at Norwalk in the practice of law. He 
 was a member of Congress one term, and colonel 
 and brigadier-general of volunteer's in the late 
 war. He took his seat as United States senator 
 in 1867, and was re-elected in 1872 for a six veai's' 
 term. He died in 1876. 
 
 Danbury, the nf)rthorn terminus of the Dan- 
 bury and Norwalk Railroad, had a population in 
 1880 of 11,669. No town in the State manifests a 
 more lively interest in education, and the ample 
 school buildings and grounds ai'e made most 
 attractive. 
 
 Although the central i^art of the town is not 
 yet a city, it is an incorporated borough, con- 
 taining a i)opulation of about 9,000, and is one 
 of the most attractive, as it is also one of the 
 most enterprising places in New England. 
 
 The religious denominations are rejjresented 
 by eight churches. The newspajjers, besides 
 the "News," are the "Democrat," "Republi- 
 can " and " Item," which are ably-conducted 
 journals. The borough contains two national 
 banks. ' 
 
 One of the places of intei-est is Deer Hill, the 
 location of beautiful residences. There are two 
 delightful lakes, Neversink and Kenosha, the 
 last of which is a fashionable resort for jjicnic 
 and excursion jiarties, about two miles west of 
 the centre, and is the source of Still River, which 
 runs through the borough, and afibrds a good 
 water power. The Wooster Cemetery, embrac- 
 ing an inclosure of about 100 acres, with its 
 evergreens, tastefully laid out mounds, walks 
 and drives, its artificial lake, and costly and at- 
 tractive monuments, is a fit and handsome place 
 of sepulture. Near the entrance, on a sightly 
 elevation, stands the monument erected to the 
 memory of Maj. Gen. David Wooster. It is of 
 freestone, and abotit forty feet high. The coat 
 of arms of Connecticut is carved on one side of 
 the shaft ; his deeds of valor are recorded on 
 another ; and on the third the fact of his having 
 organized the first lodge of Freemasons in Con- 
 necticut at New Haven. 
 
 Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin, born July 3, 1745, 
 and a graduate of Yale College, was ordained at 
 Danbury in October, 1770. He was a chaplain 
 in the Revolutionary army at New York in 1776, 
 and, amid the hardships of the camp in attend- 
 ing the sick and suijfering, contracted the disease 
 of which he died. He was a man of great talents 
 and culture. He died October 1, 1776. 
 
 Stamford had in 1880 a population of 11,298. 
 The borough is .sitinxted on Mill River. The 
 commerce is principally with New York. Steam- 
 ers make daily trips to and from New York, and 
 the freight of the transportatiom comjianies is 
 heavy. 
 
 The manufacturing interests are somewhat 
 varied, and among them may be noticed the pro- 
 duction of iron, brass and copper wai'e. A large 
 business is carried on in the manufacture of 
 stoves, hollow ware, hot-air and cooking ranges 
 and castings. There are also camjjhor refineries, 
 and dye woods of all kinds are quite extensively 
 manufactured, as are boots and shoes, edge tools 
 and wire, locks, carriages, woollen goods, hil- 
 liard-tables, linvbrick, drain-pipes, marble, gran- 
 ite and flagging-.stone. 
 
 This is one of the most popular localities for 
 residences of the business men of New York, and 
 those who wish to retire to live in wealth and 
 luxury ; and the town is believed to have more 
 elegant private residences than any other of its 
 size in the State. About twenty passenger 
 trains leave here on the N. Y'. , N. H. and II. 
 R. R., and as many arrive daily from New Y'ork. 
 The town is one school district, having seven- 
 teen common and several private schools. There 
 are also four graded .schools and two academies. 
 The religious interests are maintained by twelve 
 
iif:v[EW of the statk of roxxEcr/rrr. 
 
 83 
 
 olmrches. Some of the cliuroh ciliticf.s aro 
 moili'ls of architecture. 
 
 The town hall, of liriek ami Ohio stoue, with 
 u tower 100 feet hij<h, was Imilt at ii i-ost of 
 St4i).(MNi. 
 
 WomUaiul Cemctei7 is an attractive spot. The 
 drives in the vicinity of Stamford are charming, 
 ami the views of the .Sound and the .surrounding 
 country from the adjoining; hills are ina;;niliccnt. 
 
 .\lirahnm Davenport, grandson of the Hev. .lohn 
 navenport, the foumler of the New Haven Colony, 
 was a resident of Stamford. Mis true Christian in- 
 teijrity. vigor ami uncommon tirmnes,s of mind, 
 were prominent traits of cliaracter. In tlie Icgis- 
 laluri' of Connecticut, May IN, 17S0, on the famous 
 I irk day, which wa.s thought to he the judgment 
 1 ly. on a motion to adjourn, he said: "I am 
 i^ainst an adjournment. The day of judgment is 
 ipproaching. or it is not. If it is not, there is no 
 c.iiise of adjournment; if it is, I choose to he found 
 doing my duty. I wish, tlierefore, that candles 
 miy hi: hrought." While sitting as chief justice 
 of th ■ Court of Common I'leas at Danhury, after 
 heing struck with death, he heard a portion of a 
 trial, ehargi'd tlie jury, and retired for the night to 
 h.- fi)uiid with life extinct soon afterwards. 
 
 Charles llawley, horn June lo, 17112, graduated 
 with honor at Yale in 1S1:1, and opened a law 
 otti -c in Stamford ahout IMlG. He left an estate 
 prid)ably larger than any lawyer has accumulated 
 from his profession alone in the State, and stood 
 in the first rank of the profession. He was lieu- 
 tenant-governor from 1838 to 1842, and died Feb. 
 27. IHlili. 
 
 The remaining towns of Fairtield County are 
 Oreenwicli (population, S,000), having several husi- 
 ne^s centres, whose local newspaper needs are 
 served hy the "(rreenwich Graphic"; and is noted 
 principally for its tine villas and residences of men 
 doing business in New York. On the eastern limit 
 of th' town is the hill noted as the place of the 
 <laring fi'at of Gen. Putnam in the Revolutionary 
 war. Fairtield (-1,000), embracing, in its extreme 
 southwestern part, at the mouth of Mill river, 
 Southport. which, like Greenwich, is a most charm- 
 ing suburb of New York, and has a small though 
 deep and commodious harbor. In the western and 
 upper part of tlie town is Greenfield Hill, one of 
 the most sightly elevations of the region. From 
 tlie church steeple here twenty-eight church spires 
 in Bridgeport, Stratford, Jlilford, Reading and 
 other places can be seen, also about half a dozen 
 light-houses from Stratford Point to the Norwalk 
 Islands. A public avenue now runs over the cele- 
 brated " Sasco Swamp" of earliest Indian warfare 
 fame, near Southport. Newtown (4.000), an agri- 
 cultural town, yet favored witli tlie Imsiness of the 
 New York Belting and Packing Company, the old- 
 est manufacturei's of vulcanized rubl)er fabrics in 
 the country; as also with the manufacture of car- 
 springs, solid emery vulcanite wheels, antiseptic 
 linen liose, rubber-lined linen hose, etc. Strat- 
 ford (4. .500 situated on Long Island Sound, at 
 the mouth of the Ilousatonic river, a level town- 
 ship for thi; most part, whose meadows at the 
 month of the river are of very rich alluvial forma- 
 tion; and its village is characterized by one long, 
 fine street, pleasantly lined with elegant residences, 
 and well shaded with a variety of ornamental trees. 
 
 Westport i;i,.")00), a town noteil, like several of the 
 foregoing, lor its beautiful n'sidcnces of those still 
 in business in New York city, as also of those who 
 have retired from active life. 
 
 On a bend of the river, at a point neartheSoiind, 
 is the elevation known in Revolutionary history as 
 Compo. 
 
 New Canaan r2,S00), a mountainous, yet growing 
 town at the terminus of the New Canaan Railroad, 
 whose manufacturing interests are in boots and 
 shoes, and whose local pa|)cr is the well-esteemed 
 "New Canaan Messenger."" Bethel, an incorporated 
 borough of 2,xOO inhabitants; a growing, prosper- 
 ous place, whose leading industry is the manu- 
 facture of hats, and whose admirably constructed 
 water-works are justly the pride of the town. 
 Ridgefiekl ( 2,000 1, lying in the western part of the 
 county bordering on New York, the |)rincipid street 
 of whose village, with its lawns, walks and shade 
 trees, imparts to the place a wonderful home-like 
 appearance, and whose newspaper, the " Ridgetield 
 Press,"" has deservedly an excellent circulation. 
 
 Some parts of this township are so elevated that 
 n view can be had: of Long Island Sound at a 
 distance of fourteen miles, and of Kast and West 
 Rock at New Haven, and of the Highlands of the 
 Hudson. 
 
 Darien (2,000l, a small township situated on 
 Long Island Sound, a favorite resort for purposes 
 of residence of New York business men, and withal 
 of gentlemen of leisure. Wilton, an agricultural 
 town of 1,000 inhabitants. Reading, a sparsely 
 settled, strii'tly agricultural township, with a popu- 
 lation of about I.'IOO. Huntington (2..500i, having 
 <iuite extensive manufactures of silver-ware and 
 paper, and a growing place. Trumbull (1,300), its 
 people being largely given to liu3l)andry, though 
 shirts are quite extensively manufactured here; as 
 also paper, at Beers' Mills. Monroe (1,200|, an 
 agricultural township, with an uneven surface, 
 though quite productive soil. 
 
 Tashua Hill, in this town, is a signal-station of 
 the United States Coast Survey, and is the first land 
 visible when approaching this coast. 
 
 Easton (l,200i. an irregular townshij) lying north 
 of Fairfield; a farming and eminently "well-to- 
 do"' community. Brookfield (l,200i, a farming 
 town, though giving some attention to the manu- 
 facture of lime, hats, etc. AVeston (1,000|, which 
 has an iron foundry and machine-shop at Valley 
 Forge ; a plough and hay-cutter manufactory, and 
 a flour and plaster mill at Lyon's Plains. New 
 Fairfield (800i, an agricultural town lying adjacent 
 to the New Y'ork State line. Sherman isiOOi. the 
 most northern town in the county, wedged in 
 between Litchtiehl County and the State of New 
 York, and whose people are nearly all farmers. 
 
 All these towns have the usual complement of 
 churches, quite all being of the so-called Evangeli- 
 Cid ■ order, the Congregationalist and Methodist, 
 perhaps, predominating ; and of schools. 
 
 Rev. Isaac Lewis, D. I)., born .Ian. 31, 174(>; 
 Yale College, 17li.>; settled at Greenwich Oct. 18, 
 1780; was a fervent Revolutionary patriot, and at 
 one time a regiment;d chaplain. In the only house 
 left standing at the burning of Norwalk, he preach- 
 ed an appropriate sermon from Isa. Ixiv. 11-12, 
 the inhal)itants having assembled on the occasion 
 
84 
 
 llEVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 for the purpose of fasting and prayer. He died 
 Auk- 27, 1840. 
 
 Joel Lindsley, I). D., (1793-18G8), was long tlie 
 esteemed pastor of the Greenwicii Congregational 
 church. 
 
 Hon. Gold Selleck Silliman, born at Fairfield in 
 1732; Yale College, 1752; a distinguished lawyer, 
 and a brigadier-general of militia in the Revolu- 
 tion ; was the fatlier of tlie late Benjamin Silliman, 
 LL.D., of Yale College. His death occurred 
 July 12, 1790. 
 
 Philo Shelton, A. M.. former rector of Trinity 
 Church of Fairfield (1754-182.5; Yale College, 
 1778), is believed to have been the fir.st Episcopal 
 clergyman ordained in the United States. 
 
 Roger Minott Sherman, LL.D., a native of Fair- 
 field, one of tlie most eminent lawyers of his day, 
 and son of Roger Sherman, one of tlie signers of 
 the Declaration, was one of tlie judges of the 
 Supreme Court of Errors of this State from 1839 
 to 1842. 
 
 The Rev. Samuel Johnson, D. D., one of the 
 founders of Episcopacy in Connecticut (1G96-1772; 
 Yale College, 1714), an author of note, a man of 
 great talents and personal dignity, was settled at 
 one time over the church in Stratford. 
 
 Maj.-Gen. Daniel Wooster, a native of Stratford 
 (17U-1771; Yale College, 1738), having entered 
 the military service, was captain of a company in 
 the expedition against Louisburgh in 1745. He 
 was a general in the French wars ; commander of 
 the troops sent to guard New York in 1775 ; went 
 to Canada, and was chief in command after the 
 deatli of Gen. Montgomery. lie was appointed 
 major-general of the State militia aliout 1776; and, 
 in 1777, learning that the British had landed at 
 Compo, pursued them to Danbury, and was mortally 
 wounded at Ridgeficld, April 27, 1777. 
 
 Hon. David Plant, a native and life-long resident 
 of Stratford, a graduate of Yale in 1804, wiis a 
 member of Congress from 1827 to 1829, and died 
 Oct. IS, 1851. 
 
 The Rev. Jonathan IngersoU, installed pastor of 
 the Ridgefield church Aug. 8, 1739, was a chaplin 
 
 in the Colonial army on Lake Champlain. Died 
 Oct. 2, 1778, in the 05tli year of his age, and the 
 40tli of his ministry. 
 
 The Rev. Samuel Goodrich, father of the re- 
 nowned Peter Parley, was, for upwards of twenty- 
 five years, the faithful pastor of the Ridgefield 
 church. 
 
 Tlie Rev. David Ely, D. D., settled at Hunting- 
 ton, Oct. 27, 1773 (1749-181G; Yale College, 17G9), 
 was so zealous in the patriot cause during the Rev- 
 olutionary war, that the Tories in this section 
 threatened to hang him, when the rebellion should 
 have been crushed, on an oak tree in the public 
 square. 
 
 The Rev. James Beebe, pastor of the Congrega- 
 tional church at Trumbull for thirty-eight years, 
 took an active part in the capture of Ticonderoga 
 during the French and Indian wars, and w:is very 
 instrumental in stirring up the enthusiasm of the 
 people during the Revolutionary war. 
 
 3L-. Samuel Staples, a noted man of his time, 
 founded the celebrated academy in Eastou, by giv- 
 ing a fund which made it a free scliool, and a 
 numlier of acres of land for the benefit of the 
 school. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Sherwood (1730-1783; Yale Col- 
 lege, 1749J, was ordained at Weston Aug 17, 1757. 
 Espousing the colonial cause in the Revolutionary 
 war with such zeal as to become obuo.xious to the 
 British and Tories, it was not deemed safe for him 
 at one time to sleep in his own house. A publislied 
 Fast-day sermon, delivered by him in 1774, was 
 some years .igo deposited in the library of Yale 
 College. 
 
 Rev. Maltby Gclston (17GG-1S50 ; Yale College, 
 1791), was installed pastor of the church in Sher- 
 man April 2U, 1797, at a salary of £100. and a few 
 cords of wood. He was proverbial for his wisdom, 
 elevated piety, industry and iiunctuality. After 
 an active ministry of forty-five years in tliis town, 
 where he always resided after liis installation, he 
 died at the advanced age of ninety years. 
 
HARTFORD COUNTY. 
 
 .♦♦♦♦•♦■ 
 
 At the time of discovery, the Connecticut River 
 Valley wiis inlml)ite(l liy several small tril>es of 
 Iinliaiis. iillirj lo the Narragausetts and tlic 
 Noliantics, and, like tlicni, suhjcct to the constant 
 nttn('k» of the more poweifid and warlike IViniots. 
 Thev were also in a condition of enforced vassalage 
 to the miiihty Iroquois or Mohawk confederation, 
 which bounded tlirin on the west, and whose 
 warriors levied arbitrary tribute upon the Connecti- 
 cut tribe-s, and in case of resistance devastated their 
 viUages. Many of the rivc^r Indians had been 
 driven fr<in> their original homes and had migrated 
 to eastern Massachusetts, where they were found by 
 the Plymouth settlers. AVithin the limits of Hart- 
 ford County were several fortified villages, where 
 the rcninants of these tribes were intrenched as a 
 protection against their numerous enemies. At 
 Pyijuag. now Wethersfield, Capt. Block held an 
 interview with " Sequin," sachem of a tribe resident 
 there; and he also makes mention of a village a few 
 miles farther north, inhabited by the "Nawaas" 
 tribe. Upon the Tunxis Kiver was located the 
 tribe of that name, and the Podunks occupied the 
 eastern shore of the Connecticut, opposite Hartford. 
 Suikiage, the h)cation of Hartford, had ))robably 
 been seized by the Pequots. lus the Dutch, who were 
 first to make a purchase of land at this place, 
 treated with a Pe((UOt sachem. 
 
 In tli(! spring of 10:51 Walniuimacut, a sachem of 
 one of the river tribes, evi<lently impressed with 
 the idea that the English would prove powerful 
 allies against his relentless foes, the Pequots and 
 Mohawks, visited the Miissachusetts settlements 
 and invited emigration to his country, e.vtolling its 
 natural advantages and guaranteeing reasonable 
 terms for the land and bounties to actual settlers. 
 Gov. Wintlirop of Massachu.setts Bay seems not to 
 have been favorably impre.s.sed by the proposition, 
 andtoiik no action, but Gov. Winslow of Plymouth 
 ilei ined the matter of sufficient importance to 
 warr;int a journey to the Connecticut. He was soon 
 followed by other explorers, and projects for 
 emigration were warmly discussed by the Jlassa- 
 chusetts colonists. As the early settlers were 
 anxious to remain near navigable water, the 
 towns in the vicinity of Boston were already coni- 
 |>laining of overcrowding, and the Connecticut Val- 
 ley was regarded with longing eyes, although the 
 government of Massachusetts Bay continueft to dis- 
 courage the proposed migration. But advocates 
 of the measure were continually arriving from 
 England, and the government soon found itself m 
 the minority. 
 
 In June, lO:!:!, .lacob Van Curter, an agent (if 
 the Hutch West India Company, purchased about 
 twenty acres of land .it what is stdl known as 
 Dutch Point in Hartford, and erected thereon a 
 fort and trading-house, which he named the " House 
 
 of Good Hope." In October, 1C33. Plymouth 
 Colony, having in vain endeavored to secure the 
 co-operation of Massachusetts Bay, dispatched a 
 vessel til the Connecticut Hiver, under ctminmnd of 
 William Holmes, who established, near the mouth 
 of the Tunxis Hiver, on the site of the present town 
 of ^\'indsor, a trading-post. 
 
 During the summer of 1634, a company from 
 Watertown settled at Wethersfield. It seems cer- 
 tain that a portion of this com|)any remained 
 through the winter, thus constituting this the first 
 actual settlement of Hartford County. .June, lii:!.";, 
 the church at Dorchester, of which the Hev. John 
 Wareham was minister, located at U'indsdr, near 
 the trading-post established by Holmes. The Ply- 
 mouth government regarded this as an invasion of 
 their rights, but took no active measures to dis- 
 possess the Dorchester people. The matter was 
 compromis<'d several years later by a grant of land 
 and the payment of a stipulated sum <if money. 
 Among the Dorchester emigrants was Roger Lud- 
 low, lieutenant-governor of Jl.assachusetts Bay, and 
 several otiier men of distinction. Duringthis sum- 
 mer the colony at Wethersfield was greatly strength- 
 ened by new arrivals. After erecting the necessary 
 l>uildings, the Windsor settlers returned to Mas- 
 sachusetts for their families. October \'>, a party 
 of about sixty started from Dorchester to travel 
 overland to their new home. Winter closed in 
 unusually early, and the journey was accomplished 
 with great difficulty, a portion of their live stock 
 perishing on the way. Before they reached their 
 destination snow fell to a great depth, and the 
 Connecticut River was covered with thin ice, render- 
 ing crossing extremely difficult. They had taken 
 but a limited stock of i)rovi,sions, their winter'.s 
 supjily, together with their liousehold goods, 
 having boon sliipi)0<l by water. Many of the 
 vessels were wrecked, while others were com- 
 pelled to return to Boston. The situation of tho 
 little band of coloni.sts was truly dejdorable. 
 The severity of the weather frustrated all at- 
 tempts to obtain i)rovisions, aud they were des- 
 titute of the blankets, etc., necessary as a pro- 
 tection against the intense cold. Many of the 
 settlers, after suffering incredible hardships, 
 found tlieir way througli the \»'ilderne.ss back to 
 Massachu.setts, while tho.se who remained in 
 manv instances wi'rc forced to subsist on nuts 
 and acorns. But sjiring opened early, and with 
 the return of mild weather matters improved 
 verv rai>idly. Those who had bei-n driven awav 
 by "cold and starvation returned, bringing with 
 them large reinforcements. A fort was erected 
 at the mouth of the river to prevent the en- 
 croachments of the Dutch, aud the jjermanency 
 of the Colony seemed assured. A third settle- 
 ment was com'mouced at Suckiage, and was named 
 
86 
 
 77//; irn-^roniCAL, statistical and industrial 
 
 Newtown, tlio colonics at Wetborsflpld and Wind- 
 sor, respectively, takinfj; the names of Watertown 
 and Dorchester. April '2l>, 1636, the first court 
 was held at Xewtown. Mr. Ludlow presiding. 
 The present names of the towns were given by 
 the General Court in February, 1637. The 
 name of Hartford is taken from that of Hertford, 
 Eng. 
 
 During the spring of 1636 the Bev. Thomas 
 Hooker and hi.s assistant, the Kev. Samuel Stone, 
 pastors of the church at Newtown, now Cam- 
 bridge, Ma.ss. , headed a party of about 100 per- 
 sons, including women and children, in an ovei-- 
 land journey to the valley of the Connecticut, 
 and laid the fouudatinn of" the city of Hartford. 
 At the close of the year 1636 the total jjopula- 
 tion of the three settlements was about eight 
 hundred. 
 
 The Pequots early manifested symptoms of 
 hostility against those who had wi-ested from 
 them their 2Jossessious on the river, and had 
 either restored these lands to their rightful 
 owners, or had purchased them from such 
 owners. They viewed with alarm the rapid in- 
 crease of the Colonies, and conceived the plan 
 of uniting all the tribes in a common war uj^on 
 the English. Fortunately they were but par- 
 tially successful in this. During the winter of 
 1636-7, a number of the settlers were murdered 
 by the Pequots, and in Ajtril, 1637. a large body of 
 savages descended upon the outskirts of Wethers- 
 field, killed nine persons, and carried two girls 
 into captivity. The cajitives were subsequently 
 redeemed by the Dutch and retiirned to their 
 former homes. At the General Court in May 
 it was determined to wage a war of extermi- 
 nation against the Pequots, as the only means 
 of self-preservation. A force of ninety men 
 was raised, of wliicli Hartford furnished foi-ty-two, 
 Windsor thirty, and AVethersfield cigliteen. The 
 command of tlie expedition was given to Capt. 
 Mason, an experienced soldier, and the Rev. Mr. 
 Stone was appointed cliaplain. The force was ac- 
 companied l)y seventy friendly Indians, under tlie 
 famous sachem Uncas, and sailed "from Hartford 
 Jlay 10. The movement was entirely successful, 
 resulting in the total rout of the Pequot tribe, with 
 scarcely any loss to the colonial forces. 
 
 The bravery of Capt. Mason and his companions 
 had saved the infant Colony, bnt its future ])ros- 
 pects were far from Haltering. The campaign had 
 entailed a large debt, which it was but poorly pre- 
 pared to meet, and had greatly augmented the 
 effects of the ])revailing scarcity of provisions. It 
 had been found impossible to get the ground pre- 
 pared the previt)us year in season to raise a suffi- 
 cient sup|)ly of corn, as the colonists were almost 
 entirely without ploughs or other agricultural im- 
 plements. Many cattle had jjerished during the 
 winter, and, tlie war having taken away a large 
 share of the able-bodied men during planting 
 time, a famine seemed imminent. A su|iply of 
 corn was fortmiately obtained from the Indians 
 farther up the river, and the subsei|Uent winter was 
 p.assed in comparative comfort, altliough the In- 
 dians continued trcmblesome, rendering necessary 
 the utmost vigilance. The "train-baud " of Hart- 
 ford organized in I'iSs, still exists as the Gover- 
 nor's Foot Guard. 
 
 Up to this time the colonists upon the Con- 
 necticut had continued to submit to the autliority 
 of the Massachusetts governments, but, finding 
 that they were outside the limits of those patents, 
 it was determined to form an independent govern- 
 ment. A convention of delegates from the three 
 settlements assembled at Hartford, and on Jan. 4, 
 1G3'.), adopted a preamble and constitution for the 
 government of the Colony of Connecticut. For 
 nearly two centuries this constitution remained un- 
 altered, a monument to the wisdom and sagacity 
 of its framers, and with the exception of a few 
 months, when a royal governor claimed autliority 
 under protest, Connecticut has always been ruled by 
 officers chosen by the ballots of her freemen. 
 John Haynes was the first governor under the con- 
 stitution. At the spring session of the General 
 Court the towns were vested with authority to con- 
 duct their own affairs. 
 
 In the autumn of l(i39. Gen. Mason conducted 
 a second successful exjiedition against the In- 
 dians. Subsequent to this it does not appear that 
 Hartford County suffered to any extent from the 
 depredations of the savages, although for many 
 years the inhabitants dwelt in continual terror, and 
 maintained a vigilant guard day and night. Hav- 
 ing in all cases paid the former owners liberally for 
 the land taken, they secured, if not the friendship 
 of the local tribes of Indians, at least a passive 
 acquiescence in the rapid growth of the Colonies. 
 During the later bloody Indian wars, many of the 
 members of the river tribes disappeared, probably 
 allying themselves with the various hostile trilies, 
 with whom they perished. For a long period, 
 however, the settlers in the western jKirt of the 
 Colony wei'e harrassed by occasional raids, and the 
 territory east of the Connecticut River was not 
 deemed safe until about 1070. In the last men- 
 tioned year the Simsbury settlers became so alarmed 
 tliat they abandoned the settlement, and fled to 
 Windsor. Their liuildings were burned, and when 
 they returned, six years later, they were unable to 
 find the precise location of their former dwellings. 
 The towns in Hartford County furnished a large 
 number of men during King Philip's war, but 
 were fortunately spared the horrors of savage war- 
 fare in their own midst. Numbers of friendly 
 Indians remained in the county for many years. 
 The sachem Uncas was a powerful ally of the colo- 
 nists, and greatly assisted them in subduing the 
 Pequots. 
 
 The members from Hartford County of the New 
 England Confederation, formed in 1048, were men 
 of great ability and influence. 
 
 A settlement on the Tunxis River, in the western 
 part of Windsor, was incorporated as a town in 
 104."), under the name of Farmiugton, which name 
 was thenceforth also applied to tlie river. 
 
 Ill 10.')4, England being at war with Holland, 
 the Dutch jiroporty in this section was formally 
 sequestrated by the colonial authorities, thus ending 
 tlie occupation of this region by the Dutch. 
 
 In 1002, Gov. Winthrop, who had gone to Eng- 
 land for the purpose, obtained from King Charles 
 II. a charter for the Colony of Connecticut, con- 
 veying ample privileges. By the terms of this 
 charter, Connecticut extended from the Narragan- 
 sett river on the east to the sea on the west, and 
 under this grant the Colony subsequently laid 
 
 I 
 
REVIEW OF TIIK STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 87 
 
 ^lth.mgh .hi. ':''-f ,:";j'"S„f ;;■ ^,;:r"ot'uri ?n OctoLcr. 1087, Sir Edmund Andros appeared 
 ^i:^.^::^ ^:::;:irLt t^l'Uion. at Hartford, where the General Court was in ses- 
 
 Hartford County was constituted in 1 «(!.>, its 
 original limits inchidinj^ all of ■Polland County, 
 and portions of the euunties of Litchtiehl and 
 New London. Simshurv, tlie northwestern part of 
 
 sion, declared that a<;semhly dissolved, and de- 
 manded the surrender of tlie cliarter of the Colony. 
 Possil)lv to meet an exi<,'eucy like this, a duplicate 
 of tlie charter liad lieen prepared, which was finally 
 
 iNew lAmcion. p.u.s..u, ,,.... """"""-Y, ^t,,(iian produced. Thecolonial governor protested against 
 re:;%iretr.rWi:VM-:coe.'''Thr;r- lheauthortityof.M.aros,andadebLensued,which 
 
88 
 
 TIIH UlSTolUCAL, tiTATIsriCAL AXD IXDUSTIIIA I. 
 
 was ))rolon^ctl until dark. Candleswcre called for 
 and upon tlicir airival it was discovered that the 
 Copy of tlie charter had disappeared. It had been 
 taken by Capt. Josepli Wadsnortli, who conveyed 
 it to the" soiitli part of the city, and concealed it in 
 tlie hollow trunk of a larne oak, in front of the 
 residence of Hon. Samuel Wyllys, where it remained 
 until less troulilous times. Tlie tree whicli was 
 pointed out as liaving been tlie depository of the 
 2Jrecious document was one of the cliief attractions 
 of Hartford until Au<,'. 20, lH5(i, wlieu it was 
 destroyed by a furious storm, while its name is 
 perpetuated in various ways, Hartford itself lieinff 
 called. l)y common consent, the Charter Oak City. 
 
 Until 171)1, Hartford liad been the sole capital of 
 tlie united Colony, l)ut in tliatyear Xew Haven was 
 made a semi-capital, and from tliat time until 1ST8, 
 the sessions of the General Court were held alter- 
 nately in the two cities. 
 
 Durinf^ the almost continual wars with the French 
 and Indians from IGSO to 17(!;t, Hartford County, 
 being on the frontier so far as its western towns 
 were concerned, was in a continual state of uneasiness 
 owing to tlie atrocities committed in New York and 
 Pennsylvania. Fortified houseswere erected at va- 
 rious exposed points, including four in Hartford, 
 while the ferries at that |)lace and at Windsor were 
 placed in a condition of defense. In 1704 the 
 General Court resolved that thefrontiertowns must 
 be held, as a measure of public safety, and that the 
 inhabitants of these towns must remain, under 
 penalty of forfeiture of their lands. This county 
 had her full proportion of men in the military ser- 
 vice, and during the 100 years ue.xt ]n-eceding the 
 war of the Revolution, many of her citizens were 
 either killed in battle, or died of disease contracted 
 in camp. In the successful expedition against 
 Louisburg, in 174.5, Roger Wolcott of Windsor, 
 lieutenant-governor of the Colony, commanded a 
 brigade of Connecticut troops. The piincipal 
 officers under Wolcott were from Hartfcnd C'ounty. 
 During the war, which began in 17.">.5 and ended 
 with the treaty of Ryswick in 1703, Hartford 
 County had at various times from 500 to 2,000 men 
 in active service. 
 
 The first code of laws for tlie Colony was com- 
 piled in 10.50, and was composed almost entirely 
 of extracts and adai)tations from the Mosaic code. 
 The odium of the so-called "Blue baws " — if, 
 indeed, there lie any ground for such odium — rests 
 rather with the New Haven Colonv than witli the 
 Hartford. 
 
 The early history of Hartford County, like that 
 of all tlie New England Colonies, must neces- 
 sarily be somewhat ecclesiastical in character. 
 The settlements at Hartford and Windsor were 
 made under the guidance of the same faithful 
 shejjhcrds who had led their flocks ai'ro.ss the 
 sea in search of religious liberty, and u list of 
 the early settlers of these towns is, in each case, 
 an almost complete roster of the nieinbcrshii) of 
 some Massachusetts cliurch. It is claimed that 
 the First C'liurih at Windsor is the oldest re- 
 ligious organization in New England. At first, 
 under the ministrations of Rev. John Wareham, 
 assisted by Ejihraira Henet as teacher, tliere was 
 great harmony and ]iros})erity in the clnuch ; 
 ijut Mr. Heuet died in 1044, and as Mr. Wareham 
 was advanced in years he felt unable to jierform 
 
 the pastoral lalior witliout a colleague, over the 
 aiipoiutment of whom arose an exceedingly liitter 
 and protracted controversy. Appeal was finally 
 made to the General Court, which ordered that 
 an election of assistant pastor shoidd be held. 
 This was done, but the minority refused to 
 acquiesce in the result, so that nothing was accom- 
 plished. Mr. Wareham died April 1, 1670, and 
 for many years there was no settled pastor. 
 Rev. Samuel Mather was settled in 1682, and 
 remained until his death in 1726. The dissen- 
 sions culminated in 1694 in the organization of 
 the Second Church, with Rev. Timothy Edwards 
 as pastor, an office which he retained for the 
 remarkalile term of sixty-four years. 
 
 The church at Hartford, upon the death of 
 Mr. Hooker, in 1647, remained under the guid- 
 ance of Mr. Stone, but he found it impossible 
 to control a dissatisfied and controversial feeling 
 wliich had sprung up in the church, and which 
 rapidly increased. Several councils of the 
 neighlioring churches were called, but to no 
 purpose ; and several general councils, in which 
 the New Haven and Massachusetts churches 
 united, also failed to elTect a reconciliation. But 
 many of the disaflected members moved to other 
 places, and comparative peace was at length 
 restored. Mr. Stone died July 20, 1663, and 
 was succeeded by Joseph Haynes. A divi.sion 
 of the church took ■place in February, 1670, 
 Samuel Whiting taking the pastoral care of the 
 Second Church. 
 
 The Watertowu people were not accompanied 
 by their pastor in their migration to Wethers- 
 field, but Rev. Henry Smith was settled soon 
 after their arrival in their new home. This 
 church, like its neighbors, soou Ijecame involved 
 iu disputes, and very early in its history sent 
 out a colony to Milford. Upon the death of Mr. 
 Smith, in 1648, the Kev. Jonathan EusseU suc- 
 ceeded to the charge. Various disagreements 
 finally led to an open rupture, and ]\Ir. Russell 
 removed to Hadley, Mass., taking with him a 
 large uumlier of the congregation. This seems 
 to have ended the troubles in this church. 
 
 A churcli was gathered at Farmington Oct. 13, 
 10.52, witli Rev. Roger Newton as ])astor. Rev. 
 Timothy Stephens was installed at Glasionbury in 
 Octol)er, 1003. Tlie first minister at Simsbury 
 was Rev. Dudlev Woodbridge, settled March 3, 
 lO'.lO. 
 
 With the exception of a few Quakers, who were 
 promptly banislied, no dissenting sect made its 
 appearance in Hartford County until more than 100 
 years after the first settlement. This county sent 
 lis due ])roportioii of delegates to the convention 
 which, in September. 170S, adopted the religious 
 constitution known as the Saybrook Platform, 
 which, l)y sul)S('(|uent legislative confirmation, 
 became the rule of faith for the entire Colony. Under 
 strict repressive measures tlie growtli of so-called 
 "Separatist" ciiurclies was but slow until after 
 the Revolution; and to-day Congregationalism is 
 still the leading form of Ijclief in Hartford County, 
 altliough it has lieen much modified since the days 
 of Hooker and Wareham. 
 
 When in 171.5 to 1718 the jiroposed removal of 
 Yale College from Saylirook was under considera- 
 tion, Messrs. Woodbridge and Buckingham, the 
 
UEVIKW OF THE STATE OF COyNECTICUT. 
 
 HO 
 
 Hiirtfonl County ineinlxTs nf the hoaiil of trusU'es, 
 wiiniilv ur<;ctl its lonitiim at WctlicTslieUl, and so 
 (lissiitislk'ti were they with tliu action cstaMisliiiiLj 
 it at New Haven, tliat at the tinio of the- tiist com- 
 mencement after the removal, they helil indepen- 
 dent jfraduatini; exercises at Wcthei-sliehl, and 
 conferred deforces upon several undrr^;raduates. 
 Sul>sei|Uontly, however, these gentlemen liecaiue 
 
 for refusing to satisfy a judgment against 
 him. (Jn the day mentioned, an armed ])arty of 
 about sixty from Coventry and vicinity visited 
 Hartford, forciMy entered the jail and liberated 
 the captain. The party were pursued by Sheriff 
 Whiting and a posse, but made their escape, after 
 severely beating the sheriff and his assistants. The 
 ringleaders were subscijucntly lined £20 each. In 
 
 BUiLUINlj Ui- TrE fnOiNlX INSURANCE CO., HARTFORD. 
 
 reconciled to tlic locaiiou of the college, and took 
 ]>art in its management. 
 
 In consideration of the distinguished services of 
 Gen. Mason and his soldiers the General Court 
 made extensive grants of land to them. The loca- 
 tion of these grants gave rise to heated contro- 
 versies, resulting, in some cases, in actual conflict. 
 Out of these lanil troubles arose the riot of Oct. 
 22. 1722, at Hartford. Capt. Fitch, a resident of 
 Coventry, had l)een connnitted to Hartford jail. 
 
 ITfil the town of Hartland. then in Litchliehl 
 County, having been adjudged to be the property 
 of Windsor, was annexed to Hartford County. 
 
 During the tii'st years of the eighteenth century 
 the limits of Hartford County, as defined by act of 
 the General Court in Hiii."), were enlarged by annex- 
 ing several towns which had been organizid in the 
 outlying districts. The portion of Windsor lying 
 cast of the Connecticut River was incorporated in 
 1768 as the town of East Windsor. At the com- 
 
90 
 
 Till-: nisroiticAL, statistical and indcsthial 
 
 mcncemcnt of tlio Revolution tlicre weie fifteen 
 towns in the rounty. hut its ])resent temtorj' was 
 inchuli'd witliin the limits of ten towns; nanielj', 
 Ilai-tford, AVindsor, East Windsor, Wethersfield, 
 Glastonlnirv, Faniiington, Simsbury, Kntield, Suf- 
 tield and liartland. 
 
 The inliahitants of Hartford County were firm in 
 their resistance to the oppressive measures of the 
 British Government, and wlien, in May, 17(ili, the 
 news of the repeal of the Stami) Act was received 
 at Hartford, the General Court, then in session 
 there, appointed a day of general rejoicing. 
 
 Although this county was spared the actual hor- 
 rors of war in her midst during tlie Hevolutionary 
 struggle, her citizens bore a prominent part in that 
 conflict. Owing to the inland location of the 
 county, on a navigable stream, and having an 
 abundance of water power, it became an important 
 depot of supplies and prisoners, while arms, e(|uip- 
 ments and ammunition were manufactured in large 
 quantities. Major Clarke's Farmington company, 
 whicli passed through Hartford July '.W, 1775, was 
 entirely etiuipped by local industry. Farmington 
 appears to have been thoroughly inilaied with the 
 patriotic fever, the Boston Port Bill Ijeing publicly 
 l)urned in 1774, by the common hangman " in the 
 presence of a large numljer of resjiectable citizens." 
 
 E irly in the summer of 1774 tlie several towns 
 held meetings and passed resolutions condemnatory 
 of the action of tlie British Government, and pledg- 
 ing a liearty support to tlie sister Colonies. The 
 militia was immediately reorganized, every ]jerson 
 capaljle of bearing arms being enrolled, and during 
 the winter frequent drills were held. September 
 15, 1774, a county convention was held at Hartford, 
 which ado])tcd an agreement for the non-consumii- 
 tion of British goods, and appointed a committee 
 of inspection. 
 
 The expedition for the capture of Ticonderoga, 
 in May, 177.5, had its origin in this county, and 
 seems to have been first suggested Iiy General 
 Samuel H. Parsons. April 20, Ca])tains Noah and 
 Elisha Phelps of Simsl)ury, and Epaphras Bull, 
 William Nichols, Elijah Babcock, John Bigelow 
 and Bernard Romans of Hartford, started for Ver- 
 mont, where they met Ethan .\llen. The party was 
 subsequently joined by Captain Edward Mott of 
 Preston, to whom the importance and feasibility of 
 this movement had also occurred. The successful 
 result of the expedition was largely due to the saga- 
 city and slircwdness of Captain Noah Phelps. 
 
 When the news of the battle of Lexington was 
 received in Hartford County, ten companies, num- 
 bering some four hundred men, were immediately 
 raised and put in motion for the scene of action ; 
 but their services were not immediately required. 
 Five regiments of militia were located in this 
 county. 
 
 The county jail was soon tilled with Tory pris- 
 oners, and many avowed sympathizers with the 
 ■ British were kept nnder close surveillance at tlieir 
 homes. Prisoners of war were also continually 
 arriving, and it became necessary to provide a 
 more commodious and secure jjlace of continement. 
 Tliis led to the use of tlic " Newgate of Connec- 
 ticut,"' as the ]>rison at East Granby \\i\i always 
 been termed, which was an abandoned copper-mine, 
 first discovered about 1707. The first use of the 
 excavation as a prison appears to have been in 1 773. 
 
 In 1775 the mouth of the mine was inclosed in a 
 palisade, and a block-house was erected, while the 
 interior to some extent, was partitioned into cells, 
 a place of confinement suggesting the famed Bas- 
 tille and the castle dungeons of feudal times. 
 
 To more thoroughly disgrace the prominent 
 Tories, the county committee of inspection, in 
 April, 1770, adopted the plan of publishing their 
 names in large capitals upon the first page of the 
 Connecticut ••Cuurant," as "enemies of their 
 country." 
 
 During the Revolution there were five military 
 executions in Hartford. March 19, 1777, Moses 
 Dunbar was executed for high treason, in the pres- 
 ence of a "prodigious concourse of people," to 
 whom the Rev. Nathan Strong delivered a lengthy 
 and solemn discourse, which w'as afterwards pub- 
 lished in pamphlet form. It does not appear that 
 the other executions were thus solemnized. 
 
 March 31, 1781, Alexander McDowell, adjutant 
 of Col. Welles's Connecticut regiment, having 
 been found guilty of desertion, by a court-martial, 
 was executed in the jail-yard. Gen. Washington, 
 then in Hartford, having signed the death-warrant 
 on tlie ))receding day. 
 
 The defense of Hartford was not neglected, as 
 the records show that on July 29, 1777, the select- 
 men ordered a cannon to be mounted, although it 
 does not ai>pear that it was ever used. Troops 
 were occasionally quartered in the county during 
 the war. In 1779 Gen. Gate's division was located 
 in East Hartford for a time, and in November, 
 17S2, the French allies occuisied the same camping- 
 ground. 
 
 When Count Rochamijeau landed at Newport in 
 September, 17S0, he i)roceeded directly to Hart- 
 ford^ where he met Washington and other promi- 
 nent American officers. September 2(i, the dis- 
 tinguislied visitors were received with due honors. 
 And thus Hartford, where was conceived the at- 
 tack on Ticonderoga, at the very opening of the 
 war, was also the scene of the formation of the 
 final 2)lans whicli carried the contest to a successful 
 termination. 
 
 Immediately after the close of the war, Hartford 
 County was reduced to nearly its present limits l)y 
 the formation of Jliddlesex County on the south, 
 and Tolland County on the cast. Southington liad 
 been .set off from Farmington in 1779. Inl7s4 
 that part of Hartford lying east of the Connecticut 
 was incorporated as East Hartford, and May 29 of 
 the same year, the city of Hartford received its 
 charter, the population within the city limits at 
 that time being about 3,000. In 1785 the south- 
 westerly parish of Farmington was incorporated as 
 Bristol, and a new town, named Berlin, was formed 
 from portions of Farmington, Wethersfield and 
 IMiddletown. This town included the parish of 
 Kensington, which has retained that designation to 
 the present time. Granl)y was formed from Sims- 
 Ijuiy in 178'i. Marlborough, incorporated in 1803, 
 included the southeastern part of Glastonbury, and 
 portions of New London and Windham counties. 
 The northern part of Bristol was incorporated as 
 Burlington in isoc, and the same year Canton was 
 formed from portions of Simsbury and of Litcli- 
 lield County. 
 
 After the close of the war of the Revolution, 
 Hartford County enjoyed a season of quiet, and her 
 
liEVIE^V OF Till-: STATK OF rONNKCriCUr. 
 
 01 
 
 citizens devoted tliemsclvcs to tlio (levelopmeiit of 
 lier intiTuiil resourxcs. .luiiir ','n, 17m|, tlie first city 
 election was licUl in iriirtfonl. Tliuinas Seymour 
 being chosen mayor. 
 
 In common willi the rest of New Kn^land, Hurt- 
 ford I'onnty was tirndy opposed to the war of isl-'. 
 Tliis county, however, vviis lironj;lit into es|)eciul 
 immiinencc in connection with the war hy tlie fa- 
 mous ••Hartford Convention," whicli assembled in 
 that city Dec. 1.1, 1.H14. 
 
 The lirst fair in tlie county was held at Wcthers- 
 fleld, Ctct. 'i'i, 1784, and was repeated several suc- 
 ceeding years. The lirst exliibition of the Hartford 
 County .Vgricultural Associatiim was held at Hart- 
 ford in 1S17. 
 
 To Hartford helongs the credit of sustaining one 
 of the oldest newspapers in the country, "The 
 Connecticut t'ourant," which was first issued Oit. 
 29, 17i!4, l>y Thomas Green, and has appeared reg- 
 ularly every week since that tinu-. with tlic excep- 
 tion of four i-isues in I>rcenilier. 177."), and .lanuarv. 
 
 tlcil at IJerliu in 1740. and who peddled his ware 
 from house to liousc in a l>a.ski>t. .\ powd4'r-uiill 
 wft-s Iniilt in East Hartford in 1775, iielieved to 
 l)e the first in the country, and wa.s a most im- 
 portant cHtalilishment during the Kevolutiou. 
 Tlic first cotton-mill in Coiiuecticut was erected 
 at Maueliester in 170-1. In 17117, ar tliereabouts, 
 a steam locomotive was invented l)y Dr. Kinsley, 
 and appeared on the streets of Hartford. A 
 jiatent for a lever printing-press was i.s8Ued to 
 John I. Wells of Hartford in IHl'.l. 
 
 As early as 17H7, there were lines of packets, 
 chiefly sloojis, between Harffonl and \e\v York, 
 but there was little certainty or ri'fjularity in 
 their trips. In November, IMIK, the lirst steam- 
 boat constructed on the Connecticut wa.s 
 launched at Dutch Point in Hartford. It was a 
 small i>ropeller, intended for towing purjioses, 
 and was mimed the " Enterprise." The Connec- 
 ticut liiver Hteamboat Company was incorjio- 
 rnt'-d in 1824, and soon after ])nr<hased the 
 
 a» 
 
 ^'SKlLaAti*^ 
 
 n:''^'''- "■ |-^''''''"!;i!lllNll-"^':"';'J¥^^l77TT7T- 
 
 j^i i M■^vlwn'I, MARTFuRD. 
 
 lT7ii, which was omitted on account of the failure 
 of the supply of ])aper. Tiiis want of paper led to 
 the development of an important laanch of indus- 
 try in East Hartford, where Mr. Green, in connec- 
 tion with other parties, established a paper-mill. 
 There was great difticnly in i)rocuring the (piautity 
 of rags necessary to keep the mill in operation, and 
 the early files of the " Courant " abound in urgent 
 appeals to the ladies to furnish the neces.sary ma- 
 terial. 
 
 A mill for the manufacture of woolen cloth 
 wius established in Hartford soon after the close 
 of the Kevolutionarv war, and when tren . Wash- 
 ington visited the city, in October, 17H"I, he 
 inspected its ojjerations. At his first inaugura- 
 tion as pnsident, he was dre.ssed in au entire 
 suit of Hartford manufacture. This mill was not 
 the first established in the county, however, as 
 one bad bei^ii erected at Windsor Locks in 17()M. 
 In 17H8 a bell-foundrv was established at Hart- 
 ford 1)V Doolittle A: (roodyear. It is supposed 
 that the first manufacture of tin ware in the 
 United States wa.s bv a Mr. Patterson, who set- 
 
 steamer •• Oliver Ellsworth," which arrived at 
 Hartford on her first trip from XewYork, May 7, 
 lSi4. The ••Experiment" had i)lied l)etween 
 Hartfonl and New London during the summer 
 of IWJ:}, and was prol)al)ly tire jiioneer in steam 
 navigation of the Connecticut. Durinfc the year 
 1K24, work was commo'.ieed on the canal between 
 Xew Haven and Farmiugton, and water was first 
 let in iu .Juno, 1828. This canal wa.s sub.se- 
 ipiently extended to Northampton, Mass. 
 
 The navigation of tlie upper Connecticut, 
 l>rior to the construction of railroads, wa.s re- 
 garded as a measure of great importance to the 
 citizens of this county, and large sums -were es- 
 I)en(led upon various ]>rojects for tlie improve- 
 ment of the channel of the river. N(>vember2(>, 
 18-2t!, the little steamer "liarnet" left Hartford, 
 and .succeeded in fjoing as far north as Bellows' 
 Falls, Vt., returning the following week. The 
 falls at Enfield were found fo be a serious im- 
 pediment to navigation, and in 182s a company 
 was formed in Hartford, which dug a navigable 
 canal, some five miles iu length, avoiding the 
 
92 
 
 riih: msroRTCAL, srATit<TiCAL Ayjj jyuLi^nuAL 
 
 falls, and furnishing tho valuaWo -n-ater-power at 
 AViiulsoi- Locks. Steamers coutinuiHl to ply be- 
 tween Hartford and Si)ringtield until tke eom- 
 pletion of the railroad, and Charles Dickens, in 
 his " American Notes," gives a graphic descrip- 
 tion of this short voyage. 
 
 ShipliuildiuiT was carried on for many years at 
 Hart ford and Glastonliury. and in 18:J3 a packet of 
 (JOO tons burden was launched at the former place. 
 
 In May, is;5,"). the legislature ijranted charters for 
 railroads from Hartford to New Haven, and also to 
 Worcester. The following year, the construction 
 of the New Uaveu road was commenced, and it was 
 oliened for travel in December, 1839. 
 
 The New Haven and Northampton Railroad, 
 which follows the route of the old canal, -was 
 opened for travel in 1848. The New York and 
 New England Railroad Company, in December, 
 1878, took possession of the Hartford, Providence 
 and Fishkill line, which crosses tho county from 
 cast to west, and was completed in 1853. In 1871, 
 the Connecticut Western, running northwest from 
 Hartford and the Connecticut Valley, following the 
 river south from Hartford, were opened for travel. 
 In I87(J, the Connecticut Central, from East Hart- 
 ford to Springfield, was completed. In addition 
 to the foregoing lines, there are branches of the 
 New Haven road from Berlin to New Britain and 
 ]\Iiddletown, and from Windsor Locks to Suffield. 
 The line from Manchester to South Manchester is 
 leased to the New York and New England Com- 
 pany. 
 
 March 3, 18.">4, occurred the most fatal accident 
 with which Hartford County has ever been visited. 
 Shortly after noon on that day, the boiler in the 
 ccr-manufactory of Fales & Gray, where some four 
 hundred men were employed, exploded with territic 
 fort'e, nearly demolishing one of the large shops. 
 Nineteen were killed, niany of tlieni heads of fami- 
 lies, and about forty others were injured. 
 
 The breaking out of the civil war in 18(51 found 
 the inhabitants of this cimnty engaged in the vigor- 
 ous development of the manufacturing industries 
 which have given to many of its towns a world-wide 
 fame. The news of the attack on Fort Sumter 
 summoned the liusy workmen to the defense of 
 their country, and, as in the olden time, Hartford 
 County wasi)rompt in sustaining the government. 
 
 April l(i. Gov. Buckingham issued his proclama- 
 tion, callingfor a regimentof volunteers. The next 
 morning, .loseph R. Hawley, editor of the Hartford 
 " Press." Albert W. Drake, and Joseph Perkins, met 
 in the ofHce of tlie " Press," and signed their names to 
 an enlistment paper, as members of a rifle com|)any 
 for the tirst regiment. JIany names were added 
 during the day, and the company was completely 
 tilled up at an enthusiastic meeting held in the 
 evening. George H. Hurnham was chosen captain, 
 and Mr.IIawley fii-st lieutenant. Tlie Hartford Light 
 Guard, ('apt. .1. C. Comstock, also promptly volun- 
 teered, and a third company was also reciuited 
 under Capt. Ira Wright. In the tirst regiment, 
 which rendezvoused at New Haven, in addition to 
 the companies already mentioned, was a company 
 from New Britain, under Capt. F. W. Hart, and a 
 company cam|)osed of men from Windsor Locks, 
 Enfield and Simsbury, under conunand of Levi N. 
 ililhnan, of Windsor Locks. The regiment left 
 New Haven May 9. on the steamer "Bienville," 
 
 and proceeded directly to Washington, arriving 
 there on the 13th, and going into camp at Glen- 
 wood, two miles north of the Capitol. 
 
 In addili<m to the various Connecticut organiza- 
 tions, Hartford County was represented in n;any 
 regiments from other States, .and also in the navy, 
 Capt. Ward of Hartford lieiug the tirst victim of 
 the war in that Ijranch of the service. Among the 
 distinguished leaders of the army, this county had 
 many notable sons. The names of Gens. Joseph 
 R. Hawley, Tlieodore G. Ellis, Griffin A. Stedman, 
 and Robert O. Tyler of Hartford, John Loomis 
 and AVilliam O. Pierson of Windsor, and .John L. 
 Otis of JIanchester, attest the honoralde part taken 
 by this county; and Gideon Welles of Hartford, 
 as secretary of the navy, w^as one of the President's 
 most trusted counselors. About 800 citizens of 
 the coimty were killed iu battle, or died in the 
 service. And those who served their country at 
 home during the long conflict with signal ability — 
 perhaps even more than if they had gone to the 
 front — must not lie forgotten. Prominent among 
 these was J. Hammond TrumljuU of Hartford, 
 who, as secretary of state, was a most efficient 
 assistant to Connecticut's noble war governor, 
 William A. Buckingham. Many private citizens 
 consecrated Wieir wealth and their best energies to 
 the equipment of the soldiers and the maintenance 
 of their families. David Clark of Hartford con- 
 tributed to these objects not less than >*(iO,000, and 
 his name is held in grateful remembrance by nu- 
 merous widows and orphans. 
 
 The series of religious meetings held in January, 
 February, and March, 1878, by the evangelists, 
 Moody and Sankey, and Pentecost and Stebbius, 
 were without a parallel in the history of Hartford. 
 Tliey were held in the skating-rink, which has a 
 seating capacity of over three thousand, and which 
 was filled twice every day for many weeks. These 
 meetings resulted in large accessions to the churches, 
 and their influence was felt throughout the county. 
 The religious interest was undoubtedly deepened 
 by the sad accident of .lanuary 15. On that day, 
 a large number of excursionists from the towns 
 along tlie line of the Connecticut Western Railroad 
 had visited Hartford to attend the meetings. The 
 returning train, consisting of nine cars, and drawn 
 liy two engines, had reached the bridge over the 
 Farmington river, just west of the TaritTville sta- 
 tion, when the entire western span of the bridge 
 gave way, precipitating four cars into the river. 
 Fourteen persons lost their lives, and many were 
 badly injured. 
 
 In addition to the towns already mentioned, 
 others have been formed, as follows : — In 1823. the 
 eastern part of East Hartford was incorporated as 
 Manchester. Avon was set off from the north end 
 of Farmington in 1830. The parish of Wintonlmiy. 
 in Windsor, became the town of Bloomfield in 
 1835. Rocky Hill parish, in Wethersfield, was 
 made an iudependcnit town in 1843. South Wind- 
 sor was incorporated in 1845. In 1850, New 
 Britain was incorporated as a town, and in 1870 
 received a city charter. West Hartford became a 
 separate town in 1854, and in 1S57 the northern part 
 of Windsor was incoii)oiated as Windsor Locks. 
 Eiist Granby was set off in 1858. Newington 
 parish, in Wethersfield. was made a town in 1871, 
 and Plaiuville in 18G9. having been part of Farm- 
 
REVIEW (IE THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 93 
 
 ingtoii. The territory included in Hartford County, 
 which. :it the close of the Ktvolution. was com- 
 prised within the limits of ten towns, is now 
 diviiled into twenty -seven towns and two cities. 
 
 TOWNS. 
 ll.MtTKiiUK. sec page fi8. 
 Nkw Britain, see page \)ii_ 
 
 Euticld. jiopulation 7, 000, lies in the nortb- 
 ■ .ist corner of the county. The Connecticut 
 Kiver forms the western bounchiry, and the 
 .S.'iiiitic i-rosses the southern part of the town. 
 
 dred biiihlings, covering an area over n mile 
 long and half a mile broad, and is cai)a)ile of 
 jiroducing upwards of .^],(MM),(MM) worth of pow- 
 der annually. During the Crimean war it hud 
 nn extensive contract with the British govern- 
 ment, and furnished some 10,(10(1 barrels, while 
 during the civil war in this country the works 
 were taxed to their utmost capat-ity. Several of 
 the buildings have names suggested by the late 
 war, as "Harper's Ferry," '■Bull Kuu," and 
 "Fortress Monroe." 
 
 A tract of about 1,200 acres iu the uorth- 
 eastern cnnii'r of the town is occupied by the 
 
 BUILDING OF THE HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE CO. 
 
 A bridge over the Counecticut, 1,1X10 feet long, 
 connects the town with Sultiehl. This bridge 
 was originally erected iu 1M08, aud w as the first 
 bridge across the river within the limits of this 
 Stat*', The priueijjal village is Thompsonville, 
 h>eated in the north-western corner of the town. 
 This thriving village has gi-own up around the 
 Works of the Hartford Carpet Conii)auy, which 
 employ aVxiut l.KM' liamls. and have an annual 
 capacity of about ;),(HM),tKIO yards of diti'ereut 
 grades of carpeting. This village ha-s four 
 churches, and contains many elegant residences. 
 At llazardville are the works of the Hazard Pow- 
 der Company, among the most extensive in the 
 country. This comi>any occui>ies over one hun- 
 
 Shaker community, founded here in 1787. The 
 .society is divided into .si.x families, forming 
 nearly a circle, with the central or church family 
 as a radiating point. Their lauds are iu a high 
 state of cultivation, aud their buildings present 
 the neat and thrifty appearance common to thi.s 
 sect. They are largely engaged in tin' cultiva- 
 tion of garden seeds, and also produce agricul- 
 tural im])lements, etc., to some extent. 
 
 The New York, New Haven and Hartford and 
 Connecticut Central Bailroads pass through the 
 town. 
 
 James Dixon, Fnited States senator from Con- 
 necticut from 1857 to 1869, was born in this 
 town iu 181-i. 
 
94 
 
 THE JllSTOinCAL, t<TATlSTICAL AXD IXDUi^TltlAL 
 
 Southiiip;t(in in an imiiortaiit manufaotuiinp; 
 township iu the sonth-westorn corner of Hart- 
 lord Comity. The Qiiinnipiae River runs nearly 
 through the centre of tlie town, from north to 
 south, the Xew Haven and Northampton Eail- 
 roail foHowing its coiu-se. The two villages of 
 Southington and Plantsville are located on this 
 river. Among the most imi>ortant of the manu- 
 facturing iudu.stries here carried on are tinmen's 
 tools and general hardware, luachine-forged nuts, 
 carriage hardware, screw bolts of every descrip- 
 tion, tinsmiths' machines, sausage-tillers, paper 
 bags and cutlery. There are seven churches, 
 representing all the leading denominations, and 
 an academy. At Hitchcock's Station and at 
 Marion, in the southern part of the town, are 
 manufactories ot bolts and of jewelry. Popula- 
 tion about .'), ()()(). 
 
 Dr. Edward Kolnnson, the distinguished biblical 
 scholar, Col. Cliailcs Whittelst-y, a gallant soldier 
 of the civil war, and Rev. Levi Hart, for sixty-nine 
 years minister at Preston, Conn., were born in this 
 town. 
 
 Bristol is in the south-western ]jart of the county, 
 eighteen miles from Hartford. Good water-power 
 is furnished by the Penuabuc River and branches, 
 which has been well improved. The principal or 
 <en ire village is divided into two portions, the north 
 and south villages. About two miles north of the 
 north village is Polkvdle, and aljout the same dis- 
 tance to the east is Forcstville. Tiiere are in all 
 seven churches and twelve school-houses. Two of 
 the schools are graded. Bristol has a national, and 
 a savings bank. The most prominent industry is 
 the manufacture of brass clocks. Other manufac- 
 tures are brass in all its varieties, spoons for ))lat- 
 iug, gray iron castings, trunk hardware, furniture 
 knoljs, augur bits and stockinet fabrics. The ])Opu- 
 lation is about ."j.OOO, of which over 1,100 are 
 employed in the various manufactories. Tlie town 
 is travei-sed from east to west by the Xew York and 
 New Kngland Railroad. 
 
 Manchester, an important manufacturing town, 
 lies next east of East Hartford. The New York 
 and New England Railroad crosses the northern 
 part of the town, and is connected with South 
 Manchester by a branch, about two miles long. 
 Union Yillage, or North Manchester, is located at 
 the railroad station on tlie main line. There are 
 nine school-hou.ses, including an excellent graded 
 school at South Manchester, and seven churches. 
 The silk manufactory of Cheney Bros, at South 
 Manchester ( Cheney villei, employs nearly 1.000 
 hands, producing di'css silks fully eiiual to those of 
 foreign manufacture. In fact, this company lias 
 revolutionized the silk trade in this country. The 
 village of Clieneyville is a model of neatness and 
 good taste, and in summer, with its abundant 
 shade and spacious lawns unbroken by fences, is a 
 most attractive ]d!ice of residence. The Union 
 Manufacturing Company, at North Manchester, 
 l)roduces an excellent quality of gingliams. Paper 
 is manufactured in large quantities in this town. 
 The population is about 0,500. 
 
 (Ilastonbury is the largest town in the county, 
 being nine miles long, from east to west, and six 
 miles broad. An excellent water-power is furnished 
 by Roaring Brook, which rises in the northeast 
 corner of the town, and empties into the Connecti- 
 
 cut a little north of South Glastonbury village.' 
 Good mill-privileges are also located on Salmon . 
 Brook, in the northern part of the town. Granite 
 of excellent quality is quarried in the town. This 
 granite abounds in felds])ar, and there are two mills 
 for grinding this article for potters' use. There are 
 ei<''hteen schools, a private academy, and, in the 
 various villages, eight churches. Perhaps the most 
 widely known industry of the town is the manu- 
 facture of soap, by J. B. Williams & Co., whose 
 works are located east of Glastonbury village. 
 Near these works is Brodhead's tannery, one of the 
 oldest in this region. On Salmon Brook are located 
 the satiuet mill of the Eagle Manufacturing Co., h 
 and also the Glastonbury Knitting Co., inanufac- H 
 turers of underwear. At Buckingliam village is a ^ 
 manufactory of horse hoes and cultivators. On 
 Roaring Brook are the paper mills of Case & Co., 
 and the Roaring Brook Paper Co., Pratt tt Post's 
 anchor forge, Hollister tt Glazier's woolen mill, 
 Greene Bros,' cotton mill, and a twine factory. 
 Population of the township, 3,800. 
 
 Glastonbury has acquired a national reputation 
 through the determined resistance of the Smith sis- 
 ters, .Julia and Abby, to the payment of taxes, they 
 holding that taxation should carry with it the right 
 of suffrage. Tliey ha .e refused to pay their taxes 
 for many years past, comijelling the town authoii- 
 ties to seize upon and sell jiersonal property lielong- 
 ing to them. They have annually appeared before 
 the legislature as petitioners for redress, and have 
 been regular attendants upon woman's rights meet- 
 ings. Miss Aljby Smith died in Decemljer, 1878, 
 leaving her sister to fight the battle single-handed. 
 
 Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, was liorn 
 iu tliis town (see Hartford). Alonzo B. Chapiu, 
 1), D., a distinguished clergyman of tlie Episcopal 
 Church, was rector of St, Luke's Church from 18.50 
 to 1855, and was the author of a bi-centennial 
 address in 1853, a valuable contribution to the 
 history of the town. 
 
 Suliield is eminently an agricultural town, the 
 only branch of manufactures ever pursued to any 
 extent being that of cigars and tobacco, for 
 which the town at one time had an extended 
 reputation. Here is located the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, founded iu 183.5 under the 
 auspices of the Baptist Education Society. This 
 institution oceujiies three large brick buildings, 
 located on rising ground just north of the centre 
 of the village, the most modern of which was com- 
 pleted ill 1876. The present averag;e number of 
 .students is about 100. Suffield village lies in 
 the eastern part of the town, along a broad 
 street, on elevated gTOund, aflbrding fine sites 
 for residences. There are three churches iu 
 this village. The canal around Enfield Falls is 
 mostly located in this town. At the west village 
 are two churches, . The estimated population is 
 3,000. 
 
 Phineas Lyman, a native of Durham, Conn., 
 and a celebrated officer in the French and Indian 
 war, was long a resident of this town. 
 
 Among the natives of Suffield who have 
 achieved distinction may be mentioned Gideon 
 Granger, menilier of Congress from New York, 
 and postmaster general ; Sylvester Graham, 
 vegetarian, and founder of the celebrated "Gra- 
 hamite " system : Timothy Swan, musical com- 
 
A'AI7/vMl i)F THE STATE OF ('OXXECTIVUT. 
 
 05 
 
 poser, imtliDi' nf tin' fiivorite t-liurcli tuiii', 
 "Cliinii ;" iiiid (iooi-<{i' TimI, ii llistiIl^cllislu'll linv- 
 Tor iiinl jurist of Oliin. TliistDwu Ims iinxluci'il 
 gevcriil fliTKyi"*'" "f uoti'. anioiig tliciii lU'v. S. 
 Drvilf 11 Phi'lps, D. ])., now editor of tlii' " t'liris- 
 tiau .Si'fretiiry ; " Kev. Dixviil N. Sheldon, who 
 was excoinmuiiiciited from tlie Baptist denomi- 
 nation for heresy, and afterwards lieeame a Uni- 
 tarian preacher ; and Rev. Cotton M. Smith, 
 who was settled at Sharon, Conn., from 1755 to 
 18<H>. 
 
 K.'ist Hartford is a valualile agricnitnral town- 
 iii)> on the east side of the Cimueetieut Kiver, 
 opjiosite Hartford. It contains some of the 
 finest river meadows in the State. Tlie Hocka- 
 uum river pa.s.ses through the ceiitrid i)art of the 
 town. The manufacture of paper is carried on 
 at Huniside. ami the Hazard Powder Company 
 Lave a liranch mill near the eastern lioundary of 
 thi- t.'wn. The New York and New England 
 Railroad crosses the northern part, having two 
 stutions. Large quantities of toliacco are raised 
 The town contains six churches and a jwpulation 
 of a1)out 3,M(M). 
 
 East Hartford has furnished two distinguished 
 professors to Yale College, iJcnison Olmsted, 
 the astronomer, and .\ntliony D. Stanley, the 
 mathematician. William Pitkin was (me of the 
 first .settlers of this town. He held many im- 
 portant ortices. and was governor of the State 
 from 17t>(i until his death in 1769. 
 
 East Windsor is a rectangular township, 
 boundeil on the west l>v the Connecticut River. 
 The Scantic Itiver crosses the town from north 
 to soutli, and. witli a tributary, Broad Brook, 
 furuLshes gooil water-power. Although the sur- 
 face of the township is somewliat broken, the 
 Boil is generally jtroductive and well improved. 
 The town contains several woolen manufactories, 
 seven churches and twelve school districts. 
 Population about 3.(KK). The Connecticut Cen- 
 tral Railroad passes through the eastern part of 
 the town. 
 
 John Fitch was born in East Windsor, .January 
 '21, 1743. He married uuhap])ily, and .separating 
 from his wife, went to New Jersey, where, dur- 
 ing the lievnlutionai-y war, he pursued various 
 avocations. In 1786 he successfully completed 
 a small steamboat, which attained a speed of 
 eight miles an hour. He was unable to secure 
 funds to carry out his jn-ojects, government 
 lands in Kentucky which he had iire-eni]>ted, 
 were taken bv squatters, and he died iu Bards- 
 town, Ky., July 2, 17!tS. in circumstances of ])ov- 
 erty, leaving the advantages of his important 
 invention to be reaped by others. 
 
 Thomas Ri)bl)ins, a noted Congregational 
 divine and historian, who wa.s liorn iu Norfolk, 
 Conn., August 11, 1777, was pa.stor of a church 
 in this town from 180'.» to 1827. During the 
 lat<>r yeai-s of his life he resided in Hartford ; 
 was one of the founder's of the Connecticut His- 
 torical Society, and for many years its librarian. 
 Although his income was limited, he accumu- 
 lated an exceedingly valuable library, which he 
 bequeathed to the Historical Society. A well- 
 authenticated anecdote of Dr. Bobbins is to the 
 effect that when a young man he began the ac- 
 cumulation of Ills library, when tin- qmstinn of 
 
 marriage was brought to liis serious considera- 
 tion. His income was so small that he tlniught 
 it would be imi)ossible to snpjiort a wife and at 
 the same timi' indulgi' his jja-ision for books. 
 lie decided the (piestion by the very simple 
 method of to.ssiug uj) a jienny, and remained a 
 bachehn- ! He died in Hartford Sept. 13, 18.'j(i. 
 His librarv is particularly rich in early editions 
 of the Bible. 
 
 Other natives of East Windsor were Oliver 
 Wolcott, one of the signers of tlie I^ednration of 
 Independence ; John W. Barber, author of manj' 
 historical works ; and Danforth Marble, the 
 comedian, celebrated for his deliueatious of 
 Y'aukee character. 
 
 Windsor, or "Old Windsor," as it is com- 
 UKUily called, is an irregularly- shaj)ed town- 
 .ship, lying on l)oth sides of the Farmingtou 
 River, and bordered on the east by the 
 Connecticut. The river meadows are large 
 and prodiu'tive, and the town also contains 
 many valuable tracts of upland. At Poquou- 
 nock anil Rainbow villages, in the northwest 
 part of the town, are falls in the Farming- 
 ton River, which have been extensively im- 
 l)roved for manufacturing puiijoses. The main 
 village is situated near the mouth of Farmington 
 River, and runs along the Connecticut Valley for 
 some distance, forming what is known as '-Wind- 
 sor street," which is broad and well-shaded. 
 There are many siibstantial residences, some of 
 these, like the Ellswortli mansion, dating back 
 to the Revolutionary i)eriod. Like many of the 
 towns in the county, it is largely interested in 
 the growth of tobacco. The Hartford Pa|)er 
 Company has mills at Pocpionnock and Rainbow. 
 There are two mills at Poquonuock, ])roducing 
 ca.ssimeres and fancy cloths. At Raiuliow are 
 located the paper-mills of the Si>ringtield Paper 
 Company, Hodge A: Son, and House it Co. ; 
 Hodge .V Son making a sjjecialty of ti.ssue paj)ers, 
 and Hotise <t Co. of press-boards. Population 
 about 3,()0{). The New York, New Haven and 
 Hartford Railroad passes through the eastern 
 part of the town. 
 
 Oliver Ellsworth was born in Windsor A])ril 
 2!t, 1745, and graduated at the College of New 
 Jersey in 1766. He was a representative in Con- 
 gress from 1777 to 1780 ; a member of the Coun- 
 <'il in 1780, and judge of the Superior Court iu 
 1784 ; was a delegate to the convention for 
 framing a constitution, and United States sena- 
 tor from 178!) to 17".lo. In March, 17'.t6, he wa-s 
 appointed chief justice of the Unitetl States 
 Supreme Court. In 17!l'.l he was one of the en- 
 voys sent to France to adjust the differences 
 between that government and the United States. 
 In 1802 he again entered the Council, and in 
 1807 was elected chief justice of the State, an 
 honor which he however declined. He died 
 \ovemb<>r 26. 1807. 
 
 William W. Ellsworth, son of the preceding, 
 was born at Windsor, November 10, 1791, and 
 gi-aduated at Yale in 1810 ; studied law, and was 
 jirofessor of law in Trinity College over forty 
 years ; member of Congress from i.s2;) to 1833 ; 
 governor of the State fr<mi 1838 to 1842, and 
 judge of the Sui)erior Court from 1847 to 1861. 
 He twi li'clined an election t" tb.- United 
 
90 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUS THIAL 
 
 States Senate. He died at Hartford January 15, 
 1868. 
 
 Henry L. Ellswortli, twin-brother of William 
 W., graduated at the same time ; studied law at 
 Litchfield, and practiced for several years in 
 Windsor and Hartford ; was appointed resident 
 commissioner to the Indian tribes of Arkansas, 
 and was commissioner of patents from 1836 to 
 1815. He devoted himself especially to the de- 
 velopment of the agricultural interests of the 
 country. On his retirement from office, he set- 
 tled in Indiana, and engaged in real estate busi- 
 ness. He died December 27, 1858. 
 
 Henry W. Ellsworth, son of Henry L., was born 
 at Windsor in 1814 ; studied law, and was counsel 
 for S. F. B. Morse in telegraph suits; removed to 
 Indiana, and jniblished a book, entitled " Sketches 
 of the Upper Wabash Valley,'' and was a contrib- 
 utor to various jieriodicals. He died at New 
 Haven in August, 1864. 
 
 The ancestors of ex-President Grant, and of es- 
 President Hayes, at one time resided in Windsor. 
 .John S. Newberry, the geologist; .John M. Niles, 
 Postmaster General ; Oliver Phelp=, the enterprising 
 purchaser of the Western Reserve; and the Rev. 
 Honry A. Rowland, the author, were natives of this 
 town. 
 
 Wctherstield lieson the west side of the Connecti- 
 cut River, next soutli of Hartford. Since Newington 
 parish was made a separate town, in 1871, the area 
 of Wethersfield Js much contracted, and it now 
 contains only about eleven square miles. The vil- 
 lage which lies in the northeastern part of the town, 
 near the river, resembles most of the villages in the 
 Connecticut Valley in having broad streets, lined 
 with large shade trees. There are four churches, 
 one of whicli, the Congregational, was erected 
 in 1701, and is one of the most ancient cliurch 
 edifices in New England. The town supports six 
 district schools, and an excellent high school. The 
 state prison, removed here from Granby in 1827, is 
 h)cated at the north end of the village. The main 
 buildings and wall of the prison are of Portland 
 lirownstone, and were, some years ago, improved at 
 large expense, making this the equal of any penal 
 institutifin in tlie countrj' for convenient arrange- 
 ment and thorough ventilation. 
 
 Tlie leading industry of Wethersfield is raising 
 and putting up garden-seeds for market. This 
 business has Ijecn pursued for nearly a century. The 
 onion crop, for which this town has always been 
 noted, is much less than formerly, the farmers hav- 
 ing turned their attention to tobacco and other 
 crops. The Hopson ic Brainard Manufacturing- 
 Company manufactures iron biackets and other 
 light castings. Their works were destroyed by fire 
 in Noveml)er, 1878, but have been rebuilt. 
 
 At Griswoldville, a small village in the soutli- 
 western part of the town, is a Congregational 
 church, and a factory which has been used for tlie 
 manufacture of edge-tools. The Connecticut Val- 
 ley Railroad passes through the eastern part of the 
 town, and there is a steamboat landing near the 
 village. Population, about 2,000. 
 
 Silas Deane, a native of Groton, Conn., and one 
 of the ambassadors to France in 1770, was for some 
 years a merchant in Wethersfield. 
 
 Calvin Chapin, D. D., born in Springfield, Mass., 
 in 170o, was settled over the Congregational church 
 in Wethersfield from 1794 to 1847. " 
 
 Among the natives of Wethersfield who have 
 attained distinction may be mentioned .John Chester, 
 an ofiicer of the Revolution ; Stephen M. Mitchell, 
 U. S. senator; Elizur Goodrich, the astronomer; 
 Harvey D. Little, western editor and poet; Ashur 
 Rol>l)ins, U. S. senator from Rhode Island ; Royal 
 Rolibins, the historian; and Gen. Samuel B. Webb, 
 a distinguished hero of the Revolution. 
 
 Cauton is a large township in the western part of 
 the county. The Farmingtou River flows through 
 the southwestern part of the town. The principal 
 village, CoUinsville, is situated on this river, and 
 was formerly partly within the limits of Burling- 
 ton. This village is named from the Collins 
 Company, whose extensive manufactory of edge- 
 tools was established here in 1820, and gives 
 employment to several hundred men. The axes 
 produced by this company have a world-wide 
 reputation for superior quality and finish. A 
 liraneh connects CoUinsville with the Canal Rail- 
 roail at Farmington, and it is also a station on the 
 Connecticut Western Railroad. Canton village, 
 about one and a half miles northeast from CoUins- 
 ville, was the location of the first settlement within 
 the limits of the town. The town contains five 
 churches and a jjopulation of about 2, .500. 
 
 Rev. Heman Huinohrey, D. D., president of 
 Amherst College from 182:^ to 184o, and Rev. 
 Hector Humjjhreys, president of St. .John's College, 
 Annapolis, from 1831 to 18-57, were natives of 
 Canton. 
 
 Farmington occupies a comparatively level valley, 
 about four miles wide, and lies north of Plainville 
 and west of West Hartford. There is much excel- 
 lent farming land in the town. Farmington River 
 enters the township near the northwest corner, flows 
 southeast to the centre, and then makes an abrupt 
 turn to the north. At Unionville, where the river 
 enters the town, there is an excellent water-power, 
 which has been well improved. The ])rincipal 
 manufacturers are the Union Nut Company, the 
 Platner ifc Porter Paper Manufacturing Company, 
 and the Cowles Paper Company. This village is 
 very neatly laid out, and contains several elegant 
 residences. The main village is situated on an 
 elevated plain, about seventy-five feet above the 
 river. The soil in its immediate vicinity is very 
 fertile, and flowers and vegetables are grown in 
 ))rofusion. Before the completion of railroads 
 Farmington was an important trading point, it 
 being on the favorite route from Vermont and 
 eastern New York to the seaboard ; and its trade 
 in West India goods at one time exceeded 
 that of Hartford. The village is substantially 
 built, and contains many comfortable and attractive 
 houses. Tlie Congregational Church was built in 
 1771, and is still in a good state of preservation, 
 being, next to that at Wethersfield, the oldest 
 church in the county. The American Board of 
 Commissioners for Foreign Missions was organized 
 here, and held its first meeting in the Congrega- 
 tional parsonage, September 5. 1810. Population, 
 :!,000. The New Haven and Northampton Railroad 
 passes through the central part of the town. 
 
 .John Treadwell, governor of the State, and the 
 first president of the American Board of Commis- 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF COyyECTICUT. 
 
 97 
 
 sioners for Foreign Missions : .lanu'S Kilhourne. a 
 mc'ml:)er of Congress; Rev. Pliilip Milledoler. I)- 
 D., tlie distinguislied Dutcli Kefornud tlerg>-raan ; 
 Rev. Asaliel S. Norton, D. D., one of tlie founders 
 of Hamilton College, at Clinton, N. Y. ; Rev. 
 Xoali Porter, 1). D., president of Y.ale College; 
 Rev. .John Kichards, D. D., a noted Congregation- 
 alist clergyman and editor; ami Timothy Pitkin, a 
 leading Federalist politician — were natives of 
 Farmington. 
 
 Berlin lies in the southern tier of townships in 
 Hartford County. The Mattabeset River rises in 
 the southwestern corner, flows north and east, and 
 then turning south forms the eastern boundary. 
 The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 
 runs tln-ough tlie centre of the town. Berlin village 
 is al>out one and a half miles southeast from this 
 station. Here are located several eluuches and an 
 academy. Kensington village is a short distance to 
 the west of the station. TThe works of the Hart 
 Manufacturing Company, makers of coach and 
 general hardware, are in this village. East Berlin 
 village has a station on the Middlctown branch. 
 Here are manufactories of corrugated iron au<l tin- 
 men's tools. Population of the township about 
 2,.500. 
 
 .Jonathan Hart (or Heart, as the name was orig- 
 inally spelled), a graduate of Yale in 1768, a 
 gallant soldier of the Revolution and in the regular 
 army, killed in a severe battle with the Indians; 
 John Kilbourne, western author and pul>lislier ; the 
 Rev. .John Eliot, for thirty years settled at East 
 Hampton, Conn.; James G. Percival, the jjoet; 
 and Mrs. Emma C. Willard, the celebrated teacher 
 and authoress — were natives of Berlin. 
 
 Windsor Locks is a small township, lying about 
 three miles along the Connecticut River. The vil- 
 lage is situated on the river in the northeast part of 
 the town, at the locks by which the canal around 
 Entield F.alls descends to the Connecticut, hence the 
 name of the town. The surface is generally hilly and 
 broken, most of the population being concentrated 
 in the village, and employed in the various manufac- 
 tories. Tliere are four churches and two jniljlic 
 schools. The town lias a varii.'ty of manufactures, 
 including paper, school furniture, spool silk, etc. ; 
 and a population of 2, .500. Tlie New York, New 
 Haven and Hartford Railroad jjasses through the 
 eastern portion of the town, crossing the Connecti- 
 cut River on a substantial iron bridge, one mile 
 no.th of the village. 
 
 Simsbury is an irregularly shaped townslii]), con- 
 taining about twenty-eight square miles, and is in- 
 tersected by a spur of the Taconic mountain range. 
 The Farmington River rims northerly through a 
 portion of the town, and is bordered by spacious 
 meadows; but, making an abrupt turn to the 
 southeast, it breaks througli the range of hills, and 
 its course where it leaves the town is almost exactly 
 the opposite of the first direction. Simsbury vil- 
 
 lage is situated in the broadest jiortion of the val- 
 ley, near the centre of the township. It contains 
 two churches, and a safety-fuse manufactory. At 
 Tariffville, in the southeast part of the town, and 
 at one time an active manufacturing point, are 
 three churches. Tlie Canal Railroad crosses the 
 Connecticut Western Railroail at Simsbury village. 
 Population about 2,000. 
 
 Alexander V. Griswold, jjrcsiding bishop of the 
 Episcopal Church ; Hon. Greene C. Bronson, chief 
 justice of New York; and Anson G. Phelps, were 
 natives of Simsbury. 
 
 West Hartford is relatively one of the wealthiest 
 towns in the State. The surface of the town is 
 gently undulating or level, except in the western 
 portion, where it rises to a consideral)le elevation, 
 known as Talcott ]\I<nnitain, separating it from 
 Avon. There are three churches iind eight school- 
 houses. The New York and New England, and 
 the New York. New Haven and Hartford railroads 
 pass through the southeastern corner of the town. 
 The manufacture of pottery is carried on at this 
 point. Population about 1,800. Assessed valua- 
 tion 62,117,000. The average valuation of the 
 real estate is nearly i^tVi ))er acre. 
 
 Nathan Perkins, D. D., a native of Lisbon, 
 Conn., wa.s settled over the Congregational 
 Church in West Hartford from October, 1772. to 
 his death in January, 1838. Among the emi- 
 nent men liorn in West Hartford were Theodore 
 Sedgwick, judge the Massachusetts Supreme 
 Court ; Harry Crosswell, jioliticiau, editor and 
 clergyman ; Noah Webster, the lexicograjiher ; 
 and Lemuel Haynes, the celebrated colored 
 preacher. 
 
 The remaining towns of the countv are South 
 Windsor (population 1,900), Granby (l,iOO), 
 Bloomfleld (1,400), Plainville (1,900), Burlington 
 (1,200), Rocky Hill (1,100), Avon (1,000), East 
 Granby (750), Newingtou (950), Hartland (650), 
 and Marlborough (400). Most of these towns 
 are agricultural, but Newington, Granby, Plain- 
 ville and South Windsor have some manufac- 
 tures. Avon contains Talcott Mountain, upon 
 whose summit, some 900 feet above the ordinary 
 level of the Connecticut River, is a lake of great 
 depth. Near this lake is a stone tower fifty-live 
 feet high, from the summit of which an exten- 
 sive view is obtained. 
 
 A part of JIassachusetts about two miles square 
 projects into the town of Cfranby ; this territory 
 was long in dispute, but was finally ceded to 
 Massachusetts in 1804. 
 
 South Windsor is noted as the birth-place of 
 the great metaphysician, Jonathan Edwards, who 
 was born in a house on the river road, about one 
 mile north of South Windsor village. 
 
 Leonidas L. Hamline, a celebrated Methodist 
 bishop, was born in Burlington. Walter For- 
 ward, secretary of the U. S. Treasury from 1841 
 to 1843, was a native of East Graubv. 
 
'iS 
 
 THE nrSTORICAL. STATISTICAL .4iV'i) ISDl'STlilAL 
 
 Hartford, a port of entry, the capital of Con- 
 necticut and of Hartford County, is situated on the 
 west bank of the Connecticut River, at tlic head of 
 floop navigation, fifty miles from its mouth. It is 
 iiuilt iiir the most part on elevated ground, and its 
 ?ite is eminently picturescjue and healthful. It was 
 settled in 1635, by people directly from what is 
 low Cambridge, Mass., and indirectly from Essex, 
 England. It was first named Newtown, but in 
 1636 it was changed to Hartford. The latitude is 
 ■11 deg. 45 min. 59 sec; longitude, 73 deg. 40 min. 
 45 sec. from Greenwich. Tlie distance to Boston 
 by rail is 134 miles, to New York, 110 miles; 26 
 miles to Springfield, 110 to the Hudson River, and 
 90 to Providence. The city was incorporated in ' 
 1784. Bushnell Park, containing forty acres, lies 
 in the central part of the city. 
 
 The new capitol, unquestionably one of the most 
 satisfactory public buildings in the country, occu- 
 pies an elevated site in Bushnell Park, in full view 
 of passengers arriving in tlie city by railroad. 
 
 The building, wliiwii was completed in 1879, at 
 an expense, including the site, of more than 
 $3,000,000, is in the modern secular Gothic style, 
 at once massive and ornate, and is constructed of 
 white marble quarried at East Canaan, Conn. In 
 the centre ot the building is a twelve-sided tower, 
 surmounted l)y a dome, on which stands a colossal 
 ideal figure in bronze, representing the Genius of 
 Connecticut. The total height from the ground to 
 t'le top of the crowning figure is 357 feet. The 
 Legislative halls are very elaborately finished in gold 
 and colors, and the various offices are replete with 
 ever}' elegance and convenience. 
 
 In Bushnell Park are bronze statutes of Israel 
 Putnam, by J. Q. A. Ward, and of Dr. Horace 
 Wells, by T. H. Bartlett. The new buildings of 
 Trinity College are situated al)out one mile south 
 of the former location. The college grounds con- 
 -tain about eighty acres. Trinity College was 
 founded in 1836, and was originally known as 
 Washington College. The faculty is composed of 
 fifteen members, the Eev. Thomas R. Pynchon, 
 T). D., being president. 
 
 The public schools of Hartford are unexcelled 
 b? any in tlie country. The high scliool, which 
 has acquired an excellent reputation, will occupy 
 an imposing brick building, costing .$250,000. 
 
 There are thirty-six churches in the city, many 
 of them models ot tasteful architecture. 
 
 Hartford is a centre of the insurance liusiness of 
 the country. The assets of the various insurance 
 companies — fire, marine, life, accident, and steam- 
 boiler, are in the rough, $150,000,000. The capi- 
 tal, properly speaking, cannot be even roughly 
 approximated, because most of them are mutuals, 
 with no capital at all except the accumulations 
 from business; the stock companies are a small 
 minority, and their nominal capital bears little 
 relation to tlieir liusiuess. There are twelve banks 
 with a capital of $11,000,000; and also eight sav- 
 ings banks and trust companies, with deposits 
 of ^*pl5,000,000. Sixty-four manufacturing com- 
 panies, representing a capital of §20,000.000, have 
 the' r principal offices in this city, altliough many 
 of their works are located elsewhere. Hartford 
 haa some of the largest manufacturing establish- 
 ments in America, their productions finding a mar- 
 ket in all parts of the world. 
 
 The main water supply of the city is from four 
 reservoirs in West Hartford, which are fed from 
 small streams and springs, having a total capacity 
 of 1,200,000,000 gallons. There is also a ijump"- 
 ing-engine on the river which supplies the lower 
 part of the city in times of drouth. The city has a 
 paid fire department, a fire-alarm telegraph, tele- 
 phone company, and electric lights. Its railroad 
 facilities are am])le, it being on the through line 
 from New York to Boston, and about midway lie- 
 tween the two cities. Tlie New York and New 
 England Railroad has Ijeen completed to the Hud- 
 sou River, giving Hartford a new route to the 
 West. By its connections at Millerton and Canaan, 
 the Connecticut Western line affords a convenient 
 route to western Massachusetts and Albany, wliile 
 the Connecticut Valley brings the seashore witliin 
 easy reach. Tiie Connecticut Central furnishes a 
 route to Si>ringfield. The New York, New Haven 
 and Hartford line has extensive construction and 
 -repair shops at this point. During the season there 
 is a daily line of steamers to New York. 
 
 The Opera House is one of the most commodious 
 and best-appointed places of amusement in New 
 England, its seating capacity being equal to that of 
 the largest metropolitan theatres. There are also 
 several large halls, well adapted for lectures, con- 
 certs, etc. 
 
 The population of Hartford in 1880 was 42,551 . 
 Assessed valuation. .§46,992,000. Probably a fair 
 estimate of the total wealth of the city, invested 
 here or elsewhere, would be §175,000,000. 
 
 It has the reputation of being the wealthiest city 
 according to its size of any in America. 
 
 New BniTAlN. — This growing manufacturing 
 centre is situated about ten miles southwesterly from 
 Hartford on the line of the New York and New 
 England Railroad. It has been a city since 1870, 
 and a liorough since 1850. In the latter year it 
 contained a population of 3,029. In 1880.13,978. 
 The present population is about 17,000. There are 
 excellent water works owned by the people. Gas 
 is S2.50 per thousand. There are over 1,800 dwell- 
 ing houses and numerous large manufacturing 
 establishments of world-wide rei)utation. Tlie real 
 estate is assessed at §5,000,000. Macadamized 
 streets are a feature of the city. The State Normal 
 School is located here ; an illustration of the new 
 building will be found on another page. 
 
 There are two national and one savings banks, 
 three hotels, four newspapers, including a daily, 
 an opera house, said to be the most beautiful of 
 any in New England, outside tlie larger cities, and 
 having superior acoustic properties. There are also 
 a complete telegraph, telephone, and electric fire- 
 alarm systems. A branch of the New York, New 
 Haven and Hartford Railroad connects with the 
 main line two miles away at Berlin. The city is 
 about 130 feet higher than the track of the New 
 York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and 
 occupies a natural amphitheatre among the sur- 
 rounding hills, a situation beautiful in the extreme. 
 New Britain can be justly classed among the 
 prosperous and pleasant places with which Con- 
 necticut al.)Ounds. 
 
LITCHFIELD COUNTY, 
 
 The first, white settlers of LitclifieUl County in 
 the State of Cunnocticut, came from Stratford, on 
 Long Island Sound, in the spring of lG7:i, and took 
 possession of the fertile valley of the Pompenuig 
 River, named after a ehief of the Pootatuck tribe 
 of Indians. Their emigration to this |)lnee resulted 
 from ecclesiastical controversies between the Kev. 
 Israel Chauncy and the Kev. Zeehariah Walker, 
 ministers of Stratf<ird. At length (iov. AVinthvop 
 advised Mr. Walker and his church and people to 
 remove to a tract of land which sliould be allotted 
 to them for the settlement of a new town. In the 
 spring of KiTi, accordingly, the General Court 
 having granted to .Mr. Samuel Slierman, William 
 Curtiss and others, lil)erty to erect a |)lanlation at 
 Pomperaug, sulise(piently named W\)odl>ury, some 
 of Mr. Walker's cliurch-members came to the new 
 town in the wilderness, and he, with most of his 
 followers, removed there the next year. Following 
 the Ousatonic River, formerly called the Pootatuck, 
 till they came to a large river flowing into it from 
 the north, they finally reached a sightly elevation 
 overlooking the beautiful valley of their search. 
 
 The increase of population at the new settlement 
 was rapid, and a few years after it commenced, ni 
 1680, the town was incorporated by the General 
 Court, the first in the county. The new town was 
 represented in the General Court for the first time, 
 in 1084, by Capt. .john Minor and Lieut. .Joseph 
 Judson; while the first meeting-house built in the 
 county was erected here in lOSl. 
 
 Col. Robert Treat, Thomas Clark, .Jonathan Bald- 
 win, and 110 others, chiefly of Milford, Conn., by 
 authority of the General Court at the Octolier 
 session in ITOo, purchased of the Colony, at a cost 
 of about §484, a tract of 84 square miles of laud, 
 called by the Indians Weantinogue, and situated in 
 the southwestern part of the present county on the 
 Housatonic River, which was at that time named 
 New Milford by the General Court. 
 
 The first white person who came to this pl.ace, 
 not a i)ro))rietor, was John Noble, in 1707, from 
 Westfield. Mass. The town was incorporated in 
 1712. with a population of aljout seventy persons, 
 the first minister settled here lieingthe Rev. Daniel 
 Boardman of Wethersfield, the same having been 
 ordained over the Congregational Church and so- 
 ciety in 1716. The second meeting-house built in 
 the county was erected here in 1719. Col. .John 
 Read had studied for the ministry in his youth, and 
 the first sermon the settlers heard here was preached 
 by him. This town was first represented in the 
 General Court, in 172.J, by .John Bostwick and 
 Capt. Stephen Noble ; and it may be renuirked that 
 the first bridge built across the Housatonic River 
 was erected here in 1787. 
 
 When the first white people came to this county 
 in 1072, the Indian tribes occupied the valley of 
 
 the Housatonic River chiefly. Here they found 
 congenial places for their wigwams and villages, 
 and good opportunities for fishing, and for the cul- 
 ture of maize and beans, their chief vegetable food. 
 At this time the Pootatucks were the most powei- 
 ful tril)e in the western ])art of the Colony, with 
 clans in the present county at Nonnewaug, Bantam, 
 Weantinogue, and on the Pomperaug River. Their 
 jirincipal seat, however, was on the northeast side 
 of the Housatonic, just below the present line of 
 tliis county, at Southbnry, in New Haven County, 
 with a central point at Woodbury. Rut this tribe 
 soon commenced to migrate to the north and west, 
 either to escape their enemies, or to find better fish- 
 ing and hunting grounds, until they became ab- 
 sorbed in other tribes, and finally utterly disap- 
 peared. The chief Pomperaug was buried in 
 Woodbury, as was his brother, a powwow, and the 
 ])laces are designated by heaps of stones. The last 
 chief of the tribe was Mauquash, who died about 
 the year 17.58, and was buried in Woodbury. 
 
 About the year 1735, Weraumaug, or Raumaug, 
 a Pootatuck chief, and a great councillor at the 
 princiijal council-fires of his people, was visited, 
 during his last sickness, by the Rev. Mr. Boardman, 
 who took great pains to instruct him in the doc- 
 trines and principles of the Christian religion. The 
 great sachem died shortly after, and was buried in 
 the Indian ground a short distance from his resi- 
 dence. His grave is now plainly distinguishable. 
 His tribe has entirely passed away, and the only 
 traces of its existence are the arrow-heads, pipes, 
 and other relics that are very often unearthed by 
 the ploughshare, as is the case in other parts of the 
 county wlicre the Indians once lived. 
 
 This chief had his wigwam on a high bluff ncjir 
 the Great Falls on the Housatonic River, near the 
 present village of New Milford. The abrupt bluff 
 at these falls is now known as Lover's Leap. Tlie 
 most authentic tradition of the origin of the name 
 is, that the lovely daughter of the chief had given 
 her affections to a white settler, while her father 
 had, with great care, selected a brave warrior to 
 receive her hand, whom she, however, did not love. 
 One fine d.ay, the lovers remained on tliis cliff till 
 long after sunset, and she su<-cessfidly besought 
 her father to allow her suitor to lodge at the palace 
 that night, which so excited the jealousy of the 
 warrior that, in the morning, he told her he would 
 have the scalp of his rival before nightfall. The 
 two lovers met again at the same romantic place, 
 where they were found by the enraged warrior, and, 
 to make a sure escape, with clasped hands they 
 leaped from the giddy lieight into the surging 
 waters. 
 
 A tribe of Schaghticoke Indians, occupying an 
 interval on the west side of the Housatonic River, 
 came under the influence of the Moraviau. mission- 
 
100 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 aries aljout the year 1 742, and Gideon, their chief, 
 was the tirst convert, and was baptized in 1743, as 
 were 150 others very soon afterwards, and many 
 hundreds still later. 
 
 There are now aljout fifty who are considered as 
 belonging to this tribe, scattered around in differ- 
 ent towns, and are the only remnants of the rcd-meu 
 left in this county. Eunice, a grand-daughter of 
 their renowned chief, died in 1860, at the great age 
 of 103 yeais. They now possess about 300 acres of 
 land situated on the Schaghticoke Mountain, and a 
 fund of §.5,0(10; aud are "under the charge of an 
 overseer appointed annually by the District Court 
 in the couuty. 
 
 At the time of the first settlement of Salisbury 
 there was an Indian village at Weatog, the Indian 
 name of the town, consisting of about seventy 
 wigwams. Their trail through Cornwall to the 
 Bantam clan at Litchfield was well known. 
 
 Chauguiu, the last man of a small tribe in New 
 Hartford, lived till near the close of the last cen- 
 tury ; and his dccendants in the female line ke])t 
 up the council-fires till quite recently. The descend- 
 ants of his married daughter are the only represen- 
 tatives of the race in Winchester and Barkham- 
 stead. 
 
 The lands of this county were generally pur- 
 chased of the Indians by the settlers, together with 
 tlie Colony title, as appears by the names of the chiefs 
 appended' to deeds on the records of many, if not 
 all, of the earlier settled towns. The Indians were 
 fi-iendly to the tirst settlers, and supplied them 
 with ])rovisious in many instances, and defended 
 them from hostile attacks. 
 
 The next settlement by whites in the dense west- 
 ern woods of the county was at Bantam in 1720, 
 by a grant from the Colony to Jolin Marsh of Hart- 
 ford, and .John Buel of Lebanon, and fifty-seven 
 associates, of a tract of laud ten miles square, and 
 named Litchfield ):iy the General Court in 1710, 
 and incorporated a town in 1724. None of this 
 tract appears to have been purchased of the Indians, 
 and, in consequence, the early settlers had some 
 experience of the ferocious native character of the 
 red man. 
 
 Captain John Griswold, in 1723, was suddenly 
 rushed upon, ijiuioned, and carried far away into 
 the thick woods. "While his enemies were asleep 
 aroimd a fire, however, he disengaged himself, and 
 seized their guns, his arms s^iU pinioned, aud 
 made his escape safely to his home. That same 
 year, Joseph Hai-ris, while at work in tlie woods, 
 was attacked and shot by the Indians. There was 
 a monument erected to his memory in 1830, in the 
 town, not only to perpetuate his name as a 
 martyred ('itizen, but to record the first death 
 among the early settlei'S. 
 
 Rev. Timothy Collins was ordained the first 
 minister of the people here in 1723, and the first 
 house of worship, the third in the county, was 
 finished in 1 720. 
 
 Alwut the time that Litchfield was settled, three 
 families — one English, and the other two Dutch — 
 settled at Weatog, or Salisbury, in 1720. In 1740, 
 eleven English and five Dutch families settled in 
 different parts of tlie town. In 1732, most of the 
 township was surveyed. It was sold l>y the Colony 
 at Hartford in 1737, and the charter was given in 
 
 1745. The town took its name from a man named 
 Salisbury, who lived in about the centre of the 
 ])urchase. Tlie Rev. Mr. Lee was their tirst settled 
 minister, ana a meeting-house was built about 
 1748. In this liouse there were two watch-towers, 
 witli sentries placed in them on Sundays, to guard 
 against the Indians. Tliese first settlers came from 
 the manor of Livingston, in the Colony of New 
 York. 
 
 Harwinton, which derived its name from Hart- 
 ford, Windsor and Farmington, was settled in 
 1731, was named a town in 1732, and was incor- 
 porated by the General Court in 1737. Their first 
 minister was the Rev. Andrew Baitliolomew, who 
 was ordained about 1730. Jolin Watson and 
 others came from Hartford in 1 733, aud settled at 
 New Hartford, which was named and incorporated 
 a town that year. The Rev. Jouathau Marsh, their 
 first minister, was ordained in 173'J. It was aa 
 evergreen region, where there were extensive 
 forests, called the " Cireen Woods." One of the 
 seven companies of the inhabitants of Windsor 
 that bought townships in 1732 was the Torrington 
 Company named after a hamlet in Devonshire, Eng- 
 land. Tile patentees were Matthew AUyn, Roger 
 AVolcott and Samuel Mather, Esqrs. A survey of 
 the town was made in 1734, and there were three 
 divisions of land. The last one was completed in 
 1 750, in which two hundred and twenty acres were 
 appropriated for schools. Ebenezer Lyman, Jr., 
 was tlie first |iernianent settler of the town, and 
 came from Durham about the year 1737. Torring- 
 ton was made a town in 1740; and, becoming an 
 ecclesiastical society, the Rev. Nathaniel Roljerts 
 was ordained in 1741, when tliere were but fourteen 
 families in the place. Wolcottville may be said to 
 have been commenced in 1751, wlien Amos Wilson 
 purchased of the town the mill privilege on the 
 west branch of the Naugatuck River. Its great 
 business prosperity may be said to date fi-om about 
 1813, when manufacturing tirst began. 
 
 A considerable area of territory on the Housa- 
 tonic River was sold at auction at New London in_ 
 1738, and settled by John Franklin and others. 
 The t jwu was named Canaan by tlie General Court 
 that year, and incorporated in 1739. Their tirst 
 clergyman was the Rev. Elisha Webster, ordained 
 in i740. The tract of laud known as Kent w;is 
 sold in 1738, and settled that year by Jlr. Piatt and 
 others from Colchester, Mr. Comstock from Frank- 
 lin, and Mr. Slausen and others from Xorwalk. 
 The town was named in 1738, and incorporated tlie 
 following year. Tiie tirst minister was the Rev. 
 Cyrus Marsh. Goshen was settled, named and incor- 
 porated in 1738. The Rev. Stephen Heaton was their 
 first minister. The territory of Sharon was pur- 
 chased in 1738, and settled and incorporated the 
 following year. The first settler was Daniel Jack- 
 son, from New Milford. In 1740, thirteen families 
 moved into Cornwall from Massachusetts, and from 
 Colchester aud Litchfield in this State. It was 
 named in 1738, and incor]jorated two years after- 
 ward. The Rev. Solomou Palmer was their first 
 minister. Settlers from Windsor came to Norfolk 
 in 1744. Wheu iucoqiorated. in 1758, there were 
 tliirty-seven families within its limits. The Rev. 
 Ammi R. Roliliins was their first p;istor. The first 
 settler in the present town of Barkhamsted came in 
 174G, and was the sole inhabitant for more than ten 
 
HE VIEW OF THE .'<TATE OF CONKECTJCUT. 
 
 101 
 
 years. The town was inrorporati'd 1770. The Rev. 
 Ozias Eels was their tirst minister. 
 
 Wincliestcr was incorporated in 1771, and tlie 
 next year the Rev. .losluia Knap]) was ordained 
 minister. El>ene/.er and .losepli Preston, and 
 Adam Mott, from Windsor, were the first settlers. 
 In 1 I'M. there were only altont twenty families 
 witliin tlie ])resent limits of Winstcd. In lS3->. tin- 
 w<'st vilhitie was incorporated as the horongh of 
 Clifton, In 1S.5S, the two sections of Winsted 
 liecame united, and the place has since been known 
 as Winsted. 
 
 The first settlers of Colebrook came there in 
 176.5, and others soon followed. The town was 
 organized in 178G, and tlie Rev, ,lonathan Ed- 
 wards, son of the renowned minister of that name, 
 was their first pastor. 
 
 The ecclesiastical society of Northhiiry was or- 
 ganized in Waterlniry, New Haven County, in 1739, 
 and was organized a town by the assembly in 17!).'), 
 named Plymoutli. and annexed to this county. The 
 tirst settlement in Plymouth was made in tlie centre 
 of the new town of Thomaston. In 172S, Henry 
 Cook came there with a family and settled. The 
 first child born in Plymouth was Samuel How, 
 
 The first settlement in Waterbury Wiis in Wooster 
 Swamp, as Tliomaston and the western part of Ply- 
 moutli were called. Many settlers preferring to 
 locate on higher land up the river, above the 
 fogs and malaria of the swamp west of the 
 river, the Northbury community was estal)lishcd. 
 Roxbury was created a town iti 1801, and taken 
 from Woodbury : and Bridgewater Society was 
 taken from New Milford and made a town in 18.5G. 
 Two years later, North Canaan was separated from 
 Canaan. Morris, from the town of Litchfield, 
 was incorporated in 18.50; and the twenty-sixth 
 and last town in the county was taken from Ply- 
 mouth, made a town, and named Thomaston, in 
 187.5. 
 
 The increase of population and rapid coloniza- 
 tion were such that in the year 1751, after about 
 ten yeai-s of agitation in town meetings and in the 
 assembly, a new county was created and named 
 Litchfield, with Litchfield as the shire town. The 
 territorial area was the same as at jiresent, with 
 the exception of tlie towns of Hartland and South- 
 bury, and a portion of Brookfield. all of which 
 then belonged to tlie county . Watertown and Ply- 
 mouth, with Thomaston, have since been annexed. 
 William Preston, Esq.. of Woodbury, was the first 
 chief justice; Isaac Baldwin, Esq., first clerk. 
 Samuel Pettibone, Esq., of (ioshen, was chosen 
 king's attorney, .and Oliver, Walcott, Esq.. sheriff. 
 For nine years from 1774, the valley of Wyoming, 
 Pa., belonced to this county. 
 
 It was declared by a convention held in this 
 county February 11, 1770, and represented by most 
 of the towns, that the Stamp Act was unconstitu- 
 tional, null and void, and that business should go 
 on as usual ; and town meetings were held quite 
 frequently to consider the public safety. When the 
 war cloud burst, Litchfield County was thoroughly 
 aroused for any emergency. At the time of the 
 Boston alarm, September:!, 1774, quite a number 
 of soldiers went from Woodbury, where there was 
 the most pojjulaticm, and joined companies from 
 other towns. Col. Ethan Allen, claimed to have 
 been born in three towns in the countv, and at all 
 
 events to have been a native of this county, and 
 Col. Seth Warner, a native of Roxbury, with 
 nearly 100 volunteers, assisted in the capture of 
 Fort Ticonderog.i May 10, 177.5. Col. Hinman, of 
 Woodbury, commanded 1.000 men sent to garrison 
 this fort and Crown Point. After the Lexingtcni 
 alarm a full company w.as sent from Woodbury. 
 The thirteenth regiment of militia was formi'd 
 from that town, New Milforil and Kent, at the 
 commencement of the war. By an order of .lune 
 10, 1771), a draft was ordered, which, with former 
 calls, had made such a drain upon the laborers that 
 there was hardly sufficient jirovision to sup|)l_v the 
 people during the winter. Upon a sudden call for 
 troops at Danburyin April, 1777, the militia of this 
 county marched to the scene of confiict. Soldiers 
 from this county (larticipated in the battle of 
 Bennington in 1777, under Col. Seth Warner, and 
 others fought at Saratoga and White Plains. 
 Woodbury lieing the oldest and largest town in the 
 county, with a ])opulation of .5,31;! in 1774, was 
 represented on all the battle-fields of 1777. There 
 were eight companies of militia in the town ready 
 to rally at a moment's warning. New Milford fur- 
 nished the next largest quota of men for the war. 
 The old Indian warrior, Tom Warrups, a Schaghti- 
 coke, and a resident of Cornwall in his early life, 
 ])articipated in the battle of Long Island. Gen. 
 John Sedgwick, of Cornwall, Cols. Caufield and 
 Starr, of "New Milford, Tallmadge, of Litchfield, 
 and many others, were brave officers in the war. 
 
 There weie, liowever, some Tories within the 
 borders of the county ; and committees of inspec- 
 tion were formed, who summoned before them 
 those who were suspected of dislovaltv to the cause 
 of liberty. The Rev. John R. Marshal, of Wood- 
 bur}-, was one of these, and was put on the limits. 
 The riflemen, jiassing through the county, took a 
 man in New Milford, made him walk before them 
 twenty miles, and carry one of his geese; they then 
 made him pluck his goose, and, after tarring and 
 feathering him, drummed him out of the company, 
 and required him to kneel and thank them for their 
 lenity. 
 
 Party spirit ran so high in this county during the 
 war of 18l;3, and the administration at Washington 
 met with such opposition from the State-rights or 
 Federalist party, that enli-stments into the regular 
 army were greatly discouraged; and the conflict 
 between the national and State governments, as to 
 whicli should have the command of the drafted 
 militia, caused riots in some places in the county, 
 where cffoi'ts were made to fling the State flag to 
 the Lreeze, and to cut down the liberty poles 
 flying the stars and sti'iiies. This opposition 
 caused Congress to refuse the necessary apjjro- 
 priations and supplies for the maintenance of 
 the militia of Massachusetts and Counectient for 
 the year 1814, thus forcing these States to defend 
 their own coasts from inva-ion, which resulted 
 in the Hartford Convention of December, 1814, 
 of which the Hon. Nathaniel Smith, of Wood- 
 bury, and others, of the most distinguished and 
 upright characters were members. The whole 
 number of men who served in the war from this 
 county was about 2,000, 
 
 At the commencement of the late Rebellion 
 volunteer companies were immediately formed 
 at Winsted and the other lai-ge towns in the 
 
103 
 
 THE HISTORICAL. STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 county, -whicli soon rendezvoused at New Haven. 
 During the war the county furnished nearly 
 4,000 men. The nineteenth regiment, enlisted 
 principally in this county, and reorganized into 
 the second heavy artillery in November, 1863, 
 experienced some very severe service in the Army 
 of the Potomac ; and it was at the head of the 
 assault at Cold Harbor, Va., June 1, 1864, that 
 its gallant commander. Col. Elisha S. Kellogg, 
 lost his life. 
 
 A short time after the close of the Kevolution- 
 ary war in 1784, the lirst law school of any note 
 in the United States was founded in the town 
 of Litchfield. Its projector was Tapping Eeeve, 
 of Long Island, a brother-in-law of Aaron Burr. 
 There were then no professors of law connected 
 with any American college, nor was the science 
 treated as a liberal one. Judge Reeve, after 
 having conducted the school from the commence- 
 ment until his appointment to the bench of the 
 Supreme Court of the State in 1798, then invited 
 James Gould, Esq. , a graduate of Yale College, 
 who was in the practice of law at Litchfield, to 
 take part in the instruction of the school. These 
 gentlemen carried it on together, as partners, 
 for a jjeriod of twenty-two years, when, on ac- 
 count of advanced age, Jixdge Keeve retired. 
 Judge Gould continued the school until a few 
 years before his death, when he associated with 
 himself Jabez W. Huntington, afterwards a 
 United States senator and Judge of the Sujireme 
 Court of the State. Prior to 1833 there had 
 been educated at this school men from all parts 
 of the county, more than one thousand in all, 
 and as many as one hundred and eighty-three 
 from the Southern States. They numbered fif- 
 teen United States senators, five cabinet officers, 
 ten governors of States, fifty members of Con- 
 gress, forty judges of the highest State courts, 
 and two judges of the Supreme Court of the 
 United States. This long list embraced the 
 names of John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, 
 John M. Clayton, of Delaware, John Y. Mason, 
 of Virginia, Judge Levi Woodbury, Marcus 
 Morton, and many others of national renown. 
 The school was discontinued in 1833. 
 
 As soon as the first settlement of towns in the 
 county commenced, and a miui.ster had been 
 settled, attention was turned to the common 
 schools. The ancient school-house in this county 
 was a very rude affair, consisting of but one room, 
 with but little furniture. The writing-desks 
 fronted inward from the sides of the house, and 
 there was a large shelf in one corner for the use 
 of the scholars. The teacher's table was made 
 of rough boards. The seats for the larger schol- 
 ars were made of slabs supported with three or 
 four legs of round wood. 
 
 Schools were carried on in the earlier times 
 entirely under the district system. Afterwards 
 for very many years they were managed under 
 the jurisdiction of school societies, formed from 
 towns and parts of towns. In 1869 the schools 
 were made free by a general law, and since that 
 time, in this county, the attendance and api^ro- 
 priations have greatly increased. There has 
 been more uniformity of text-books ; better 
 school-houses have been erected ; the terms have 
 been lengthened ; all pay their share of the 
 
 taxes ; while the improvements in the schools 
 over the old method have been very great. There 
 are now in this county 277 districts, and 275 
 schools, employing 625 teachers. Among the 
 first of the academies established in the county 
 was one in the town of Morris — then Litchfield 
 — in 1790, by James Morris. Afterwards two 
 were ojjened in the town of Sharon ; and there 
 have been many others since those early times. 
 The first female seminary established at Litch- 
 field, in 1792, was the resort of young ladies 
 from all jjarts of the country for more than forty 
 years. The first foreign mission school in this 
 country was estabUshed in the coimty, at Corn- 
 wall, in 1817, to educate foreign youth to become 
 missionaries, schoolmasters, interpreters and 
 physicians among heathen nations. A farm was 
 purchased and siiitable buildings were erected ; 
 but the school was abandoned in 1827, because, 
 after this time, the heathen could be educated at 
 home, and also because of local oj^position 
 caused by two Cherokee Indians marrying re- 
 S23eetable white girls of the town. 
 
 The Connecticut School for Imbeciles, located 
 in Salisbury, was incorporated in 1861. 
 
 For nearly seventy years after the first settle- 
 ment of the county, the only churches within 
 its limits were of the Congi'egatioual order, the 
 I'esult of an ecclesiastical statute of the Colony 
 that no church administration should be set up 
 contrary to the order already established ; but 
 finally, in 1708, and afterwards, acts of tolera- 
 tion were jjassed, till all religious denominations 
 were put upon the same common ground of 
 equality, although all were for some time taxed 
 to support the regular order. The oldest church 
 in the county of the established order is in 
 Woodbury, and was organized in 1670, at Strat- 
 ford; and the next oldest one is in New Milford, 
 and was organized in 1716. The church at 
 Litchfield was organized in 1721 ; the church at 
 Bethlehem in 1739 ; and the churches at Corn- 
 wall, Goshen and Sharon in 1740 ; and there are 
 now forty-one churches of this order in the 
 county. 
 
 The first Episcopal parish in the county was 
 organized by the Be v. Mr. Beach of Newton, in 
 1740. There are now twenty-five parishes. 
 
 The first of the Baptist churches in the county 
 were in New Milford and Colebrook, about the 
 year 1788, when a church was organized in the 
 first-named town. There are very few churches 
 of this denomination in the county at the 
 IDresent time. 
 
 In 1790 a circuit of the Methodist Episcojial 
 Church was formed at Litchfield, which then 
 probably compi-ised the whole county and more, 
 and Jesse Lee was appointed elder by the New 
 England Conference. The circuit was traveled 
 at this time by Samuel Wigton, Henry Christie 
 and Freeborn Garritson. Tliere was but little 
 symi^athy, however, between the Congregational 
 and Methodist denominations in the county in 
 these early days. The circtiit preacher dis- 
 coursed against pitch-pijies, steejiles, ribbons 
 and all gay equijjages, to say nothing of the 
 " five points " of Calvinism. The denomination 
 during the nearly ninety years of its existence in 
 
HEVIKW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 loar 
 
 the county, has, in number and membership, 
 increased ■n-ith great rajiidity. 
 
 The first Koiuan Catholic church in the 
 county IS belii'Ved to liavc been erected at Corn- 
 wall about the year I80I), though there is no 
 cliurch there now. I'ublii- worship was insti- 
 tuted in Winsted in 1851 by the Rev. James 
 Lynch ; and in 1852, the Eev. Thomas Quinn 
 commenced the erection of St. Joseph's Catholic 
 Church, and entered on his i^astoral duties. 
 The Kev. Thomas Hendricken, since liishop of 
 Rhode Island, came here in 185-1 ; and there are 
 now live churclies in the county. 
 
 This county is the only section of the State in 
 which rich and jiroductive iron mines are found. 
 The ore is found in vast beds, princijjally in 
 connection with mica slate, and exists in the 
 towns of Sharon, Salisbury and Kent. The 
 oldest iron mine is the Old Ore Hill in the town 
 of Salisbury, and it has been worked over 150 
 years, and since the year 1732. The site of this 
 mine was purchased Ijy a man named Bissell, 
 several years before the ti_)wn was incorjjorated. 
 When this mine was first opened, Thomas Lamb 
 bought fifty acres of land in the southeast part 
 of the town, at Lime Rock on Salmon River, and 
 erected the first forge in the county at that place 
 as eai-ly as the year 1734. In 1762 Col. Ethan 
 Allen, of Ticonderoga fame, Samuel Forbes and 
 otliers, built the first blast-furnace in the county. 
 During the Revolutionary war this 2>roperty was 
 taken possession of by the State ; and Col. 
 Joshua Porter having been appointed agent, 
 large quantities of cannon, cannon balls, shot 
 and sliell-i were manufactured for the govern- 
 ment. John Jay and txouverneTir Morris, agents 
 of Congress, came here frequently at this time 
 to ovei'see the casting and jiroofs of the cannon. 
 The war shijjs " Constitution " and "Old Iron- 
 sides '" and the New York Battery were armed 
 with the Salisbury cannon ; find this iron has 
 been used since the war in the manufacture of 
 guns and anchors for the navy, and chain cables, 
 and has also furnished material for the uses of 
 the government armories. 
 
 The never-failing resources of the miue, the 
 facilities and means of smelting the ore, with its 
 rich quality of forty per cent, of pig iron, have 
 brought it into general demand for manufactur- 
 ing i)urposes. Forty years ago there were in 
 Salisbury four blast-furnaces, five forges, two 
 puddling establishments, one anchor-shojj and 
 two cupolas for castings. This mine covers an 
 area of several acres, and there are six i^rincijial 
 pits. For the first forty years of this centui-y 
 the average amount of ore taken from this bed 
 annually was 5,000 tons ; and its bottom has not 
 been reached. There are also important iron 
 mines in Sharon and Kent. Salisbury iron was 
 first used in 1840 for raih'oad purposes. Its 
 great tensile strength, witli its superior chilling 
 properties, soon led to the manufacture of car- 
 wheels at Salisbury, which are now in general 
 use, not only in the United States, Init in most 
 civilized nations. 
 
 Spathic iron-ore, commonly known as silver 
 steel, is found in this county at Mine Hill in 
 Hoxbury, on the eastern line of Xew Milford, in 
 a moiintain about 850 feet high, at the base of 
 
 which runs the Shepaug River ; and it is the 
 most remarkable dejiosit of the kind in the 
 United Stati's. The mine, however, has never- 
 been profitably worked. 
 
 ' The first mill in the county was Iniilt in Wood- 
 bury in 1074, for grinding flour, tlic mortar andf 
 pretlc having been used for pounding the grain' 
 prior to this time. Fifty years since there were 
 thirty-four flour mills in the county. The first 
 wheelwright was Saiunel Munn, who built a curt 
 and cart-wheels for the Uev. Mr. AValkerof Wood- 
 bury, in 1088 ; and the business of making coaches- 
 and wagons was carried on intlie county after their 
 invention, till tliere were as many as forty of these 
 establishments. In 1700, forty-four inhaljitants of 
 Woodbury gave Al)raham Fulford ten acres of and 
 to come there and comb wool, and weave and full 
 cloth, and he accepted the offer. At this early 
 l^eriod some of the outer clothing of the people was 
 made of skins of deer and other animals ; and in 
 1077, very largo wooden shoes were made and used 
 by tlie settlers. The first lilacksmith came to this- 
 county in 1700. and he was given ten acres of land 
 to remain and carry on the business. The tan- 
 nery was one of the earliest .ndustrial establish- 
 ments of the county. Long since there have been 
 as many as fifty of these, almost every town having 
 its place for tanning leather. Hoots and shoes were 
 made by the sliocmaker, who, " whipping the cat," 
 went around to the houses witli his own ools and 
 wax, depending upon his customers for leather, 
 shoe-thread, and pegs. The saw and shingle mill 
 were a very early necessity to the settlers, and there 
 were as many as nineteen in the county atone time ; 
 but they have Itegun to disappear somewhat since 
 the days of railroads. Over 2,300,000 bricks were 
 made annually in the county thirty-seven years ago ; 
 and therj were seventeen hat factories and as many 
 furniture establishments. Sixty years ago lliere 
 were a very large numl)er of nuinu factories of dis- 
 tilled spirits ; 160 in the county, and twenty-six in 
 New Milford alone. Soon after the commencement 
 of this century a discovery was made in the latter 
 place of porcelain clay by a goldsmith. The bed 
 covers an area of al>ont ten acres. Jlr. Lyman 
 Hine commenced the making of the common por- 
 celain furnace and fire brick about tlie year 1828; 
 and these articles for stoves, furnace-linings ia 
 brass-kettle establishments, and puddling furnaces, 
 enjoyed a deservedly high reputation. Prom aa 
 early date, magnesian lime has been l>urnt from 
 quarries in the county. 
 
 In 1792, Jenks & Boyd erected the first establish- 
 ment at Winsted, for welding, drawing, and ]jlating 
 the scythe by water-power under trip-hanuners, and 
 grinding it on geared stones ; which before had 
 Ijcen made by hand, wrought in smiths' shops, and 
 ground on stones turned by hand. Before the year 
 I8O1I, the first cementing steel-furnace in the county 
 was built at Colel)rook by the Rockwell Brothers. 
 
 The making of axes as a distinct trade was first 
 commenced in 1804; and a1>out the year 1828, a 
 factory was establislied at Winsted. The business 
 of clockmaking, conunenced in a very small way at 
 Thomaston, al)out tlie time Plymoutli was annexed 
 to till' county. Eli Terry established himself at 
 Plymouth, and commenced making tlie old hang-up 
 wood clock with a foot-lathe, knife, and other 
 
104 
 
 THE mSTOBWAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 hand-tools, and peddled them himself on horse- 
 back. In 1 803, he had a shop with water-power; 
 and lie started a shop at Hoadley villa, and made 
 4,000 clocks in two years. In 180"r, Riley Wliitiug 
 commenced making wood clocks at Winsted, and 
 made numerous improvements in them and in clock- 
 cases. The manufacture of cutlery was commenced 
 at Salisl)ury, and in 18.52, at Winsted. The pro- 
 duction of pins first began in the county at Win- 
 sted in 18.53, and of plated- ware, coffin trimmings, 
 and carriage-springs, within the past fifteen years. 
 The manufacture of vegetable-ivory l:)uttons, with 
 new and greatly improved machinery for mottling 
 and coloring, commenced in the county at New 
 Milford about twelve years ago. In 1834, the first 
 effort to make Ijrass kettles in America, by the bat- 
 tery process, began at Wolcottville. The rolling 
 process succeeded this in 1842. Meantime, with 
 these new and greatly increased developments of 
 manufacturing on the lines mentioned, there ha.s 
 been a corresponding decline in certain otlier 
 branches; notably in the manufacture of leather, 
 and of woollen goods. 
 
 From the time of the first settlement of the 
 county when it was a dense forest of white oak. 
 chestnut, and hickory, the general occupation of 
 the people has been that of agriculture. The nature 
 of the soil is sucli as to be quite well adapted to 
 this, and particularly to the growth of Indian 
 corn, wheat, rye, and oats. Turnips, beans and 
 pum])kins were the principal vegetables; and, for 
 the first hundred years, potatoes were corjipara- 
 tively unknown. The cattle were generally small, 
 brindle and brown colors being favorites, and the 
 sheep were long-legged and hardy, with thin, 
 coarse wool. The wood jilow, wooden-tooth 
 harrow, and forks too heavy almost for men to 
 lift, were samples of the farming tools of those 
 early times, and the kitchen stove was unknown 
 for years. Noxious weeds, like the Canada 
 thistle, bad not been heard of, and most o^ the 
 insect pests of the present day were unknown, 
 although as late as 1791 and the year after the 
 orchards in some jjarts of the county, on all 
 kinds of light, dry soO, were ravaged by the 
 canker-worm. The early settlers wei'e for many 
 years greatly harassed by the depredations of 
 wild beasts, ravaging their crops and flocks and 
 2}uttiug themselves sometimes in personal peril. 
 Wolves abounded as late as 1786 and wolf-hunts 
 were very common sports in the Indian-summer 
 days. Bears and panthers were common also in 
 those early times, and were not unfrequently 
 shot by the settlers. 
 
 The activities of agriculture, as well as of 
 every other kind of business, were at one time 
 materially impeded by the serious difficulties in 
 the way of intercourse with the market towns — the 
 roads being generally over steep hills and along 
 miry and untrodden bottoais, and where the 
 snow, in the winter, lay deep and drifted, 
 •while the means of communication were of the 
 most primitive and incommodious character. 
 The farmer saw but little money in those days, 
 taking their farm products annually to the 
 trader at the distant village and being supplied, 
 in return, with whatever their necessities de- 
 manded. 
 
 Farming continued to be carried on in this 
 primitive way, to a great extent, for more than 
 151) years after the settlement of the county — 
 indeed until the railroad penetrated our borders, 
 and the era of lalior-saviug tools and machines 
 was introduced, and the people began to organ- 
 ize societies and chilis for the dilfusion of agri- 
 cultural and horticultural knowledge. These 
 symbols of a more progressive civilization have, 
 meanwhile, almost if not quite revolutionized 
 the principles of farming. In 1846 T. L. Hart 
 and six others met and organized the farmers' 
 club in Cornwall. Meetings were held quite 
 often, addressed delivered, and the public mind 
 thus became better informed on the science of 
 farming, and other organizations of the kind 
 have since been formed in the county. In 1851, 
 the Litchfield County Agricultural Association 
 was incorporated. Fairs have been held since 
 that time annually at the county seat. In 1859 
 the Union Agricultural Society was organized at 
 Canaan, and the next year societies were incor- 
 porated at New Milford and Woodbury ; and i 
 like society has been formed in Torrington. 
 
 In 1840, it is believed, the first ero-p of tobacco 
 was raised in the county to any extent for the 
 market. At present it is grown quite exten- 
 ^ively, and there is proliably an annual average 
 production of 1,800,000 pounds. 
 
 In 1784 the first newspaper was estalslished 
 in the county. This paper-, the "Weekly 
 Monitor," was published at Litchfield liy 
 Thos. Collins for many years. In 1824 the 
 " Litchfield Enquii-er" was established; and 
 for about thirty years it was the prin- 
 cipal paper in the country. The "Winsted 
 Herald," established in 1853, has held a leading 
 position among the influential papers of the State. 
 
 Tliere are now nine newspapers of first-class 
 character published in the county : " Winsted 
 Press," "Herald," "Argus," and "Advocate" 
 (the latter monthly), " Torrington Register," 
 '• Thomaston Express," " Connecticut Western 
 (Canaan) News," "New Hartford Tribune," and 
 " Litchfield Enquirer. " 
 
 As early as 1T89. thirty-six persons signed a 
 temperance pledge in the count}', agreeing to dis- 
 card the use of distilled liquors ; and among the 
 number were Ephraim Kirby, Moses Seymour and 
 Tapping Reeve. It is believed tliat the first mod- 
 ern temperance society was formed in the county 
 at Salisl)ury, among the iron laborers. The Rev. 
 Dr. Porter deliveretl temperance lectures in Wash- 
 ington in 1806, and Dr. Lyman Beecher delivered 
 discourses and lectures on the same sul>ject aliout 
 1813, and probably earlier, at Litchfield. Since 
 then, societies to jiromote the cause of temperance 
 have been very generally formed in tlie county ; 
 and a society was organized at Torrington as early 
 as 1837. 
 
 August 13 and 14, 1831, the one hundredtli 
 anniversary of tlic organization of the county, was 
 observed at Litclifield with appropriate ceienionies. 
 An oration by the Hon. Samuel Churcli, LL.U., Chief 
 Justice of the Supreme Court; a poem by the Rev. 
 Jolm Pierpont, LL.D., of Medford, Mass.; a ser- 
 mon by Rev. Horace Bushnell, D. D., of Hartford; 
 and speeches by Hon. D. S. Dickinson, of New 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 105 
 
 York, and many others, were among the interesting 
 features of tlie occasion. 
 
 Towards tlie close of tlie last century, the legis- 
 lature authorized the construction of turnpilve roads, 
 with power to erect gates at fixed distances, and to 
 collect tolls from travelers for the maintenance of 
 the road, some of which yielded very good divi- 
 dends. From the year 1797. for a period of about 
 forty years, tliere were some twenty-tliree charters 
 of this cli,-u-acter granted by the legislature for these 
 roads ; and no portion of the State was more im- 
 proved by them than this county. 
 
 The HousatonicKaih'oad Company, incorporated 
 in 183li, built the first railroad that was operated 
 in the county. It was completed to New Milford 
 in the spring of 1840, and the first train of cars 
 ran into that place in February of that year. The 
 traclv was made of wood and ties laid ujjon sleepers, 
 with thick strap-iron, spiked down, upon which the 
 wlieels ran ; and many fatal accidents occurred by 
 the ends of the iron becoming loose and springing 
 up and shooting over the wheels, when in motion, 
 through the floor of the cars, when they were called 
 "snake heads.'' The Naugatuck Railroad, run- 
 ning from Bridgeport to VVinsted, was the second 
 liuilt in the county, and was incorporated in 1845. 
 Within twelve years a brancli road has been built 
 from Waterljury to Watertown. The new impetus 
 this road gave to manufactures in Winsted, Wolcott- 
 ville, Thomaston and Plymouth was very marked. 
 The Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad 
 Company was first incorporated in 1841). The 
 Connecticut Western Railroad Company was char- 
 tered in 18li6. The first passenger train passed over 
 the road from Hartford to Miilerton, on the Har- 
 lem road in New York, Dee. :>1, 1871. In 1S(J6, 
 the Shepaug Valley Railroad Company was incor- 
 porated, to run from Litchtield to some point on 
 the Housatonic road; and in December, 1873, trains 
 were making regular trips over the whole line. 
 
 Until the beginning of the present century, the 
 people of the county had carried on their business 
 transactions without the aid of any banking insti- 
 tution; but, upon the incorporation of the Pluenix 
 Bank of Hartford, in 1814, and within six months 
 after it commenced to discount, a branch bank was 
 started at Litchtield for the purpose of discount 
 and deposit. The Iron Bank was established at 
 Canaan in 1847, and was the first regular chartered 
 bank in the county. All the banks in the county 
 ■went into business under the national banking law 
 during the late war, and have since been- eminently 
 prosi)erous. 
 
 The courts in the county have generally remained 
 unchanged in the general organization, the Superior 
 and Supreme courts sitting at stated times at the 
 county town. 
 
 TOWKS. 
 
 Wincliester and the Borougli of Winsted. — The 
 interval lands along the streams of this town are 
 shut in by high hills and mountain ridges. The 
 highest elevation is in the old Winchester parish, 
 wliere mountains in Massachusetts and New York 
 can be seen. The town is situated in the green- 
 woods district of the county, thirty-tive miles by 
 rail from Hartford. Long Lake, extending from 
 the Torrington line northerly about three and one- 
 
 half miles, is the largest body of water. Its sur- 
 face is 150 feet above the centre of Winsted village 
 near by. Still and Mad rivers are the ^jrincipal 
 streams. Lake Stream, running from the lake 
 through a wild and narrow ravine into Mad River, 
 furnishes a vater-supply for many factories. 
 
 Winsted, situated on Lake Stream, Mad and Still 
 rivers, is the largest place in population, and in the 
 extent of its industrial interests, in the county, and 
 contains about 5, .!)00 inh,-U)itants. These threcsircams 
 afford a great supply of water-power, which is 
 used extensively for manufacturing purposes; there 
 being, on Mad River, one dam to al)Out every 
 twenty rods in its ccmrse through the borougli. A 
 very large variety of estaljlishments are in success- 
 ful operation, using both steam and water jiower. 
 Among the manufactures are scythes and agri- 
 cultural implements, brass clocks and cases, car- 
 riages, springs, undertaker's hardware and furnish- 
 ing goods, bar-iron, railroad axles, pocket cutlery, 
 pins, liardware ami carpenter's tools, spool silk, 
 machine screws, castings, mill gearing and jmlleys, 
 leatlier, etc. There are five eliurches, a Catholic 
 literary and theological seminary, and a Catholic 
 academy for young ladies. v>-ith a parochial school 
 and convent. The town has three national banking 
 institutions and two savings Itanks. Music Hall, a 
 capacious brick and iron structure, contains a fine 
 |)ublic hall. Another hall, lately constructed, is 
 used for town and borough ])urposes. Water for 
 extinguishing fires, and for domestic purposes, is 
 obtained from Long Lake. Park place, a beautiful 
 green, is adorned with evergreens, maples, and 
 elms. 
 
 James Boyd, a man of indomitable energy and 
 perfect integrity — who, with liis partner and 
 brother-in-law, Benjamin .Icnkins, was the pioneer 
 manufacturer of the place — died February 1, 1849, 
 aged seventy-eight. Solomon Rockwell, Esci.. one 
 of the founders of Winsted, and an active ])romoter 
 of its business interests, died August 1, 1838, in the 
 seventy-fifth year of his age. Wm. S. Holalnid, a 
 lawyer by profession, was U. S. district attciney 
 for four years, and lieutenant-governor in 184 -.2 and 
 1844. He died May 22, 18r),5, at the age of sixty-one. 
 Other prominent natives are Gideon Hall (1808-07. ) 
 a judge of the Superior Court; Jolm Boyd (1799-), 
 for three years secretary of state ; George Dudley, 
 Roland Hitchcock, and F. D. Fyler 
 
 New Milford, one of the most important towns 
 in the county in the diversity of its industrial 
 interests, is situated in the south-western jjart 
 of the county, ninety miles by rail from Hartford. 
 It has a population of about 4,000, and is the 
 largest town in the county. The township is moun- 
 tainous, and its agricultural interests predominate 
 largely in the production of milk and tobacco. 
 
 The principal centres of intercourse outside of 
 the village are at Northville on the Aspetuck River, 
 Gaylordsville and Jlerwinsville in the north part 
 of the town on the Housatonic, and Lanesville in 
 the south part on Still River, were there is the best 
 water-power in the town. 
 
 The town has nine religious organizations, eigh- 
 teen public schools and one academy. One national 
 and one savings bank accommodate the business of 
 the locality. 
 
 The Housatonic Agricultural Society occupies fine 
 grounds near the village. Agriculture is not the 
 
lOG 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 entile occupation of the inhabitants, tiierc being 
 important manufactures of manila and wrapping 
 paper, vegctaljle-ivory Ijuttons, iilougli eastings, 
 iron fences and castings, refrigerators,, cigars and 
 fire-l)ricl\. 
 
 Tlie village is one of the most beautiful and 
 thriving in New England, having most of the con- 
 veniences of a city organization. There are two 
 weekly newsjjapers published here. There are also 
 a number of tobacco warehouses in the village, 
 with several outside, employing aboutfour hundred 
 men in the season of assorting and packing. There 
 is an elevator in the village, and the Inisiness of 
 supplying the surrounding towns with all kinds of 
 grain, flour and feed, shipped fi-oni the West, is 
 extensively carried on. The Housatonic R. R. runs 
 through the town. More business is done from this 
 point than at any other in the county on the road. 
 The village is supplied with water from a reservoir 
 on Cross Brook. Concrete walks, some of them 
 eight feet wide, have been laid in the village. 
 There are some fine buildings and residences in the 
 jilace, including the two bank Ijuildings and the 
 town hall, the latter standing on the %\mt where 
 Roger Sherman once resided, and being a fine brick 
 building, with high red sandstone basement, erected 
 at a cost of aljout 845.000. 
 
 Rev. Nathaniel Taylor, bom Aug 27, 1729, and 
 a graduate of Yale, was ordained second pastor of 
 the New Milford Church in June, 1748. During 
 his ministry he prepared many young men for col- 
 lege. He died here Dec. 9, 1800, after having been 
 ordained fifty-two years. He was chaplain of a 
 Connecticut regiment at Ticouderoga and Crown 
 Point in 1759. 
 
 Elijah Boardman, a successful merchant, was a 
 United States Senator at the time of his death. 
 August 18, 1823. His brother, Hon. David S. 
 Boardman, a graduate of Yale in 1793, and chief 
 justice of the county court, died December 2, 1804, 
 in the ninety-sixth year of his age. 
 
 Roger Sherman, signer of the Declaration of In- 
 dependence, came to New Milford on foot from 
 Massachusetts, with his shoemaking tools on his 
 back, in 1743, when he was twenty -two years of 
 age. He was clerk of the first ecclesiastical society, 
 and a deacon of the church for several years. He 
 was admitted to the Ijar in 1 754, and removed to 
 New Haven in 1761. 
 
 Orange Merwin, one of the most influential men 
 of the town, and at one time member of Congress, 
 died September 4, 1853. 
 
 Perry Smith, a United States Senator during the 
 administrations of Jackscni and Van Buren, died 
 in 1852, at the age of sixty-nine years. 
 
 David C. Sandford, a native of the town, born 
 in 1798, and at tlie time of his death in 1864, a 
 judge of the Supreme Court of Eirors, was long a 
 j^rominent and influential man. 
 
 George Taylor, M. D., Rev. Charles G. Acly, a 
 retired Episcopal clergyman, and Hon. A. B. 
 Mygatt, United States bank examiner for Rhode 
 Island and Connecticut, are among the distinguished 
 and honored residents of the town. 
 
 Torrington, one of the most regularly laid-out 
 townships in the county, with a hilly surface and 
 fertile soil, is forty-five miles from Hartford. The 
 water-power is principally on the east and west 
 branches of the Naugate.ck River. The business 
 
 centres are the Hollow, Newfield; Torringford, 
 Wrightville, Burrville, Daytonville, and Torring- 
 ton, foj-merly Wolcottville, in the extreme southern 
 part of the town. The latter is a place of about 
 3,200 inhal)itants, and one of the most important 
 manufacturing centres in the county. The manu- 
 facturing industries are varied, and among the 
 goods produced are hardware, notions, American 
 scissors, upholsterers' brass and iron goods ; 
 black doeskins; riblied and diagonal goods are 
 also i^rodiiced. Rolled and sheet brass and cop- 
 per, for cartridges especially, brass, copper, and 
 German-silver ware are extensively manufac- 
 tured. The last-mentioned manufactures are 
 carried on in buildings covering not less than 
 three acres. Two hundred and fifty men are 
 emiJloyed here, and the annual aggregate of the 
 business amounts to about $1,250,OUO. 
 
 Sewing-machine needles for the Wheeler and 
 Wilson Company are also made. Skates, leather 
 goods, ii-on and brass ferrules, employ about one 
 hundred men. Carriage and Furniture estab- 
 lishments are in successful operation. There 
 are seven churches in the town, a savings bank 
 and a weekly newsi^aper. A beautiful granite 
 Congregational church edifice has been erected 
 at Torrington at a cost of $32,000. The Naugatuck 
 Railroad runs through the town. This jjlace is 
 supplied with water from Mine Brook. The 
 reservoir has an area of five and one-half acres of 
 surface, capable of holding 16,000,000 gallons of 
 water. The whole population of the town, in- 
 cluding Torrington, is about 3,500. 
 
 Prominent among the notable characters con- 
 nected with Torrington in times past may be 
 mentioned Cieneral Russel C Abernethy, mer- 
 chant, manufacturer and general of State militiaj 
 Mr. Owen Brown, a tanner, and the father of 
 John Brown of Kansas and Hari^er's Ferry (Va.) 
 fame, who was also born in Torrington in 1800; 
 Dr. Samuel Wodwarcl (November 8, 1750 — Janu- 
 ary 26, 1835), a beloved physician, and an excep- 
 tionallv nobleman; Rev. SamuelJ. Mills (May 17, 
 1754— May 11, 1833), pastor of the Torringford 
 church for fifty years, and who to rare humor and 
 deep sensdiility united great strength of intellect 
 and originality of miyd; William Batelle, Esq., an 
 old-time successful merchant, and Israel Coe, 
 who established the battery manufacture of 
 brass kettles at Wolcottville, the first of the kind 
 in the county, and who was justice of the j^eace 
 after he was eighty years old. Hon. Lyman W. 
 Coe is actively identified with the interests of 
 the town. 
 
 Salisbury is of importance as being the local- 
 ity of the celebrated iron of that name, and is 
 also one of the best agricultural towns in the 
 county. The northwestern town in the State, 
 having the Housatonic River as its eastern 
 boundary, it has an area of about fifty-eight 
 square miles. The population is about 3,700. 
 It has five churches, three graded and several 
 district schools. At Lakeville is a well-managed 
 school for imbeciles. Lakes Washiniug and 
 Washinee are the largest and most beautifiil 
 sheets of water in the town. The business cen- 
 tres are at Salisbury, Lake\'ille, Lime Rock and 
 Falls Village ; the latter on the Hou.satonic River, 
 where the extensive building and rei)aii- shops of 
 
UK VIEW OF THE STATE (iF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 107 
 
 the Honsatouic Railroad C'omjiany are located. 
 The business of iiuiuut'aeturinf!: oast-iron oar- 
 wheels is oarried on here extensively. The 
 t'onndrv is at Lime Rock, and about 1(1,0(10 rail- 
 road wlieels are prodiioed annually. There are 
 about six hundred men em])loyed at the furnaces 
 and the wheel factory. There ai'e extensive 
 grounds at Falls ^'illage, used for aj^ricultural 
 fairs. The Conueeticut Western Railroad runs 
 through the town. 
 
 Among the notable.? of Salisbury have been 
 William Ray, a naval officer and author ; Samuel 
 Church, LL.D. (17S5 — 1854), an eminent jurist ; 
 Rev. Jonathan Lee (1718-8H). pastor in the town 
 for forty -five years ; Gen. Elisha Sterling, a dis- 
 tinguished lawyer ; and Colonel Elisha Sheldon, 
 a Revolutionary ofiicer. 
 
 Litchfield, the shire town of the county, is 
 lifty-eight miles from Hartford, by rail, and has 
 a jiopulation of about 3,500. The towu.shijjis on 
 high land, with strong "soO. Bantam Lake, the 
 largest body of water in the county, is situated 
 partly in this town. The village commands a 
 beautiful and extensive prospect, and has a tine 
 jjark in the centre, in which stands a mouument 
 to commemorate the lives of those who fell in 
 the late war. The prominent buildings are the 
 old Court-house, with its turret and bell ; the 
 jail, and a Congregational church edifice costing 
 about 1^30,000. With its beautiful shade trees, 
 the village, at jiresent, is a most deliglitful resort 
 for those in quest of jjleasure and recreation. 
 The city of New York, distant about one hun- 
 dred and fifteen miles by rail, is reached by 
 the Norwalk, Housatonic, Shejjaug and Nauga- 
 tuck railroads. The churches in the toflii are six 
 in numlter ; and tliere are two banks, one news- 
 paper, and twenty public schools. Manufacturing 
 is carried on to a greater or less extent at East 
 Litchfield, Bantam Falls, Milton and Northfield. 
 
 Among the eminent men of Litchfield have been 
 Oliver Wolcott (I7iij-'J7), the commander of a com- 
 pany in the French ^var, first sheriff of the county, 
 delegate to Congress in 1775, and signer of the 
 Declaration of Inclepenclence, and governor of the 
 State at the time of his death ; Benjamin Tallmadge 
 (17."i4-ls3.5), a colonel in the Revolutionary war, 
 serving witli distinction in mauy battles, several 
 tiuies a representative in Congress, and instrumental 
 in causing the capture of Maj. Andre ; Gen. Uriah 
 Tracy (1755-1807), congressman and U. S. senator; 
 Hon. O. S. Seymour, LL.D., former member of 
 Congress and chief justice of the State ; George C. 
 Woodruff, formerly a memlier of Congress ; Gideon 
 H. HoUister, author of a standard history of Con- 
 necticut ; and Charles B. Andrews, late governor 
 of the State. 
 
 New Hartford is a thriving mountainous town, 
 containing about 3,500 inhalntants, and having five 
 churches. There are in the place several saw-mills, 
 while heavy duck and cotton goods, brass, and iron 
 casters, furniture casters, paper, carriages, coaches 
 and sleighs, and carpenters' tools are manufactured 
 here. 
 
 Among tlie more prominent citizens of this ])lace, 
 past and present, may be named : Hon. William 
 G. Williams, an eloquent advocate, and connected 
 with the distinguished Williams family of Massa- 
 chusetts (his father being auejjhew of Col. Ephraim 
 
 Williams, the founder of Williams College) ; Roger 
 Mills, Esq., a lawyer of note; Hon. Jared B. 
 Foster ; Jolm Richards, Esq. ; and Hon. Edward 
 M. Cliapin. 
 
 Sharon, situated on the west side of the Housa- 
 tonic River, is seventy-one miles from Hartford, 
 and contains al)Out 2,800 inhaliitants. Tlie eastern 
 part of the township is mountainous, while the 
 western section is part of a Large and beautiful 
 valley. The soil is fertile, and agriculture is the 
 principal occupation of the people ; the chief pro- 
 ductions being grain, tobacco, and milk for the 
 New York market. The three most thickly settled 
 places are Sharon Valley, Sharon Village, and 
 Hitchcock's Corner, all on the New York State 
 line, and Ellsworth, in the south-eastern jjart of the 
 town. The churches are five in numlier. There 
 is a furnace for smelting the Salisbury ore at 
 Sharon Valley. 
 
 Noted men : John Williams, town clerk for 
 forty years ; Rev. Cotton Malher Smith (1731-1806), 
 jjastor of the Sharon church for fifty-two years ; 
 John Cotton Smith, LL.D., sou of the foregoing, 
 member of Congress, judge of the Sujjremc Court 
 of the State, and governor from 1813 to 1817; 
 John Cotton Smith, son of tiie governor, a popular 
 orator and author ; Anson Sterling, at one time a 
 member of Congress ; and Gen. Charles F. Sedg- 
 wick, an able lawyer. 
 
 Woodbury, forty-five miles from Hartford, has a 
 population of a little more than 2.000. The village 
 is surrounded by high hills. The main street, run- 
 ning lengtlnvise of a charming and fertile valley, 
 extends into Hotchkissville, so that the places are 
 now really one. The localities of interest in the 
 town are Weekcepeemce, Flanders, Nonnewaug 
 Falls, of more than 100 feet descent; Castle Rock, 
 one of the Indian guarding heights; Oreuaug 
 Rocks, near the lightning's play-ground ; Deer 
 Rocks, Middle Quarter, and some others that still 
 retain the old Indian names. Shot-bags, belts, cassi- 
 meres, shears and cutlery are made in this town. The 
 Masonic Hall, with pillars around it, built on a 
 bluff of trap rock, about thirty feet above the 
 street, is the best in the county, and is a prominent 
 object of admiration U))on entering the village. 
 
 Eminent men : Jaljez Bacon (1781-180()), a native 
 of Middletown, and a very successful merchant ; 
 Dr. Daniel Muun (1084-1761), |)roliably the first 
 native physician of the county; Russel Abernetliy, 
 M. D. (1774-1851), a celebrated physician; Judge 
 Noah B. Benedict (1771-1831) ; Judge Nathaniel 
 Smith (1702-1832), congressman and judge of the 
 Supreme Court of the State ; and Judge Charles B. 
 Phelps (1788-1858), an eminent jurist."^ 
 
 The remaining towns of the county, mostly 
 devoted to agriculture, with their respective 
 populations, are Plymouth (2,500); Thomaston 
 (^2,500), so called for Seth Thomas, the founder 
 of the extensive manufactoy at that place of 
 the clocks known by his name, who was born 
 about 1817, and came from Wolcott about 
 1808 to Hoadleyville for the purpose of making 
 clocks, and moved to Plymouth Hollow in 1812, 
 where he began the clock-making business on a 
 large scale. From this Ijeginning a new era in the 
 history of the to\vu, which now bears his name, 
 may be dated. 
 
S108 
 
 HE VIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 Watertown (1,900), a favorite summer resort; 
 Washington (1,000), in the southern part of which 
 is a wild and rugged cliasm, about six liundred feet 
 higli, wliere a wonderful echo is formed. On the 
 eastern side of Lalie Waramang is a pinnacle sup- 
 posed to be the highest point in the State. The 
 lake just mentioned, romantically situated among 
 "tlie hills, is much frequented, during the heated 
 term, by tourists and pleasure-seekers. 
 
 Canaan (1,200). The Housatonic Falls, at this 
 place, are sixty feet high. The whole descent, 
 including the rapids, above and below the falls, is 
 one hundred and sixty feet. 
 
 North Canaan (1,000) ; Cornwall (1,600); Kent 
 (1,700); Norfolk (1,500); Barkhamsted (1,800); 
 Goshen, (1,100), where in one of the streets the 
 rain-fall on the front roof of thehouscsis said to run 
 into the Housatonic River, to the west, while that 
 on tlie back roof of the same houses, finds its way 
 into the Naugatuck. 
 
 Colel)rook (1,200), a mountain town; Roxbury 
 (1,000), famous as having been the birth-place of 
 Col. Seth Warner, who was born in 1743, and with 
 only a common-school education of the times, early 
 became distinguished for his energy and persever- 
 ance. Tie was the commander during the contest 
 of the Colony with New York, and although rewards 
 were offered by the governor of New York for his 
 arrest, he always evaded their vigilance. He was in 
 command of the party that took Crown Point, and 
 was in several engagements in the war of the Revo- 
 lution, but had to be relieved on account of sick- 
 ness. He was more than six feet tall, well propor- 
 tioned, and was a gallant ofBcer. He died Dec. 27, 
 1784. 
 
 Harwinton (1,000); Bridgewater (800); Bethle- 
 hem (700), like Bridgewater an agricultural hill- 
 ttowu ; Morris (6.50) ; "and Warren (600). 
 
 Rev. Jolin Trumbull, an eminent divine, after 
 
 a ministry of forty-eight years at Watertown, died 
 Dec. 13, 1787. 
 
 .John Trumbull, son of the foregoing, born April 
 24, 1750, educated at Yale, admitted to the bar in 
 1773, was the author of McFingal. He died at 
 Detroit, Mich., in 1831. 
 
 Gen. .John Sedgwick, an officer of the war of the 
 Revolution, and born in 1742, was a man of frank, 
 familiar, and most estimable qualities. He died 
 Aug. 18, 1820, aged seventy-seven years. His 
 remains repose in the Cornwall Hollow Cemetery. 
 
 Major Gen. John Sedgwick was a native of the 
 town of Cornwall, l)orn Sept. 13, 1813, and gradu- 
 ated at West Point Military Academy with honor 
 in 1837. He was engaged in the Seminole war in 
 Florida ; was employed under Gen. Scott to remove 
 the Cherokees to their western reservation ; fought 
 in Mexico under Generals Worth, Scott, and Tay- 
 lor ; called to the Army of the Potomac, he fought 
 at Fair Oaks, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and the 
 battles of the Wilderness ; was killed near Spott- 
 sylvania C. H. , Va., May 9, 1864, and was buried 
 in tlie Cornwall Hollow Cemetery. 
 
 Rev. .Joseph Eldridge, D. D., the settled minister 
 of Norfolk for over forty years, died in 1876, at 
 about seventy years of age. 
 
 William W. Welch, M. D., an eminent physician 
 of Norfolk, has been a member of Congi'ess. 
 
 Hon. Truman Smith, bom in Roxliury, graduate 
 of Yale, was an eminent lawyer, also U. S. senator, 
 and argued a case in court in his eighty-sixth year. 
 
 Rev. .Joseph Bellamy, D. D., born in Cheshire in 
 1719, graduated at Yale in 1735, was ordained in 
 1 740, and continued to serve as pastor of the Beth- 
 lehem Church for fifty years. He was greatly dis- 
 tinguished as a theological instructoi', and as an 
 educator of young men. He held high rank also 
 both as a preacher and as a writer on theological 
 subjects. 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 '>¥^:\^ 
 
MIDDLESEX COUNTY, 
 
 The legislature of Connecticut in May, 1783, 
 formed the county of Middlesex l)y takinfj the 
 towns of Middlctown, Chatham, Iladdam, and East 
 Iladdam from the county of Hartford, and the 
 towns of Saybrook and Killingworth from the 
 county of New London. In May, 171)0, Durham, 
 from the county of New Haven, was annexed to 
 Middlesex. An English settlement was commenced 
 in Saybrook in 1635, in Middlctown in 1050, and in 
 Iladdam in 160:3, all on the west side of the Con- 
 necticut River. From these, in due time, proceeded 
 tlie towns on the opposite side of the Connecticut. 
 The si;ttl(mi'nt in Killingworth began in 1603, and 
 tliat in Durliam in lOOS. 
 
 Tlie settlers, in some instances, came direct from 
 England, but the greater number from older settle- 
 ments in Connecticut and Massachusetts. 
 
 This region was, in general, a wild, irregular 
 tract of country, mountainous, and covered with 
 forests, the alluvial soil being found on the I)anks 
 of the river and on the shores of Long Island 
 Sound. Some parts afforded comfortable means of 
 settlement ; the rest afforded the Indian a place of 
 retreat after he had sold his patrimony to the white 
 man. 
 
 The glory of the county is its noble stream. 
 The granite formation begins just lielow the city of 
 Middletown, .at a place called the Straits, where 
 the river, hemmed in by liold liills, is only thirty- 
 five rods wide, and runs nearly to the mouth at 
 Saybrook. The scenery in this ])art is positively 
 beautiful, green with wealth of trees in summer, 
 and literally reveling in brilliant colors in the fall. 
 This charming region is classic ground. During the 
 profligate and unlicensed reign of Charles I., several 
 gentlemen of distinction contemplated a removal 
 to America. They obtained from the Earl of 
 Warwick, March 19, 1631, a patent of all that 
 territin-y '• which lies west from Narragansett 
 River, a hundred and twenty miles on the sea 
 coast ; and from thence in latitude and breadth 
 aforesaid to the South Sea." John Winthrop, 
 son of the governor of Massachusetts, who 
 was then in London, was appointed their 
 agent, and was instructed to build a fort at the 
 mouth of the Connecticut, and to erect houses 
 for himself and his men, and for the reception 
 of persons of quality. To enable Winthrop to 
 carry out their designs, they constituted him 
 governor of Connecticut River, and of the harbor 
 and places adjoining, for one year after his ar- 
 rival. Tluis commissioned and furnished with men 
 and supplies he arrived in Bo.ston on October H, 
 1631, where he discovered that some people had 
 just left Massachusetts and settled upon the Con- 
 necticut river within the patent granted by the Earl 
 of Warwick. Being assured liy the governor of 
 the Colony and the magistrates that the settlers 
 
 should remove or satisfy the patentees, he dispatched 
 his men to the mouth of tlie Connecticut and super- 
 intended their labors until the expiration of his 
 commission. The level tract of ground west of 
 the river known as Saybrook Point was the place 
 of the new settlement. On this several streets were 
 laid out witli some iireteusions to a town, and the 
 fortification was intrusted to the care of Mr. David 
 Gardiner, an engineer whom the patentees had pro- 
 cured for the purpo.se in England. The whole was 
 secured by a jjalisade stretching across the land- 
 ward side of the point. "In 1030 Col. George 
 Fenwick, one of the patentees, arrived from Eng- 
 land, and gave to the tract aliout the mouth of the 
 river the name of Saybrook, in honor of Lord Say 
 and Seal, and Lord Brooke, his ])rincii)al associates.'' 
 He governed the inhaliitants until 1044, and tlieu dis- 
 posed of his jurisdiction to the Colony of Connecti- 
 cut, as his associates in the patent had aljandoned the 
 idea of seeking a home in the wilds of America on ac- 
 count of the trouble to be ajiprehended from the 
 Indians and the opposition in high quarters to 
 their leaving England. Owing to this disaffec- 
 tion, the little colony was driven back on its 
 original resources. These were strengthened by 
 a few more arrivals from Hartford, and thus the 
 nucleus of a river population was formed under 
 the protection of the friendly fortification. The 
 settlement at Sayjarook was intended as the 
 residence of Oliver Cromwell, Pym, Hampden 
 and Hasselrigg, four of the great Commoners of 
 the day, and it is said that they actually em- 
 bai-ked in the Thames. They i-emaiued at home 
 to do a greater work than the narrow field of 
 Saylirook afforded, but it would be well to ask : 
 were not the early settlers of this county men 
 of the Cromwell stamp '? They were simply 
 battling for the same cause under different con- 
 ditions. 
 
 These early settlers did not eseajje the fero- 
 cities of the Indians. It was not long before the 
 utility of the fort at Saybrook was demonstrated. 
 The Indians who roamed the territory in the 
 vicinity of the fort were subject to a warlike and 
 powerful nation, known as the Pequots, who 
 inhabited the region of the mouth of the Thames. 
 They were inveterate in tlu'ir malignity against 
 the English, and influenced other tribes against 
 them. In 1G34 tht y murdered Captains Stone 
 and Norton with their crew, consisting of eight 
 men, just abovi' Saybrook Point, plundered the 
 vessel, burnt and sunk her. Yet they held a 
 treaty with AViuthrop, and conceded to the Eng- 
 lish their right to Connecticut River and the ad- 
 jacent country. This was merely a cunning 
 expedient to secure confidence, for all the while 
 they meditated treachery ; for eaiiy in October, 
 1636, a band of Pequots concealed in the grass 
 
110 
 
 THE HISTOUICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 at Calves' Island, four miles north of the fort, 
 surprised live men who went there to get the 
 hav, caught one of them named Butterfleld and 
 put him to death by torture. The place was 
 named from this circumstance Butterfield's Mea- 
 dow. The rest escaped to their boat, one of 
 them being wounded with five arrows. A few 
 days after Joseph TiUy, master of a bark, an- 
 chored oif the island, and taking one man with 
 him, went on shore for the puri^ose of fowling. 
 A large number of Pequots, concealed as before, 
 waited until he had discharged his piece, killed 
 his companion, and captured him. They liar- 
 barously cut off his hands and his feet. In this 
 tortured state he Uved three days, exciting the 
 admiration of his inhuman captors by his stoical 
 endui'ance, not allowing a groan to escape him. 
 This single but horrible incident demonstrates but 
 too clearly the moral and 2:)hysica] courage of the 
 settlers. The place has ever since been called 
 TUly's Point. The enemy still maintained his sys- 
 tem' of surjmses. Within a fortnight a force of 100 
 strong, suddenly attacked a house erected two 
 mUes from the fort, and held by six of the garri- 
 son. Three of them were fowling near the 
 house, although the lieutenant had strictly for- 
 bidden the practice. Two of these were taken ; 
 the third cut his way through them, wounded 
 with two arrows, but not mortally. During the 
 ensuing winter the fort was in a constant state 
 of siege, all their outlying i^roperty was de- 
 stroyed, aud no one could leave the fort without 
 hazard. The Pequots, emboldened by their suc- 
 cesses, became more troublesome as the spring 
 advanced. In the month of March, 1637, Lieut. 
 Gardiner, with a dozen men, went out to burn 
 the marshes. Just as they had got clear of the 
 palisades the enemy killed three, and wounded a 
 fourth, who died in the fort nest day. Gardiner 
 was slightly wounded, but was enabled to retu-e 
 with the rest of his men. The Indians then sur- 
 rounded the fort, till the guns, loaded with 
 grape-shot, caused them to retreat. Their next 
 exploit in their design of extermination was to 
 attack a shallop with three men on board. They 
 shot one of them through the head with an ar- 
 row, who fell overboard ; they ripjaed the other 
 two completely ojjen, split their backs, and then 
 suspended them on trees. One of the Indians 
 concerned in this barbarity named Nepanpuck, a 
 famous Pequot, for this and similar atrocities, 
 was beheaded at New Haven in 1639. The Colony 
 of Connecticut became very apprehensive for 
 the safety of the little band of settlers in the fort. 
 The fort commanded the river. It had already 
 beaten off a Dutch war-sloop, and so far had 
 checked the ravages of the Indians, but the Pe- 
 quots were not only warlike, but numerous, aud 
 swayed the neighboring tribes. Unless they could 
 be subdued, it was quite evident that the set- 
 tlement must succumb and the general safety be 
 endangered. Capt. John Mason (a great colo- 
 nial celebrity) was sent from the Hartford settle- 
 ment with twenty men to re-enforce the garri- 
 son. He was strengthened by twenty men under 
 the command of Capt. John UnderhUl, sent by 
 the Colony of Massachusetts. On the 1st of 
 May, the General Court of Connecticut Colony, 
 sei'iously alarmed at the hostile attitude of the 
 
 PequotF, resolved upon immediate and vigorous 
 war. Massachusetts and Plymouth Colonies, 
 alive to the necessities of the occasion, resolved 
 to aid the sister Colony. Capt. John Mason was 
 appointed commander of the Connecticut troops, 
 ninety men in all, the whole number that Hart- 
 ford, Wethersfleld and Windsor could furnish. 
 Uncas, sachem of Mohegan, his ally, contributed 
 seventy men. The whole foi-ce embarked at Hart- 
 ford, in three small vessels, and fell down the river 
 for Sayljrook fort. Arrived at what is now Chester, 
 the Indians left the boats and proceeded on foot. 
 They fell hi with forty of the enemy, killed six, 
 and took one prisoner, whom they murdered. 
 
 In live days from their departure they reached 
 Sayljrook fort, having been delayed several times 
 by one or other of the vessels getthig ' aground. 
 Captain Underhill, with nineteen men belonging to 
 the garrison, joined the expedition, and twenty of 
 Mason's men were sent back to protect their friends 
 up the river. An account of the expedition to the 
 Pequot fort, and the subsequent extermination of 
 the tribe, is elsewhere given. 
 
 With the close of these hostilities, the impor- 
 tance of the fort l)egan to decline. Lieutenant 
 Gardiner, who commanded the garrison, removed 
 in l(i39 to Manchanoc, now Gardiner's Island, and 
 liecame the first English settler in the State of New 
 York. His descendants reside on the Island to 
 tliis day, the patent being granted hy the crown. 
 His son David was bom at Saybrook, April 29, 
 1636, and is supposed to have been the first white 
 child born in the territory which now comprises 
 Middlesex County. In the year liefore George 
 Fenwick sold the jurisdiction of Sayl)rook, his 
 wife, Lady Anne Butler, commonly called Lady 
 Fenwick, died. The tomb, an ungainly structure 
 of brown stone, without inscription, isolated and 
 neglected, remained until very recently. Captain 
 John Mason, at the request of the settlers, took up 
 his abode at Saybrook m 1 647, and was appointed 
 to the command of the fort. He resided there for 
 thirteen years, and then removed to assist in the 
 settlement of Norwich. The country to the west 
 of Saylirook became known to the colonists by 
 means of tlie pursuit of Sassacus in that direction; 
 it opened up fine sites on the Sound, aud these 
 were speedily occupied. Other settlements were 
 formed up the river in a few years, but Saybrook 
 must be considered the parent town of Middlesex 
 County, and its historical fort the preservation of 
 all the country within its influence. 
 
 The first inhaljitants of Saybrook, who endured 
 the trials peculiar to the early settlers, sat under 
 the ministrations of the Rev. John Higginson, 
 whose teachings were " suitable, seasonable and 
 profitable, according to the then present dispensa- 
 tion of Providence." He arrived in this country 
 from England in 1639. After three or four years' 
 ministry in Saybrook, he removed to Guilford. 
 The first cliurch was established there in 1643. 
 He remained there until 1660, and then removed to 
 Salem, and died on December 9, 1708, in the 
 ninety-third year of his age. The first church in 
 Sayljrook was organized m 1646. Among the 
 early inhabitants distinguished for learning and 
 )>ictv, or for some excellence, may be mentioned the 
 Hon. Kobert Chapman, ancestor of the Chapmans 
 in S.aybrook, East Haddam, and other parts of the 
 
nEVIKW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Stiito. He arrived there in 11)3(5, and was a partic- 
 ular friend of George Fenwick while lie remained 
 in the country. He died in Oetoher, \i>H~. Mr. 
 John TuUey came into the town a lad ; ho was 
 po.ssessed with a mind original and ingenious ; lie- 
 came a teacher of arithmetic, navigation and astron- 
 omy, and published the almanacs of New England 
 from KJSl to 1702. Mr. David Bushnell, another 
 genius, was the inventor of several machines des- 
 tined to annoy the Uritish shipping in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. He served during the war as a cap- 
 tain in a company of sappers and mineis. 
 
 The first building in the coun'y designed as a 
 collegiate school was erected here, since named 
 Yale College. It was of one story, eighty feet long. 
 Fifteen commencements were held here, and more 
 than sixty young men graduated from it. Here, 
 also, a confession of faith was instituted, upon the 
 principles of which the college was to be con- 
 ducted. This was the origin of the famous Say- 
 brouk Platform in 170S. The college was removed 
 from this jjlace to New Haven. 
 
 Encouraged by the security in which Saybrook 
 seemed established, and Ijy the Constitution of 
 1039, which was superseded l)y the more liberal 
 charter of Charles H., a committee was ap|)ointed 
 to explore the lauds in the Indian territory of Mat- 
 tabeset. Sowheag, its great sachem, who appears 
 to have been a peacealile man for an Indian, ruled 
 the triljes who dwelt within a considcral)le circuit 
 on both sides of the river. His stronghold was a 
 hill about one mde west of the river — a position 
 dominating the surrounding country. Before any 
 settlement had commenced, Sowlieag negotiated 
 with Gov. Haynes for the sale of his territory. The 
 Indian title did not, however, become extinct until 
 about twelve years after, wlien certain chiefs, aware 
 of the deed of Sowheag, for a further and full 
 consideration dispo.sed of all that land " to run 
 from the great river the whole breadth east six 
 miles, and from the great river west as far as the 
 General Court of (!onnecticut had granted the 
 bounds should extend ; " reserving a tract on the 
 west side of the river for Sawsean forever, and 
 three hundred acres for the heirs of Sowheag and 
 Mattabesot Indians on the east side. 
 
 On Oct. yO, 1G40, the General Court appointed a 
 Mr. Phelps to join a committee for the planting of 
 Mattabeset. Few settlers came at first, but more 
 towards the close of ir>.51 ; for in September of 
 that year the General Court ordered that Mattabeset 
 should be a town. In 1G.J2, the town was repre- 
 sented in the General Court, and in November, 
 1058, the General Court further approved '• that 
 the name of the [ilantation commonly called 
 Mattabe.sec^- should, for time to come, be called 
 Middletown. " The name was probably given 
 to it on account of its lying between the towns 
 up the river and Saybrook at its month. It has 
 been considered that the name was taken from a 
 place in England endeared to some of the set- 
 tlers. This we consider as not very probable. 
 Who the lii-st settlers were we have not the 
 means of ascertaining ; the first few pages in the 
 town records are lost, and others aro nearly ob- 
 literated. The number of taxaVde persons in 
 1654 was thirty-one, and sixteen years after they 
 had only increased to fifty -two. The jdanters — 
 as they were called in colonial jihrase — came 
 
 from the mother country, Hartford and Wethers- 
 field, and a few from ]\Iassaehusetts. A large 
 number of the inhaljitants of Middletown, at 
 this day, are direct descendants from these 
 planters. It may traly be said, that in a popu- 
 lation of 12,000 persons, their names largely 
 jiredominate. 
 
 The occupation of these settlers was in fact 
 that of planters ; they had no other source of 
 living lint the jiroducts of the soil ; they manu- 
 factured their garments for the family verV im- 
 perfectly, owing to their deficient means ; they 
 were scantily sui)plied with farming implements, 
 and had but few mechanics in the community. 
 They reserved a lot worth one hundred pounds 
 as a temptation for a blacksmith to cast his lot 
 among them. In September, 1661, one ajipeared, 
 who agreed to do the necessary smithing for the 
 town for four years. The conditions of their 
 lives never reached ordinary comfort for half a 
 century. Trade was carried on by bai'ter. In 
 1680, they only owned one small vessel of seventy 
 tons ; only one other was owneel on the river, 
 and that at Hartford, of ninety tons. Haifa cen- 
 tur-y later, two vessels only were owned here ; their 
 united tonnage, 105 tons. There was only one 
 merchant here in 1680, and only twenty-four in 
 the entire C'onneeticut Colony. They are men- 
 tioned in Gov. Leete's Eeport to the Board of 
 Trade and Plantations in England, as doing but 
 little business. Their condition must have been 
 hard and difficult indeed, but they were neither 
 better nor worse than the colonists of New Eng- 
 land in general. The settlement was divided 
 into two parts, with the Little River, a narrow 
 stream falling into the Connecticut, between 
 them. That i)ortion to the north of the stream 
 was called The Upper Houses ; that to the 
 south. The Lower Houses. The Upper Houses 
 of those days is now the town of Cromwell. 
 On February 2d, 1652, it was voted by the town 
 that a meeting-house should be built ; it was 
 only " twenty feet square, ten from sill to jilate, 
 and was inclosed by palisades. In Blay, 1680, 
 the second meeting-house was erected, "thirty- 
 two feet square, and fifteen feet between joints." 
 
 The ])opulation of the Upper Houses increased so 
 much that in .lanuary, 1703, "the town agreed 
 they miglit settle a minister and build a meeting- 
 house, provided they settled a mini.ster within six, 
 or at most twelve months from that time." In 
 May of the same year, the Up])er Houses were in- 
 corporated as a parish. By slow degrees, the in- 
 hal)itants l)egan to spread out over the neighboring 
 country ; a settlement was begun in Middlefield in 
 1700, and in Westtield in 1720. The former did 
 not become a parish until 1744, and Westfield not 
 untd 1700. On the east side of the Connecticut, 
 now the site of Portland, no parish was formed 
 until May, 1714, although the land was of good 
 quality. It was then called East Middletown. 
 Middle Iladdam, in the southeastern part of the 
 township, was not formed into a parish until May, 
 1 740. It was mostly settled by people from East 
 Middletown. East Hampton, another settlement 
 in the southeast corner of tlie townshi]), was in- 
 cor])orated in Blay, 1 740. 
 
 The next township in the order of date, and that 
 a very interesting one, is Haddam, settled in 1002. 
 
113 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 It covered that tract of country lying between the 
 contines of Middlctown to the north, and Saybrook 
 to the south. Some individuals contemijlated this 
 settlement two years before. The legishiture ap- 
 pointed a committee to purchase tlie tract from the 
 Indians. This was completed iu 1602 for the con- 
 sideration of thirty coats, probalily worth Si 00, 
 the Indians reserving Thirty-mile Island, so called 
 from l)eiug that distance from the mouth of the 
 Connecticut, as tlie river runs, and forty acres at 
 Pattaquouk, nf)W Cliester meadows ; also the right 
 of fishing and hunting where they pleased, pro- 
 vided they did not injure the settlers. Twenty- 
 eight young men settled upon these lands : but 
 they soou discovered that they were interfered with 
 by their nortlieru line encroaching upon the terri- 
 tory confirmed to Middletown, and a considerable 
 tract to the south encroached on that claimed by 
 Saybrook, owing, no doulit, to the loose manner in 
 wliich tlie Indians held their original right. Tlie 
 legislature settled the difliculty, in 10(38, by ad- 
 vising the contestants to divide the disputed ter- 
 ritory equally, and the division was made accord- 
 ingly. The settlers do not seem to have been fully 
 satisfied by this reduction of their purchase, for 
 the legislature, in 1673, granted them as compen- 
 sation all that tract of land on the east side of the 
 river, now the townslii)i of East Haddam. They 
 came from Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor, 
 and the descendants of most of them are in the 
 town or its vicinity to this day. 
 
 Town privileges were accorded them in 1668, 
 and the settlement was called Haddam, after a 
 place in England. Shortly after this, Richard 
 Walkley from Hartford, John Bates, William Sco- 
 vill and others joined tlie settlement. On February 
 11, 1080, a patent was granted to the town by the 
 Assembly, confirming the settlers and their heirs 
 forever in the possession of all the lands, apjiur- 
 tenances and privileges previously granted. The 
 growth of population was exceedingly slow ; for 
 forty years the inhaliitants were confined to the 
 western Ijank of the river. 
 
 The ancestors of the families of Dickinson, Hub- 
 bard and Ray settled here about the commencement 
 of the last century; and at later jieriocls, those of 
 the families of Lewis, Hazluton, Tyler, Higgins, 
 Thomas, Knowles and Buir. The Indians appear 
 to have had no specific name for the townshiiJ at 
 large; the northern part they called " Higganom- 
 pos," since changed to Higganura. The western 
 part they called " Cockaponset," since changed to 
 Punset. They remained on their reservation at 
 Pattaquouk and Thirty-JIile Island for many years ; 
 a few had a jjlaceof resort in a hollow on Haddam 
 Neck, within the township on the east side of the 
 river. Some were in existence within the memory 
 of people who were living in the early part of the 
 present century. With that due regard for the 
 maintenance of public worship, which ever distin- 
 guished the early colonists, the proprietors reserved 
 one right for whoever should be their first minister, 
 and another right for the support of the ministry 
 forever. David Brainerd, the missionary, direct 
 descendant of Daniel Brainerd, one of the original 
 settlers, was born in this town in 1710. His efforts 
 to Christianize the Indians in different parts of 
 North America have been highly praised. In 
 
 Great Britain he was considered a model mis- 
 sionary. 
 
 In October, 1 603, it was resolved by the legis- 
 lature that the tract of ground to the west of Say- 
 brook, known by the name of Hammonasset, should 
 be formed into a townshi|j. Twelve planters moved 
 into it the same month ; in two or three years they 
 were joined by sixteen others, and the town was 
 divided into thirty rights, viz. : one each for the 
 settlers, one for the first minister who should be 
 settled there, and the last for the sujjport of the 
 ministry forever. 
 
 In 1007, the new township was called Kenilworth, 
 after the celebrated Kenilworth in England; ac- 
 cording to tradition, the first settlers emigrated 
 from there. The nan* is so written in the early 
 records of the town and Colony. By corrupt spell- 
 ing, or worse pronunciation the romantic Kenil- 
 worth has been changed into the unmeaning Killing- 
 worth. 
 
 The Indians were very numerous in the southern 
 part of this township ; they dwelt on the shores of 
 the Sound, and on the banks of the small streams, 
 immense masses of shells now indicating their 
 places of resort. While Col. Fenwick lived at Say- 
 brook he bought up most of their lands. On Nov. 
 20, 1669, Unca.s, the Mohegan sachem, disposed 
 of the remainder of his lands in the township to 
 tlie settlers, reserving six acres on the east side of 
 the harbor, and the usual liberty of hunting and 
 fiisliing. They lived here in great numbers to 
 1730 or 1740. 
 
 "On the 26th of January, 1686, the Assembly 
 granted to the inhabitants of this town the lands 
 north of their bounds, and of the bounds of 
 Guilford, and west of Haddam up to Cochincaug 
 swamps ; which, by agreement, were surren- 
 dered to the township of Durham in 1708." 
 
 Durham being an outlying section was very 
 difficult of settlement. The lands were jiur- 
 chased from the Indians by Samuel Wyllys and 
 others on January 24, 1672. 
 
 The colonists do not appear to have been very 
 expert surveyors ; the grants fi-om the legislature 
 when measured in some cases encroached upon 
 others, and in the case of Durham the grant was 
 not sufficient — a large tract being left out. The 
 legislature granted many lots or farms in it to 
 persons who had rendered distinguished services 
 to the Colony, and in this way 5,000 acres be- 
 came the projierty of people who were not 
 resident there. The difficiilty was ultimately 
 adjusted bv the j)atent granted by the legislature 
 in May, 1708. 
 
 The colonists soon manifested their maritime 
 inclinations. It has abeady been said that in 
 1730 only two vessels of small tonnage were 
 owned on the river. Shijibuilding began on the 
 eastern side of the stream in the neighborhood 
 of Middletown and the settlement of Haddam. 
 ' • The first vessel built in Chatham parish was 
 launched in October, 1711 ; this was a schooner 
 of ninety tons," sujiiiosed to have been built at 
 Lewis' yard, where many vessels have since been 
 built. 
 
 Shipbuilding was begun at Churchel's yard in 
 1795. From the beginning of 1806 to the close 
 of 1816, 12, .500 tons of shipping were built here. 
 In this jjarish were built, during the Revolution, 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 113 
 
 the "Trumlmll" of 700 tons, thirty-six guns, 
 and the " BourUon " of 900 ton?. Other -war 
 vessels of lai'ge capacity were subsequen,tly 
 built. 
 
 In the yards at Middle Haddam eighteen ships, 
 nine V)rigs, eleven .schooners and one sloop were 
 bnilt from 1805 to 1815, amounting to 9,200 tons. 
 Shipbuilding appears to have been done on the 
 west shore of the river — at Middletown, Hig- 
 ganiim and Haddam. Out of this shipbuilding 
 enterprise grew the West India trade. Prior 
 to tlie Revolutionary war the shipping was 
 mostly employed in West Indian adventure. 
 Several merchants at Middletown embarked in 
 tlie trade, exporting mules, cattle, corn and meal, 
 and im])orting, in turn, molasses, sugar and 
 rum. This trade not only emichcd the firms who 
 were engaged in it but stimidated commerce in the 
 county generally. By this time the best jiarts of 
 the lands had been gotten under cultivatiou, tlie 
 necessary stock could he raised for exportation, :md 
 the growth of cereals was more than the inhalji- 
 tants could consume. Everything favored the West 
 Indian trade. Articles of the most useful descrip- 
 tion were brought to the doors of the colonists. 
 Large nnml)ers of families were maintained liy the 
 necessary labor to pursue the trade — the county 
 alone did not present a field large enougli to con- 
 sume the valuable imports, so by opening up the 
 roads they carried the cargoes across the mountains 
 to distant places in New England; the merchants 
 became their own carriers, and an ordinarily quiet 
 agricultural comnumity soon liecame transformed 
 into enterprising mercliant adventurers. They 
 were on the higliway to wealth, and many attained 
 it. 
 
 The Revolutionary war suspended but did not 
 destroy this trade. It was resumed with great vigor 
 after the war, and did not finally decline till 1812. 
 Small as the population of Middletown, Haddam 
 and the t)ther towns nmst have been at the break- 
 ing out of the war of independence, yet they ap- 
 pear to have contributed their full quota of men 
 and means, and to have borne a most distinguished 
 part in the "military achievements in which they 
 were engaged. The passage of the Boston Port 
 Bill by the British Parliament, and the arrival of 
 Geu. Gage in May, 1774, to enforce it by stopping 
 the trade of the town, caused the ])atriots of this 
 county to rise in righteous indignation. On the 
 15lh of June of the same year, five hundred inhabi- 
 tautsof the township of !>Iiddletown assembled and 
 passed ringing and jjatriotic resolutions. 
 
 It is not known whether the other towns passed 
 such resolves, but the evidence is sufficient that 
 they shared the same sentiments, and were faith- 
 ful in sustaining them. The delegates from Massa- 
 chusetts on their way to the first Continental Con- 
 gress, stopped at Middletown. Dr. Rawson, Jlr. 
 Alsop, Mr. Mortimer, Mr. Henshaw and others, 
 called upon them to pay th('ir resjiects. They 
 assured tlie delegates that they would abide by the 
 decisicm of the Congress " even to a total stoppage 
 of trade to Europe and the West Indies." Nothing 
 could be more patriotic, as the gentlemen who 
 made the assertion were very deeply interested 
 in the West India trade. Whatever laws were 
 passed by the Colonial Assembly for the safety or 
 governance of the people, committees were immedi- 
 
 ately formed to ascertain if they were attend- 
 ed to or to see their provisions carried in- 
 to effect. One thing they particularly did ; 
 to .see that the inhabitants took the oath of 
 fidelity to the State, and the records of the 
 towns of Middletown and Cluitliam, year after 
 year, abound with such suliscriiitions. It was 
 discovered, early in the war, that Washington 
 required regular soldiers and not militia, and 
 C'outinental battalions were ordered by the 
 State. The towns of this county tilled up their 
 quota cheerfully ; they did much for the support 
 of the families of the soldiers by assigning them 
 to the care of committees or of individuals. 
 Chatham and Middletown, in 1777, voted that 
 the selectmen distribute to the otKeers' and sol- 
 diers' families the salt belonging to the town as 
 they should think it needed. In 1779, Middle- 
 town voted that every man in the town that has a 
 team be desired to furnish the light dragoons 
 with wood. 
 
 Return Jonathan INIeigs raised a company of 
 light infantry in Middletown in 1774, and in 
 1775 he was appointed captain. Immediately 
 after the news of Lexington he marched his com- 
 jiany, "completely uniformed and equipped," 
 to the environs of Boston. Cajitain Sage was 
 there with his troop, and Captain Silas Dunham 
 with a military company from Chatham. At 
 this time the militia companies in Middletown 
 and Chatham were formed into a regiment. In 
 May, 1776, "lai'ge detachments of militia were 
 ordered to hold themselves in readiness to march 
 at the shortest notice for the defense of any por- 
 tion of Connecticut or other adjoining Colonies. " 
 In June, seven regiments were ordered to join 
 the army in New York ; James Wadsworth, Jr., 
 of Durham, was appointed l)rigadier-general, 
 and among the seven colonels then ajipoiuted 
 was Comfort Sage, of Middletown, who went with 
 his trooj) to Boston the year before. Middlesex 
 County not being the theatre of war, her inhalii- 
 tants never ceased in their efllbrts, military or 
 commissary, to contribute their utmost to the 
 common cause. The drafts of militia ordered 
 to New York in August included the militia of 
 Middletown and Chatham. Tlie brigades were 
 commanded by Major General Joseph Spencer, 
 of East Haddam, by Brigadier General James 
 Wadsworth, of Durham, and Samuel H. Parsons, 
 of Middletown. " They signalized themselves 
 in all the achievements," and were distinguished 
 as well for their sufi'erings as their valor. So 
 great was tlie strain upon the resources of the 
 country in 1776 that no less than tive drafts were 
 made upon the militia of the State. If we begin 
 with the inquiry : who went to the war from the 
 towns in ]\Iiddlesex County '! we would end by 
 inquiring : who elid not go ? 
 
 The towns of this county endured also their 
 share of jirivation and ea])tivity, and suffered 
 their proiiortiou of loss in killed and wounded. 
 The jjrisoners who were kept on board the hor- 
 rible prison shijis in New Y'ork were largely from 
 these towns. Many living on the Connecticut 
 River einbai-ked in the tempting but hazardous 
 business of privateering. The sloop-of-war, "Samp- 
 son," built at Uigganum, was commissioned for 
 this purpose. She was captured, and the officers 
 
114 
 
 THE IIISrOBTCAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 and crew, one Iiundred in all, were consigned to the 
 old prison-sliip "Jersey.'' The commander, Caj)!. 
 David Brooks, Lieut Shubael Brainerd, and several 
 men died there. 
 
 Middlesex County produced a distinguished 
 soldier, Gen. Return .Jonathan Meigs, born in Mid- 
 dletown. In 1775, he accompanied Arnold's expe- 
 dition up the Kennebec to Quebec, and has left 
 the best account of that perilous and ill-starred 
 undertaking. He was taken prisoner, and on being 
 exchanged in 1777, was appointed lieutenant- 
 colonel, with power to raise a regiment. He was 
 then selected to undertake what proved to be one 
 of the many dashing minor exploits of the war, no 
 less than the surprisal and capture of a body of 
 the enemy stationed at Sag Harljor, L. I. He 
 crossed the Sound with '230 men in thirteen whale- 
 boats, and arrived within three miles of Sag Har- 
 bor at one o'clock at night. 
 
 They attacked tlie enemy at five different places. 
 Having come within twenty rods of tliem in the 
 greatest silence and order, they rushed upon them 
 with fixed bayonets and captured the whole ; 
 another company meanwhile securing tlie wharf 
 and the shipping. Six of the enemy were kOled, 
 ninety taken prisoners, twelve vessels destroyed 
 and a large amount of forage and provisions. Col. 
 Meigs recrossed the Sound with his prisoners, and 
 arrived at Guilford in twenty-five hours from the 
 time he left it, without the loss of a man. Con- 
 gress presented the brave commander witli an ele- 
 gant sword. He afterwards commanded one of 
 the regiments which assisted in cajjturing Stony 
 Point. It is wortliy of mention, sliowing the spirit 
 in which non-combatants supported the war, tlip.t 
 the people of Durham sent two oxen to Gen. Wash- 
 ington at Valley Forge. They were driven through 
 a country almost exhausted by tlie war, yet one of 
 them weighed 2,270 pounds, after a journey of 
 nearly 500 miles. After the war the county greatly 
 suffered from the depreciation and finally the total 
 collapse of the Continental script or pai)er money. 
 The mercantile portion of the population returned 
 to their West Indian trade, which flourished as 
 vigorously as ever until the war of 1812. 
 
 Ship-l)uilding was carried on energetically, and 
 the iisheries were extended ; farms began to multi- 
 ply, and the population soon repaired tlie waste of 
 war. The numerous streams running into the Con- 
 necticut and the Sound were utilized as means of 
 manufacture, and another interest destined in the 
 future to assume large projjortions was coming 
 steadily into favor, viz. : the Portland quar- 
 ries. Tlie towns we liave been describing were 
 taken to form the county in 1785, just after the 
 <5lose of the war, Durham being added in 1799. 
 
 Of the naval foi-ce emi^loyed by the United 
 iStates in the war of 1812, the citizens of the river 
 iowus of Middlesex County contributed largely 
 in men and material, and although the Connec- 
 ticut was not within the field of general opera- 
 tions, it was the scene of a foray by vessels from 
 the enemy's fleet then blockading New London. 
 On the 7th of Ajiril, 1814, two of these anchored 
 ofl' Saybrook bar in the evening, and dispatched 
 two launches, each carrying nine or twelve- 
 pound carronades and fifty to sixty men, and 
 four barges with twenty-five men each. They were 
 seen to enter the mouth of the river at eleven 
 
 o'clock, and many of their men entered the old 
 fort, which was altogether abandoned and 
 neglected. They rowed between five and six 
 miles, and arrived at their destination, Pauta- 
 pong Point, at four o'clock in the morning, when 
 the work of conflagration was immediately 
 begun. Pickets of the enemy searched the 
 houses for arms and ammunition, wliile the main 
 force was busy setting fire to the vessels in the 
 river and those on the stocks. At ten o'clock, 
 Friday the 8th, they retreated, taking with them 
 a brig, a schooner and two sloojis. The wind 
 shifting directly contrary, they set tire to the 
 brig and the sloojjs, and anchored the schooner 
 a mile and a quarter from where they had taken 
 her. Twenty-two vessels and other property, 
 computed in all at $160,000, were destroyed. 
 The British were all day in the river, and did 
 not succeed in gaining theii- shipping until ten 
 o'clock at night. 
 
 With the close of this war, the last remnants 
 of the West India trade, which had been carried 
 on so long and so prosperously, died out. The 
 merchants principally engaged in the business at 
 different periods of its rise and decline were, 
 Richard Alsop, George Phillips, Matthew Talcot, 
 Elijah and Nehemiah Hubbard, Lemuel Storrs, 
 George and Thompson Phillips, Gen. Comfort 
 Sage, of Revolutionary renown, and Joseph W. 
 Alsop, all of Middletown. The growth of the 
 county from this period partakes of the growth 
 of the age. Quarrying and carrying the brown 
 stone of the celebrated Portland quarries became 
 an immense business, quite ii large fleet until 
 very recently being emjiloyed in it. Quarrying 
 anotlier kind of stone at Haddam, largely increased 
 the industry of the river. Small steamboats began 
 to ])ly between Hartford and Saybrook, and a line 
 of first-class Sound steamboats now maintains tlie 
 traffic between Hartford and New York. The 
 southern part of the county is cut by the Shore 
 Line Railroad lietween New Haven and New Lon- 
 don, crossing the Connecticut between Saylirook 
 and Lyme, by a magnificent bridge with a large 
 draw in the centre. The Valley Railroad skirts 
 the western shore of the river from Hartford to 
 Saybrook Point. The direct Air Line Railroad 
 from New Haven to Willi niantic crosses the river 
 at Middletown over a magnificent structure con- 
 structed witli a draw. 
 
 Churches, colleges, schools, agriculture and man- 
 ufactures flourish equal to the requirements of the 
 day. The population of the county at the last 
 census of 1880, was 35,587. Middlesex is but a 
 small county in a small State, which has nobly 
 answered to the calls of duty in all cases of na- 
 tional exigency, and especially in the late civil 
 war. The several towns sent tlieir hundreds to the 
 field of honor, where they ever distinguished them- 
 selves whetlier in moments of victory or in periods 
 of disaster. They contributed their utmost in ma- 
 terial as well as in men. and were never beliind tlie 
 larger cities in their efforts to promote the welfare 
 of the national cause. Direct descendants of the 
 early settlers have laid their lives on the altar of 
 liberty in 1776, 1812 and 18(51 ; they have assisted 
 in creating and sustaining other Territories and 
 States in tlie far West, true to the motto of Con- 
 necticut, that "he who transplants still sustains." 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 115 
 
 Towns. 
 
 Mifldletown, a half-shire town of Middk-scx 
 County, and a port of entry, is one of the most 
 beautiful of Xew England cities. It stands on a 
 large bend of tlie Connecticut, on its western shore, 
 and runs backward to the hill-toiis for the distance 
 of a mile. The traveler can see but little of the 
 city from any of its approaches by land or water, 
 so completely is it emlmsomed in the foliage of tlie 
 maple and the elm, wliich has given to it the 
 well -merited name of "The Forest City" of 
 New England. The population of the town is 
 11,7;!1. It was incorporated as a city in 1784. 
 Its colleges and schools, its numerous spires, 
 its enterprising industries and numerous l)anks, all 
 tell the story of the collected wcaltli of two cen- 
 turies. High street, ISO feet above tlie river, is 
 built up of costly and elegant residences, set in the 
 most cultivated horticultural grounds. The arch- 
 ing sweep of the elms forms a superb vista of en- 
 chanting foliage. The view from this street is .sur- 
 passingly l)eautiful. The Wesleyan University 
 fronts "on High street. The buildings whicli com- 
 j)rise it stand a little distance from the street, and 
 in a straiglit line ; the intermediate space of lawn, 
 trees and gravel walks forming a fine campus. The 
 buildings are chiefly of brownstoue from the adja- 
 cent quarries at Portland. The most modern of 
 these, erected at the expense of Orange Judd. Esq., 
 is the Orange Judd Hall of Science. Its museum 
 of natural history and ethnology is very extensive 
 and remarkably well arranged under the sujier- 
 vision of Prof. W. N. Rice. The Scientific Asso- 
 ciation of Middletown holds its meetings here once 
 a montli. The library contains aliout 30.000 vol- 
 umes, and is endowed with a fund for its continued 
 increase. The Memorial Chapel is enriched with a 
 graceful spire, which makes quite a landmark for 
 miles around. The observatory is furnished with a 
 splendid telescope liy Clark. There are about 200 
 ■Students and a large l)ody of professors. Rev. John 
 Wesley Beach, D. D., LL.D., is the efficient pres- 
 ident. 
 
 The Berkeley Divinity School, on Main street, is 
 designed for the training of young men for the min- 
 i.stry of the Episcopalian Church. The Right Rev. 
 John Williams, D. D., bishop of Connecticut, is 
 the president and dean. Attached to the school is 
 a beautiful Gothic chapel, the gift of Mrs. Thomas 
 D. Mutter, as a memorial of her husband, in which 
 services are held daily. 
 
 Middletown has long been famous for her schools. 
 The higli school draws a large niunber of scholars 
 from all parts of tlie county, and every year grad- 
 uates a large class. The building is most conven- 
 ient and sulistantial, built of brick with brownstone 
 facings, and having two wings. The Catholics 
 maintain a good jiarish school, which is well at- 
 tended, and a most excellent convent school, under 
 the charge of the Sisters of Mercy. The private 
 schools of Middletown contribute their share to the 
 educational reputation of the city. 
 
 Tlie churches compare well with those of larger 
 cities. The first church was established in I'iOl, 
 and for n century the people were chiefly C'ongix'- 
 gationalists. Other denominations gradually crept 
 in, and at the present day, the leading religious 
 orders are well represented. The town is improved 
 
 by four church edifices of consideralfle archi- 
 tectural pretensions : one of them, the most mod- 
 ern, the First Congregational Church — known 
 as the North Church-^-is as graceful and as 
 imposing a church edifice as any in the State. Its 
 spire, reacliing to a great height, is beautiful in its 
 proportions. The South Congregational, the P^pis- 
 copal and the Roman Catholic churches are also of 
 fine arcliitectural design. 
 
 Mitldletovvn is the centre of the monetary insti- 
 tutions of the county, and contains seven banking 
 institutions and two flourishing insurance com- 
 panies. 
 
 On a commanding eminence in the southeast part 
 of the town, overlooking the river and city, and 
 embracing a wide and varied prospect, stands the 
 State hospital for the insane. No site could lie 
 more apjiropriate or better adapted for the humane 
 purposes of such an institution. The building, of 
 Portland lirownstone, is a most imposing one, and 
 a conspicuous feature in the landscape for many 
 miles. 
 
 On an eminence in the western part of the town 
 is another State institution ; the Industrial School 
 for Girls, established in 1870, designed for the 
 care and education of homeless and neglected girls 
 from eight to twenty-one years of age. 
 
 Tlie educational facilities of Middletown are con- 
 siderably enhanced by the Free Russell Library, the 
 generous gift of Mrs. Samuel Russell, in memory 
 of her husband. 
 
 Middletown has several cemeteries and old bury- 
 ing grounds. In an old cemetry in the south part 
 of the town the grave-stone can be seen of Capt. 
 Return Jonathan Meigs and his family. In another 
 is the tomb of Commodore McDonough, the hero 
 of Lake Champlain. Tlie principal cemetery, and 
 one of the most beautiful in the State, is situated 
 on Indian Hill. The prospect from the summer- 
 house on the crest commands the amphitheatre of 
 hills which surround it at a distance of four miles. 
 Al)Ove these can be seen the ranges of tlie more 
 distant hills until they gradually lose themselves in 
 the dim forms of Mount Tom and Mount Holyoke 
 in Massachusetts. A wide sweep of the river is in 
 full view in the midst of a most charming pastoral 
 country. The smoke of distant cities may be seen, 
 and although Middletown lies at its feet, nothing 
 more than the spires are in sight, on account of the 
 trees. The cemetery is beautifully laid out in 
 gravel walks ; the monuments are elegant, and 
 many of them very costly, several being made of 
 the jiolished Scotch granite. There is a fine monu- 
 ment in memory of Maj. Gen. Mansfield, U. S. A., 
 who fell leading his brigade at Antietam. A 
 brownstone chapel, Gothic in design, which all 
 denominations can use, is another of the gifts of 
 tlie benevolent Mrs. Samuel Russell. 
 
 Middletown has extensive and varied manufac- 
 tures. Among the leading estalilishments may be 
 mentioned the Russell Manufacturing Company, 
 which makes heavy cotton belting and ho.se for 
 mill purposes, suspenders and wel>bing ; Messrs. 
 W. it B. Douglas, the oldest and larg<>st punip- 
 iiiakcrs in the word ; the Middletown Plate, Co., 
 and the Stiles & Parker Press companies. Beside 
 these there are manufactures of silk, hardware, 
 saddlery and harness trimmings, articles from bone 
 and ivory, etc. 
 
IIG 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 The city is a central point for raib'oad communi- 
 cation, and has consideraljle coasting trade in coal, 
 iron and other heavy materials. Straddle Hill, an 
 outlying district of Middletown, contains the largest 
 waterfall in the county, and several factories. 
 
 Chatham, so called, from its shiplmilding, after 
 Chatham in England, eml:)races the villages of Mid- 
 dle Haddam. Cobalt and East Hampton. It has a 
 po|)ulation of aljout 2.000. Cobalt takes its name 
 from a mineral discovered there in 1762. East 
 Hampton is tlie great seat of industry of Chatham 
 townshij). In this small place, nestled among the 
 bold and rugged liills of the granite formation, is 
 made nearly every sleigh-bell which now tinkles 
 tliroughout North America. Tliose made in otlier 
 places arc manufactured liy men from East Hamp- 
 ton. It was not until 174:! tliat East Hampton was 
 settled, the great attraction Ijcing tlie beautiful 
 sheet of water known as Pocotoi^ogue Lake, one of 
 the prettiest in the State. In the same year a forge 
 was established at the outlet of tlie lake. 
 
 Iron was in great demand at this time for sliip- 
 building and for other purposes, and for tlie first 
 forty years the lousiness done at this forge was con- 
 sideraljle. Tlie village owes its importance, how- 
 ever, to tlie fact that William Barton moved here in 
 1808, and introduced the manufacture of sleigh 
 and hand bells. He had worked with his father in 
 the armory at Springfield during the Kevolutionary 
 war, and had acquired considerable experience in 
 the casting of metals, to wliicli he added great 
 mechanical skill. The business he introduced ex- 
 panded ; others shared the benefit of his industry, 
 and thus tlie founder gave to East Hampton its 
 peculiarly distinctive character. He died in East 
 Hampton July 15, 18411. It may be taken for 
 granted that almost every house and hand bell and 
 gong bell in use conies from this village. Toy 
 bells are also made on a large scale. 
 
 Pocotopogue Lake is resorted to in the summer 
 months l)y many tourists, attracted by the fisliing 
 for which this sheet of water is famous. The 
 landscape is grandly set off by a beautiful island 
 in the centre of the lake, covered with a crown of 
 foliage, and once a great resort of the aborigines, 
 as shown by the numerous Indian relics which have 
 been discovered there. 
 
 Middle Haddam, a place of landing on the river, 
 is a highly resjiectable village, once the busy scene 
 of a large shipbuilding industry. It formerly sent 
 great quantites of cordwood to New York. 
 
 Portland, with a population of 4,156, so called 
 after Portland, Eng., on account of its famous 
 quarries of lirown sandstone, is invested with 
 national interest. The townsliip is mostly agricul- 
 tural. Shipbuilding is carried on at Gildersleeve's 
 Landing on the Connecticut, where many vessels ' 
 of large tonnage have been constructed. Its world- 
 renowned and unrivaled quarries are situated on 
 the banks of the river, occupying a frontage of 
 nearly two miles. They yield a hard and durable 
 brown sandstone, similar in grain and color to the 
 slone quarried at Portland. Eng. There are three 
 companies, whose property is contiguous. These 
 quarries have Ijeen in operation for two centuries. 
 The excavations, reaching in many instances to a 
 dei)th of 150 feet from the original surface, cover 
 forty acres. It was ascertained by means of the 
 diamond drill that at a depth of 313 feet below the 
 
 deepest point of excavation, the stone still ran 
 downwards. In seasons of ordinary trade, the 
 three companies employ 1,500 men, work 250 cat- 
 tle and 100 horses, and, with their own and char- 
 tered vessels, make quite a fleet, which conveys 
 the stone to all tlie principal cities on the Atlantic 
 seaboard. The gravestones of the early settlers for 
 miles round the country, and even on Long Island, 
 were made of stone from these 'quarries. The old- 
 est stone we know in the old Ijurying-ground of 
 Middletown bears the date 1608. as clear and 
 legible as when it left the hand of the mason. Port- 
 land stone resists the effects of atmosphere and fire 
 better than any other building-stone. This was 
 proved by the great fires of Chicago and Boston. 
 
 Portland maintains very good schools and 
 churches of the different denominations. The 
 Episcopalian church, built of the quarry stone, is 
 one of the most complete and handsome in the 
 State. 
 
 John Stancliff was the first white man who lived 
 among the Indians on the Portland side of the 
 river. He took up his residence here in 1690. 
 
 Haddam, population, 2,500, is the other half- 
 shire town of Middlesex County. It pos- 
 sesses a very fine granite quarry, which has 
 been in Ofjeration for several years. The land- 
 scajje is rugged and jnountainons, but the 
 wealthy gi-owth of trees which covers the 
 .surface, even to the mountain ridges, gives it a. 
 most romantic and charming as23ect. The gran- 
 ite is quarried from the hill-toiJS, just a little 
 below the surface, and, in busy season.s, is the 
 lirincijial source of wealth of many families. It 
 is harder than the brown sandstone of Portland, 
 and not so well adapted to the liner operations 
 of the chisel. It is in great demand for pave- 
 ments and curbing, also for steps and other por- 
 tions of liuildings. Vessels in connection with, 
 the quarry convey the stone to the different At- 
 lantic i>orts. 
 
 Haddam has long been noted for its academy, 
 founded by one of the many Brainerds. It is a 
 fine structure of gray stone, and has done great 
 service to the community in its time. 
 
 Higganum, quite a large village in the town- 
 shi]], enjoys great manufacturing facilities on 
 account of the stream of the same name which 
 falls into the Connecticut. Here are made the 
 ploughs by the Higganum Manufacturing Cor- 
 poration, which have contril.iuted so much to the 
 fame of American agricultural implements at 
 home and abroad. The Russell Manufacturing 
 Company lias quite an extensive mill here, and 
 Scoville Brothers make a hoe which has acquired 
 some celebrity. Haddam Neck, a mountainous 
 strip of land across the Connecticut, also belongs 
 to this townshiiJ. It was organized in 1740. 
 
 East Haddam is a to-wnship of about 3,000 in- 
 habitants, on the east side of the Connecticut, 
 embracing the villages of East Haddam, Moodus, . 
 Leesville, MUlington and Johnson\'ille. It is 
 liuilt on a high bank of the I'iver, dense with fo- 
 liage, and the village is consequently hid from 
 the traveler on the river It has two landing- 
 places ; the upper landing to the north and 
 Goodspeed's Landing to the south. The latter 
 takes its name from a gentleman of most active 
 business enterprise, who materially enlarged the 
 
HEVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 117 
 
 influence of the town by his spirited undertak- 
 ings. He was a principal proprietor in the line 
 of steamboats running betwein Hartford and 
 New York, maintained by three handsome and 
 jjowerful Ijong Island Sound boats. (Joodsjjeed's 
 (in hioal parlance) being their headquarters. IMr. 
 CTOodsj)ced erected a palatial -looking structure 
 on the landing. The surface of the townshii) is 
 rockj, hilly and romantic, being in the very 
 lieart of the granite formation. Tobacco is 
 grown in large quantities. Luther Boardman k 
 Son conduct a plated-spoon manufacture on a 
 large scale, which fui'nishes employment to a 
 great many hands. The vicinity of the land- 
 ings is the central point for all the business of 
 the town, the products of the interior being 
 brought here for shipment. The Maplewood 
 Seminary has attained a great and well-deserved 
 degree of celebrity. Students from all parts of 
 the Union come here to receive a thorough mu- 
 sical education. In connection with the Semi- 
 nary is an extensive opera-house. 
 
 Moodus is quite a thriving manufacturing village, 
 and noted for its cotton-mills. Any sketch of this 
 v'Uiige would be considered incomplete without 
 some reference to the loud noises |)roceeding from 
 some, as yet, unexplained natural causes. They 
 appear to issue from a mountain near the village, 
 and have been heard more or less frequently from 
 the time of the early settlers. The Indians called 
 the place Mackimoodus, meaning the place of 
 noises. Mr. Hosmer, the first minister of the town, 
 says in a letter to Mr. Prince of Boston, elated Aug. 
 13, 172!): "I have myself heard eight or ten sounds 
 successively, and imitating small arms, in tlie space 
 of live minutes." He states further that lie has 
 heard them by several hundreds within twenty 
 years, some more or less terrilde; that they first 
 imitate slow thunder, come nearer, and then explod- 
 ing with a noise like cannon shot, "shake houses 
 and all that is in them." 
 
 Ordinary grumblings they called Moodus noises ; 
 the heavier explosions of sound they called earth- 
 quakes. They were terriffic in 1791, and since then 
 appear to have gradually subsided. 
 
 Old Say brook, the parent of the county, with a 
 population of only 1,300, is the headquarters of the 
 shad-tishery, the home of the retired sea-captains 
 and private families, and a great resort of excur- 
 sionists and tourists in the summer. Its jirinciiml 
 street is broad, and the houses indicate respectable 
 and wealthy owners, which give the place a very 
 retired, but very aristocratic air. Tlie tomb of 
 Lady Fenwick, which has stood for two centuries 
 on tiie point of Saybrook, in the vicinity of the old 
 fort, and which was visil)le from the river, has at 
 last disappeared. It was removed, we believe, to 
 make room for the railroad l:om Hartford, whicli 
 has its terminus here, and a handsome modern 
 monument was erected on another spot in lieu 
 thereof. A company has built a very fine hotel on 
 the point, called the Fenwick Hotel. ^ 
 
 A light-house is close to the mouth of the river, 
 the bar which forms just outside being dangerous 
 to vessels of heavy draught. The liar was a great 
 source of danger and discouragement in the times 
 of the early settlers . 
 
 Essex, a riverside town, with 1,855 inhabitants, 
 was formerly a parish of Saybrook. It enjoys con- 
 
 siderable commerce, and has every convenience for 
 coasting vessels and fishing craft laying up for tlie 
 winter, by means of two large coves connected with 
 the river. The strip of land between the coves is 
 known as Pautopoug Point, the scene of the 
 destruction committed by the British in the war of 
 1812. The spires of the churches built close 
 together on the hill-top, which commands the town, 
 are well-known objects to travelers on the Oon- 
 necticut. The granite formation begins to lose 
 itself here, and the scenery to change ; the wooded 
 heights giving place to a more level landscajie. 
 
 Centre Brook, or Ivoryton, a village in the town- 
 ship, two miles inland, boasts a national reputation 
 on account of its extensive and exclusive business 
 in the manufacture of articles in ivory. Cheney, 
 Coinstock & Co. employ a very large capital in the 
 enterprise. The machinery used for cutting and 
 ])reparing the ivory for work, and for executing the 
 delicate processes of manufacture of which ivory is 
 capable, is of the most costly and ingenious descrip- 
 tion. Tlie glass sheds, with their roofs sloping to 
 the south, would extend the length of an ordinary 
 city street. In these, the thin strips of ivory are 
 placed for the purpose of bleaching in the sun. 
 Both faces are bleached and also the sides ; this 
 process alone is a work of time. Tlie ivory is 
 received direct from Africa by the imijortcr in Xew 
 York, and every tusk finds its way into this dis- 
 trict. Cheney, Comstock & Co. run two extensive 
 establishments, one for the manufacture of combs, 
 and other small articles, such as billiard balls, fans, 
 pa])er-cutters, I'ules, and such fancy ornaments as 
 fashion may demand ; the other exclusively for the 
 manufacture of keys of pianos and organs, and 
 also for tlie keyljoard complete. 
 
 Cromwell, a small town of nearly 1,700 inhabi- 
 tants, lies to the north of Middletown, and was 
 known as Upper Middletown until it was made a 
 separate township in 1851. The strata of the Port- 
 land quarries, on the ojiposite side of the Connec- 
 ticut, run under the bed of the river and crop out 
 again in the centre of the village, where a large 
 brownstone quarry has lieen excavated, and lias 
 materially enhanced its interests. Toys and other 
 hardware, and lamps are manufactured here on a 
 large scale. A private asylum for the insane has 
 recently been established in this town. The first 
 cotton goods ever shipped to China were made here 
 l)y Henry G. Bowers, about the time of the second 
 war with England. 
 
 Middlefield, a parish of Middletown, but recently 
 formed into a separate township, contains a jiopu- 
 lation of about 1,000. It is a very fertile part of 
 the county, containing large level and undulating 
 liasture-lands. Some of the best cattle in the State 
 aie bred here. 
 
 In the most elevated parts of the town a large 
 reservoir, secured by a dam of powerful construc- 
 tion, has been constructed to supply the city of 
 Middletown with pure water. Clothes-wringers 
 and other articles of wooden ware have l>een made 
 here for years The settlement of this part of 
 Middletown began in 1700 by three settlers from 
 the first or parent society. The late David Lyman 
 of this town, was one of the earliest and most 
 energetic projectors of the Boston and New York 
 Air Line Railroad. 
 
118 
 
 REVIEW OF THE STATE OP CONNECTICUT. 
 
 Durham, adjoining Middlefield, has a popula- 
 tion of 1,000. It maintains a good academy and 
 several churches. A verv respectable tin-ware 
 manufactory fiirnislies employment to many; but 
 the pursuits of the community are mainly agricul- 
 tural. The scenery is very pastoral, exhibiting 
 long stretches of land under the most careful cul- 
 tivation, and bears in many res|5ects a similarity to 
 the best husbandry in Old England. 
 
 Killingwortli, Chester, Deep River, "Westbrook,. 
 and Clinton, the remaining towns ot the county, 
 have a respective population of 800, 1,100, 1,200, 
 900, and 1,400. At Deep River is the piano key 
 and ivory works of Pratt, Read & Co., John H. 
 Edmonds, Superintendent, the largest and oldest 
 of its class in America. The oyster fisheries of 
 Clinton have risen into importance. The town con- 
 tains a fine high school, founded and liberally en- 
 dowed by Mr. Morgan, a native. 
 
NEW HAVEN COUNTY. 
 
 Ne'w- Haven County has special interest for its 
 colonial history. It was the youngest of the 
 four Colouies that formed the New England 
 Confederation. The men who came hither acted 
 under no commission and had no connection 
 with any chartered company or commercial 
 association in England or elsewhere. They felt 
 at liberty to form for themselves such govern- 
 ment as should, in their ojjinion, be best suited 
 to the ends they had in view when they came to 
 this counti-y. The original Colony, or i>irisdic- 
 tion, embraced colonies beyond the present 
 limits of the county, and indeed of the ijtate. 
 The Colony of New Haven was comi^osed of six 
 plantations, — New Haven, Milford, Guilford, 
 Stamford, Southold (L. I.) and Branford. Of 
 these tlie first three, and Branford, lie within 
 the limits of New Haven County and come under 
 the notice of this narrative. 
 
 The first three of these were the fruit of- a 
 simultaneous exodus from three contiguous 
 counties in England, — Yorkshire, Hertfordshire 
 and Kent. The Yorkshire men came to New 
 Haven, the Hertfordshire men to Milford, the 
 Kent County men to Guilford. They came first 
 to Boston in two ships ; thence to New Haven 
 in Ajiril, 1638. Here they remained some fifteen 
 months before they made any formal civil or 
 ecclesiastical organization. These months were 
 by no means dormant. They selected their lands 
 and made jjurchase of them from the Indians. 
 Each company acted for itself, although they 
 remained together. The Indian deed of New 
 Haven, at first called Quinnipiac, was made to 
 Theojihilus Eaton, John Davenport and others, 
 November 2-1, 1638 ; tliat of Milford to William 
 Fowler, Edniund Ta]jp, Zechariah Whitman and 
 others, February 12, 1639 ; that of Guilford to 
 Henry Whitefield, Eobert Kitchell, William 
 Leete and others, September 29, 1639. Bran- 
 ford was not organized as a civil community 
 untU much later, in 1644. 
 
 The New Haven Colony was the first to take pos- 
 session of its purchase and organize its political 
 and ecclesiastical government. There seems to liave 
 been some sort of agreement entered into by those 
 forming the Colony liefore coming to New Haven. 
 This compact appears to Iiave been entered into 
 either before leaving England, or while tarrying at 
 Boston. It is hardly sui)posal)le tliat men of sucli 
 character and intelligence would have risked such 
 an amount of capital, JEIJGjOOO, and tlieir own 
 safety and welfare, witliout some articles of agree- 
 ment l)inding them together. This compact they 
 call the "Planters' Covenant." 
 
 Whatever it may liave been, tliey seem to have 
 been in no haste to be rid of it, for it was not until 
 the 3oth of Octol>er, 1039, that a civil government 
 
 was instituted and installed. A meeting was called 
 June 4th (commonly known as tlie meeting in Mr. 
 Newman's l)arn) " to consult about settling civil 
 government according to God, and about nomi- 
 nating persons tliat miglit lie found of all fittest for 
 the foundation work of a church." The result of 
 that meeting, one of the most remarkable ever held! 
 in a barn, surely, is thus stated: First, the free 
 planters without a dissenting vote, after a free dis- 
 cussion, adopted this "Fundamental Agreement: " 
 " that chui'ch memliers only shall be free burgesses 
 — and they only shall choose among themselves 
 magistrates and officers to have the power of trans- 
 acting all public, civil affairs of this plantation, of 
 making and repealing laws, dividing inheritances, 
 deciding of differences that may arise, and doing 
 all things and business of like nature." Secondly, 
 twelve men were chosen to designate among them- 
 selves, or from others whom they should publicly 
 nominate as candidates for that trust, the seven 
 founders of the Church and of the State. Tliese 
 seven, by this act of founding the chui-ch, became 
 free burgesses of the conunonwealth, the nucleus of 
 the civil organization. They were to choose other 
 free Imrgesses " out of like estate of church fellow- 
 ship." 
 
 On the 25th of the following October, the.se 
 seven men, "who were in the foundation of the 
 church," viz., Theophilus Eaton, John Davenport, 
 Rob't Newman, Math. Gilbert, Theo. Fugill, John 
 Puuders(m and Jeremy Dixon, assembled to form 
 the new government. This was to be permanent, 
 and to supplant all former contracts. The term 
 " Court " is applied to this body — these " Septem- 
 ?i(>e.s-," as the old Romans would name them. Once 
 organized, after most solemn prayer to God, they 
 proceeded to ordain : — 
 
 1st. "All former power, or trust, for manag- 
 ing any public affairs in this plantation, into 
 whose hands .soever formerly committed, is now 
 abrogated, and is henceforward utterly to cease. "■ 
 
 2d. " All those who have been received into the 
 fellowshi]) of this church since the first gather- 
 ing of it, or who, being members of other ap- 
 l^roved churches, offered themselves, were ad- 
 mitted as members of this court." That is, 
 became citizens of this commonwealth. Sixteen, 
 members were tlius admitted. As these new- 
 members came in they took the oath of alle- 
 giance "to the civil government here settled." 
 They owned no allegiance as due to the king of 
 England, or any other government on the foot- 
 stool. This is worth remembering. 
 
 They then proceed — after ]Mr. Davenport ex- 
 pounded to them two texts — Dent. i. 13, Ex. 
 xviii. 21 : "Take ye wise men, and understand- 
 ing, and known among your tribes, and I will 
 make them rulers over you ;" "Moreover, thou 
 
130 
 
 THE IIISrOIUCAL, STATISTICAL AND IXDUSTIilAL 
 
 shalt provide out of all the people able men, 
 such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetous- 
 ness, and place such over men," — to nominate 
 and elect officers. Mr. Theophilus Eaton — the 
 chief man of the Colony, one answering the 
 above description — was chosen magistrate for 
 one year. Four dejiuties were chosen. Each 
 received a solemn charge on being inducted into 
 oflSce. 
 
 Thus the commonwealth iras launched. Their 
 laws were all summed up in the simple enact- 
 ment, " That the word of God shall be the only 
 rule to be attended to in ordering the affaii-s of 
 government in this jjlantation. " This is further 
 explained later in their records, "as the judi- 
 cial law of God, given by Moses, and exi^ouuded 
 in other parts of the Scripture, so far as it is a 
 hedge and fence to the moral law, and is neither 
 ceremonial nor typical, nor had any reference to 
 Canaan ; this hath an everlasting equity in it, 
 and should be the rule of their proceedings." 
 All other systems of jurisjjrudeuce, civil or 
 canon law, were excluded from this Colony. On 
 this unique and model foundation they built 
 their civil state. 
 
 This "Fundamental Agreement," as it was 
 called, contin ued, with small modifications, to be 
 the organic law of the colonies, which, on Octo- 
 ber 23, 1643, were united under one jurisdiction. 
 After the combination, the name magistrate dis- 
 appears, and that of governor is substituted. 
 The colonies of MOford, Guilford, Stamford, 
 Bran ford and Sovithold sent delegates to the 
 General Court at New Haven. Besides this, 
 they had their own magistrates and magisti'ates' 
 courts. They had also a planters' court, corres- 
 jjonding to our i^olice and justices' courts. 
 
 This same year also, 16-i3, a combination was 
 formed between the four colonies of Massa- 
 chusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven, 
 called the " United Colonies of New England." 
 This combination was entered into for purjjoses 
 of mutual defense, and was of great value to the 
 several Colonies, especially in King Phillip's 
 war, which threatened at one time to wipe out 
 in blood and carnage all the English settlements. 
 
 Under this simple government, built upon 
 the woi-d of God, administered l)y wise, gener- 
 ous, good men, without charter or patent from 
 any king or any body corporate under heaven, 
 they continued to thrive. As the two colonies 
 of Connecticut and New Haven, being contig- 
 uous and having so many interests in common, 
 grew, it became, to wise men in both of them, 
 more and more apjjarent that their union under 
 one government was desirable. Governor Win- 
 t.hrojj, of the Connecticut Colony, went t<:) Eng- 
 land to procure a royal charter for this and other 
 purposes. The charter was secured in 1662. The 
 Connecticut Colony claimed that this charter 
 covered Hew Haven jurisdiction, and they, 
 nolens volens, were part of Connecticut. This 
 "was stoutly resisted as absurd, as it was. No 
 one had any authority to bargain them away, or 
 put them under the control of anybody, against 
 their will. After a few years it was clearly seen 
 and felt, on all hands, to be best that the union 
 should be consummated. This was done January 
 5, 166.5. The government of the Colonies was so 
 
 modified as to fit this new relation. The modi 
 fication was merely technical, touching in no 
 essential jKxrticular the "Fundamental Agree- 
 ment " of the earlier colonists. The story of this 
 charter, and its jireservation when Andros came 
 to Hartford to secure and destroy it, is told 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Would space admit, we should speak with real 
 enthusiasm of the government of New Haven Col- 
 ony. So nuicli ignorant aspersion has been cast 
 upon it, that when the writer began this examina- 
 tion, he did so with mucli jirejudice, expecting to 
 find those lilue laws that have haunted so many 
 persons' brains. He found instead, laws that 
 would seem somewhat strange to us, printed on 
 blue paper, and so called ''blue laws''; but the 
 laws themselves were generou.s, and just adapted to 
 the ends and times they were made to serve. One 
 constantly marvels that a government so simple, so 
 democratic, so equitable, so efficient, and, on the 
 whole, so humane and kind, should have been 
 framed here in the wilderness, without a precedent 
 to go by, or any guide but the Word of God. We 
 read the record of their courts, on which every- 
 thing is spread out, and marvel at the scrupulous 
 fairness, and painstaking candor, and gentle firm- 
 ness which which their laws were administered. 
 True, there were things punished as crimes which 
 we should not think of ]junishing now. But we 
 must not compare their times and legislation with 
 oijr own, but with the times and governments tliat 
 ])receded them. We shall then find occasion to 
 admire. 
 
 No witches were hanged or burned here ; no man 
 suffered persecution or punishment for his religious 
 faith, if he kept the peace, and did notdisturl> the 
 "settled order of things." Tliey jjurehased all 
 their lands, paying a fair equivalent. They pro- 
 tected the Indians from the violence and rapacity 
 of tlie settlers, and lived in peace with them all 
 their days — more than our government now does. 
 No house was burned, no life taken Ijy the red-men 
 of the forests. Tliey limited, it is true, the right 
 of suffrage, Ijut only so far as to secure the ends 
 for which they exiled themselves from their homes 
 in the Old World. They fled from persecution, and 
 meant only to secure and protect themselves against 
 its repetition. It remains yet to be seen which com- 
 mitted the greatest folly, they Ijy narrowing, or we 
 by extending, the right of suffrage. 
 
 Wlieu the struggle for our independence from Eng- 
 land came on, the New Haven Colonies were found 
 among the foremost and l)ravest. Tliey furnished 
 their full quota of men and means, and suffered all 
 the privations and losses sustained by any of the 
 thirteen Colonies. This hag been eminently true of 
 them ever since. We have been called upon to 
 bear no strain, or to endure any loss or privation, 
 that New Haveii County has not stood nobly in her 
 lot and place. 
 
 This historical sketch would not be complete 
 without some mention of the churches, which were 
 the real nucleus of the couinionwealth. The church 
 was the first care of all the New England colonists. 
 In some few instances, the church, ;is an organiza- 
 tion, came along with them across the waters. 
 Where this was not Ihe case, one of their first cares 
 was to found one, that the foundations of civil 
 and social order miglit be laid upon God's truth. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 121 
 
 They were fjodly men, seed-coin sifted from the 
 Yery best. They came for liiierty to worsliip and 
 serve God as they pleased. Tliey kept this end in 
 view at every ste]). 
 
 The churches at New Ilavi^n and Milfoi-d are 
 supposed to have been formed on tlie same day. 
 The metliod was the same in all the colonies con- 
 stituting the New Haven jurisdiction. After some 
 discussion between Mr. D.ivenpoit and Mr. Samuel 
 Eaton, his colleague, on tlie nature of a " civil 
 government in a New Plantation, whose desiiin is 
 religion," it was determined, on tlie 14tli of .June, 
 as we now reckon (on the '.3d of June, old style), 
 to hold a jnihlic meeting of " all the free ))lanters " 
 " for the ])urpose of laying with due solemnities 
 the foundations " both of church and state. Tliis 
 meeting w.is held in Mr. Newman's Ijain. The first 
 churcli in tliis wilderness land, like its head, 
 ■was born in a manger. The result of their 
 deliberation and voting was to select twelve of 
 their best and most approved men, who were to 
 confer and consult together and select from tlieir 
 own iiuml>er, or elsewhere, seven men who were 
 "fit for tlie foundation- work of the church." The 
 seven hewn pillars chosen were the same seven who 
 laid the foundation of the state — Eaton, Daven- 
 port, Newman, Gilbert, Fugill. Punderson and 
 Di.xon. These seven prrsons first covenanted to- 
 gether, and then received others into tluir fellow- 
 ship. Tlius the first churcli of New Haven was 
 founded on the 22d of August, 1089. 
 
 It is in iil.ace to say here, that although church 
 and state are twin-children of the same woml), and 
 have the same jiarents, they are entirely distinct. 
 It was never the purpose of tliese men, wlio had 
 fled into the wilderiu ss from a state church and 
 hierarchy, that the cliurch should govern the state. 
 They never allowed that the cliurch, as such, had 
 any power to choose civil magistrates. Indeed, 
 church othcers were ineligilile to civil office. There 
 was no confusion of church and state, and no jnir- 
 pose tliat the one should transact the Inisiness of 
 the otlier. "JIany could deliatc and vote in 
 church-meeting who could have no vote at all in 
 the government of tlie civil state." They affirmed 
 and insisted tliat ecclesiastical and civil order must 
 have different laws, different officers, and different 
 powers. Though they may have the same ultimate 
 end, they liave different pro.\imate ends, one tlie 
 "preservation of human society," the otlier " the 
 convei-sion, edification and salvation of souls." 
 Althout;h the right of suffrage was limited to 
 church-meiiil>ers, and none could ha freemen and 
 eligil)Ie to office who were not memliers of some 
 acknowledged cliurch, there was no blending or 
 confusion of the two. For this we have every 
 reason to l)e grateful. 
 
 Mr. Davenport, whose strong and marked impress 
 is seen in all the ecclesiastical and civil framework 
 and management of both churcli and state, a man 
 to whose clear head and sound heart, and broad 
 ■views and Christian firmness, we owe so much 
 for tlie cast and character of our government, our 
 New England type ot civilization, was the first 
 pastor of this wilclerness church. He continued to 
 serve botii it and the state, wlien occasion called 
 for it, until the Colony he had so much to do in 
 planting and training became a part of the Com- 
 monwealth of Connecticut, mucli to his grief. 
 
 He was followed in this office by a succession of 
 men. wlio were distinguished alike for their scliolar- 
 ship and virtues- Pierpont, Whittlesey, and Dana. 
 
 One thing demands especial notice. Much denun- 
 ciation lias been lavished upon tlie New England 
 f atliers for the compulsory support of their churches, 
 levying taxes to pay the s.alaries of their ministers 
 and other current expenses. The New Haven 
 Colony, to its honor, is an excejition to tliis evil rule. 
 It should be remembered, to their credit, that for 
 many years after tlie settlement of their Colony, 
 the churcli was supported by voluntary contri- 
 butions, which were made on every Lord's day at 
 the close of service. Not as now, by passing the 
 contribution-box, Imt every one came U]) to the 
 deacon's seat and deposited his own contribution, 
 returning quietly to his jjlace. It was not until a 
 much later day, when perhaps men had become 
 less godly and conscientious, that it was thouglit 
 necessary to comjiel men, Ijy assessing them, to 
 support an institution so obviously for tlie iiublic 
 weal. 
 
 It must seem strange to us in our quiet, tranquil 
 times, to recall the fact, that in all those early years 
 the people never met for pu1)lic worship without a 
 complete military guard. We find in 1640 this 
 order upon their records: " Every man that is ap- 
 pointed to w.atch, whether masters or servants, shall 
 come every Lord's day to the meeting completely 
 armed ; and all others also are to bring their 
 swords, no man exemjited save Mr. Eaton, our 
 Pastor, Mr. .James, Mr. Samuel Eaton, and the two 
 deacons." Seats were iilaced on each side of the 
 front door for the soldiers. A sentinel was sta- 
 tioned in the turret. Armed watchmen patrolled 
 the streets. Twice before eacli service the drum 
 beat from tlie turret and along the main streets. 
 When the congregation came together they re- 
 sembled more a garrison than a congregation of 
 worshippers. 
 
 Yet how jieaceful and sacred these Sabbaths. 
 From evening to evening no noise, no business, 
 the whole jiopulatiou in ehiireh. Thus the years 
 went on with changes, trials, sorrows, death, 
 until the fathers slejit and others rose in their 
 stead, upon whom their mantles fell and 'who 
 stood in their jilaces. 
 
 The New Haven colonists ■were inten.se lovers 
 of learning. Here the free school found a wel- 
 come and rose to prominence. For many years 
 the people coutriVuited annually to the sujiport 
 of Harvard College, sending up their ■wheat and 
 wampum to keep it alive, and sending their sons 
 to enjoy its jsrivileges and bear away its honors. 
 This, lio^wever, did not satisfy Mr. Davenport, 
 who, during his latter years, urged again and 
 again upon the Connecticut Colonies the impor- 
 tance of founding a college of their own. He 
 was a scholar and student himself, and early saw 
 the necessity of education of every grade to the 
 life and perpetuity of the commonwealth, as 
 well as the Christian religion. Although he did 
 not live to see a college founded, he certainly 
 was father of the thought. The seed he sowed 
 sprang \\\> in later years, and bore fruit in the 
 noble institution, without a rival, if not without 
 a j)eer in our land. 
 
 The Hopkins Grammar School, to-day one of 
 the best proaratory schools in the country, is 
 
123 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 the oldest scliool in the State. The literary 
 atmosphei-e of New Haveu, its fine culture and 
 excellent schools are no new things, Tint they 
 have been true of it from tlie beginning. May 
 it never cease to be the home of learning, refine- 
 ment, and real Christian worth and excellence. 
 
 A few words of biograjshy need to be appended 
 to this sketch of colonial times. 
 
 Foremost among the great names of the colo- 
 nists is TheophUiis Eaton. He was born at 
 Stratford, England, 1591, and was the son of a 
 clergvman. He came to this countrv, first to 
 Boston in 1637, then to New Haven in'l638. He 
 was chosen first governor of New Haven Colony, 
 and remained in office until his death, January 
 7, 1658. Mather calls him "the Moses of New 
 Haven." "He carried in his very countenance 
 a majesty which cannot be de.scribed. " He was 
 a magistrate of strict imiJartiaHty and inflexible 
 honor. He had clear views of civil government 
 far in advance of his times ; he had a singular 
 love of justice, and very decided oi:)inions of the 
 divine nature of liumau government as built ou 
 the Word of God. To him the New Haven 
 Colony owed its existence, and to him and Mr. 
 Davenport all those features which distinguish 
 it from the other Colonies, its zeal for education, 
 its impartial administration of justice, its free- 
 dom from frivolous and extravagant legislation. 
 He was wont to say: "Some count it a great 
 matter to die well, but I am sure it is a greater 
 matter to live well." This is the key to his char- 
 acter, than which there is not a nobler in all our 
 colonial history. 
 
 John Davenjiort, one of the two chief men in 
 founding New Haven Colony, was born in Cov- 
 entry, Eng., 1597. He was educated at Oxford ; 
 became vicar of St. Stej^hen's Church, Coleman 
 street, London ; soon became a non-conformist ; 
 resigned his benefice and fled to Holland, to 
 escape the warrant that was out against him ; 
 preached to the English Clmrcli at Amsterdam 
 for a season ; became involved in difficulties 
 about the indiscriminate baptisms of cliildren, 
 and resigned, when he emigrated to New Eng- 
 land, i-eaching Boston on the 26th of June, 1637. 
 The following spring he came with his comj^any 
 to New Haven. He and Mr. Eaton built their 
 houses opposite each otlier on the same street, 
 and became the leading spirits in the Colony. 
 
 He continued jjastor of tlie church, as well as 
 a directing and controUiug power in the state. 
 Until near the close of his life. He lost hope 
 somewhat when, against his decided opinion, the 
 New Haven jui'isdiction united with the Connec- 
 ticut Colony. He saw a growing disjiosition ou 
 the part of the state to get control of the churches, 
 a most serious evil, from which Connecticut suf- 
 fered for many long years. Just at this time 
 came a call from Boston. He made up his mind 
 that " Christ's interests in New Haven Colony 
 were miserably lost." His roots were loosened, 
 and he was ready to leave his home and the child 
 he had done so miich to rear. Besides this, the 
 action of the synod in establishing what was 
 called " the hnlf-way covenant, " he opposed with 
 all the vigor and ardor of his soul. The battle 
 was to be fought in Boston. He wanted to be in 
 the thickest of the fight. These considerations 
 
 determined his removal to that city in 1668,. 
 thirty years after his settlement in New Haven, 
 when he was more than seventy years old. 
 The "deadline" was not quite so near in 
 those days. The church in Boston was divided. 
 The odious and mischievous " lialf-way cov- 
 enant " i^revailed. He died on the 11th day 
 of March, 1670. A fine scholar, an able preacher, 
 a clear-headed, far-seeing man, his views and 
 oi^inions found an amjjle vindication in subse- 
 quent experience. The measures he maintained 
 were just ; those he oiijoosed j^roved disastrous- 
 in the extreme. 
 
 Stephen Goodyeare, from the organization of 
 the government until his death, was associated 
 almost uniformly with Gov. Eaton, as Lieutenant- 
 Governor. He was a fine business man and of 
 great service to the Colony. 
 
 Thomas Greyson was another of the leading men, 
 and was intrusted with much important public 
 business. 
 
 Francis Newman, wliose barn figures so largely 
 in the early records of tlie Colony, deserves mention. 
 He succeeded Gov. Eaton in office, the Joshua who 
 came after Moses. 
 
 Tliomas Fugill, secretary of state, John Punder- 
 son and Jeremy Dixon were among the seven 
 pillars, Ijoth of churcli and state. Master Ezekiel 
 C'heever, the father of New England schoolmasters, 
 shines in the Colonial records. Tlie boys had good 
 reason to remember liim. 
 
 Thomas Leete of Guilford, lieutenant-governor 
 under Francis Newman, and first governor of the 
 united Colonies of Connecticut and New Haven, 
 was a man of wisdom and executive ability. 
 
 Goffe and Whalley, commonly known as the 
 regicides, from their parti cijiation in the execution 
 of Charles the First, found a retreat and an asylum 
 in New Haven. On the accession of Cliarles the 
 Second, they were compelled to flee the country. 
 Tliey came to Boston July 37, 1660. first, and 
 resided for sometime openly in Cambridge. Their 
 situation there becoming too exposed, they fled to 
 New Haven March 7, 1661, and were concealed for 
 awhile in Mr. Davenport's house. A royal procla- 
 mation was issued for their arrest. They were 
 sought for by officers in New Haven, but could not 
 be found. Fearing lest they should bring trouble 
 upon their friend, Mr. Davenport, and others, they 
 offered to surrender themselves to Lieut. -Gov. Leete. 
 He was in no haste, however, to arrest them. After 
 showing themselves openly in the streets of New 
 Haven, so as to clear their friends from any com- 
 plicity with their concealment, they fled to a 
 cave near the summit of West Rock, known as now 
 Judges' Cave, wliere they remained for awhile. 
 They occupied another place near by, called the 
 Lodge. They left New Haven and went ( August 
 19) to Milford, and in 1004 to Hadley, where they 
 remained until they died. It is believed that their 
 bodies were brought to New Haven and buried liy 
 DixwcU. their companion in exile. 
 
 John Dixwell, the other regicide, came to New 
 Haven in 1072, under the name of James Davids. 
 He lived here in quiet security for seventeen years. 
 The last years of his life he became very intimate 
 with Jlr. Pierpont, the minister. There seemed to 
 be a strange and wonderful friendship between 
 them. At his death he revealed his true cliaracter. 
 
HE VIEW OF THE STATE OP CONNECTICUT. 
 
 123 
 
 and requested tliat a plain stone should mark his 
 grave, with tlie initials J. D., Esq., inscribed on it, 
 Tliis was done as he wished. 
 
 Three avenues in the northwestern part of the 
 city perpetuate the names and memorj* of tlie 
 regicides. 
 
 Yale College was founded in 1700, and, tradition- 
 ally, in this wise : ten eminent clergymen, roused 
 to tlie importance of providing some means for a 
 more liberal and thorough education for their sons, 
 and others who were to become leaders in church 
 and state, met at New Haven to consult concerning 
 a collegiate school. At a suljsequent meeting in 
 Branfor-d, these men brought forty folio volumes, 
 and laid them down on a table with these words: 
 " I give these books for the founding of a college 
 in this Colony." This body of men, acting for the 
 churches and ministry of the Colony of Connecti- 
 cut, by this act founded the institution now known 
 as Yale tloUege. 
 
 In October of the following year, a charter was 
 obtained from the legislature. In November, the 
 trustees met for the first time in Sayl)rook, and 
 passed this order: "Tliat tliere shall be, and 
 hereby is, erected and founded a collegiate school, 
 wherein shall be taught the liberal arts and lan- 
 guages, in such place or places in Connecticut as 
 the said trustees shnll from time to time see cause 
 to order." 
 
 AVhy found another college so near Harvard ? It 
 has been affirmed tliat a distrust of the theological 
 soundness of this college was tlie real root-cause of 
 the founding of Yale. But when you recall that 
 the number of the Connecticut colonists was now 
 20,000, and also that the territory was an almost 
 unbroken wilderness, the distance to Cambridge, 
 and inconvenience and expense of travel were so 
 serious, you will find the real reasons which moved 
 these good men to found a college in their own 
 Colony. This, and not bigotiT, is the seed-thought 
 of this noble university. The plan differed in some 
 very essential particulars from that of Harvard. It 
 was more unique and original having less of the 
 European type. It was more indigenous, and more 
 in accord with the spirit of the times. It was 
 homogeneous, having all its board ministers ; though 
 this last is a doubtful advantage, and gave rise to 
 disaffection in later years. 
 
 After a protracted and somewhat heated contro- 
 versy, the new college was finally located in New- 
 Haven in 1717. 
 
 In 1718, came the great benefaction of Gov. 
 Elihu Yale, a donation of books and other goods 
 to the amount of £S00. As a compliment to him 
 the new Ijuilding, recently erected, was named for 
 him. This name passed by degrees from tlie 
 building to the whole institution in 1745. Tlie 
 college passed through colonial times with various 
 and alternating success. It came near extinction, 
 however, during the Revolution. Its students 
 and officers were dispersed, and its functions in a 
 measure, susjiended. Tlie irregularities of tlie 
 times, financial embarrassment, difficulties of sub- 
 sistence, an<l the actual occupation, at one time, of 
 New Haven by English troops, reduced the college 
 to the lowest point. 
 
 In 1793 a change took place in the charter, 
 whieli gave it a new lease of life, and brought it 
 
 more closely into sympathy witli the popular heart. 
 Its |)rosperity was now assured. 
 
 Great changes have transpired in college customs 
 since those early provincial days. It was no uncom- 
 mon tiling for derelict youths then to have their 
 cars soundly Ijoxed in tlie presence of the faculty 
 and students. The formality and respect at that 
 time demanded on the part of president and 
 faculty, seems to us almost ludicrous. The fresh- 
 men, in those earlier times, held an almost menial 
 position, being :iere errand-boys for tlie upper 
 classes. With the incoming of more democratic 
 ideas, however, these old country notions and 
 customs have long since naturally and happily 
 disappeared. 
 
 From these small and adverse beginnings, Yale 
 College has grown to its present commanding posi- 
 tion. Its power in every department, in church 
 and state, .science and art, in literature and philos- 
 ophy, has been wide and beneficent. Its graduates 
 are everywhere. They nobly sustain and fulfil her 
 proud yet modest motto — "X«.f et Veritas." 
 
 The first president, or rector, of Yale College was 
 Abraham Pierson, son of Rev. Mr. Pierson, one of 
 the first settlers and first minister of Branford. He 
 graduated from Harvard College in 1068. He was 
 a good student, an able divine, a wise, judicious 
 man. He instructed and governed the infant col- 
 legiate school, with general acceptance, from 1701 
 until 1707. 
 
 The subsequent presidents of Yale have been 
 Rev. Timothy Cutter, S. T. D., chosen 1719; Rev. 
 Elisha Williams, 1736; Rev. Thomas Clap, 1739; 
 Rev. Naphthali Daggett, S. T. D., 1766; Rev. Ezra 
 Stiles, S. T. D.,LL.l)., 1777; Rev. TimothvDwight, 
 n.D., LL.D., 1795; Rev. Jeremiah Day, D. D., 
 LL.D., 1822; Rev. Theodore D. Woolsey, D. D., 
 LL.D., 1846; Eev. Noah Porter, D. D., LL.D., 
 1871. 
 
 Presidents Stiles and Clap were men of excej)- 
 tionally great learning ; while Dr. Dvvight, a grand- 
 son of Jonathan Edwards, was one whose powers 
 as a thinker, gifts as a poet, and eloquence as a 
 preacher were surpassed only by the fervor of his 
 Ijiety and the urbanity of his conversation and 
 manners. 
 
 The present incumlient of the presidential chair, 
 Rev. Noah Porter, D. D., LL.D., was borninFarm- 
 ington, Dec. 14, 1811, and is considered to be one 
 of the ablest of American metaphysicians. 
 
 Besides the presidents there have lieen professors 
 of world-wide fame and splendid and varied acqui- 
 sitions ; Dana, Fitch, Goodrich, Marsh, Silliman, 
 Packard, Hadley, and many others, have adorned 
 their departments and added to the power and fame 
 of the college. Many of its graduates have filled 
 the highest offices of trust and honor. No institu- 
 tion has exerted a wider and more positive influence 
 upon the culture and political character of the 
 country. 
 
 Tlie liuildings are many, and some of them of 
 great excellence. Battell Chapel is one of the 
 finest buildings in design, materials, and solid 
 elegance in the land, for that purpose. The Art 
 School building, on the south-west corner of 
 College Square, is one of considerable pretension 
 and is admirable for its purpose. The Pcabody 
 Museum, named in honor of George Peabody, of 
 London, its most liberal benefactor, one wing of 
 
VH 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 -which is completed, stands on the corner of High 
 and Elm streets, just across the street from tlie 
 College Square. It is an imposing building. The 
 various cabinets and specimens are among the best, 
 as far as they go. 
 
 The East and West Divinity halls, with Mar- 
 quaud Chapel between them, a gem in its line, the 
 gift of the gentleman wliose name it Ijears, are 
 substantial and elegant Iniildings, affording fine 
 accommodations for this department of the univer- 
 sity. Tlie Shetfield Scientific School, an institution 
 of great merit and thoroughness, founded by 
 Joseph ShetHeld, Esq., constitutes another depart- 
 ment of the university, and has substantial and 
 commodious buildings at some distance from the 
 College Campus, on the homestead of Mr. Slief- 
 field. The departments of law and medicine h.ave 
 accommodations in otlier sections of the city. 
 
 Towns. 
 
 New Haven, the chief seat of the New Haven 
 jurisdiction, is situated on a plain lying between 
 two ranges of hills, on the east and on the west, 
 and is limited, partly, on the northern side, l)y two 
 mountains, culled East and West rocks, which 
 terminate abruptly at this point and form a marked 
 feature of the scenery. It is at the head of a 
 shallow harbor, between West and Mill Rivers, 
 including also the neck between Mill River and the 
 Quinni|)iac, where a part of the town called Fair 
 Haven is situated. 
 
 The town was originally laid out in nine squares. 
 The central one is open and is styled the Green, 
 the upper half of which is a beautiful slope, and 
 Wiis formerly a burying-ground ; Ijut, in 1831, the 
 monuments were removed and the ground leveled, 
 The lower, or level half, is surrounded by stately 
 elms. It is divided in the centre liy Temple Street, 
 on which the churches are situated. Magnificent 
 elms on eitiier side of this broad street forma 
 perfect arch, and make it one of the grandest in 
 the world. There are three churches and tlie Old 
 State House on the Green. Altogether it is one of 
 the finest spots in the United States or Europe. 
 The original squares, which cluster about the 
 central square or Green, are divided each into 
 four squares by streets running from northwest 
 to southeast, and from northeast to southwest. 
 The same general features have been measurably 
 preserved in the extension of the modern city. 
 
 The city and town have distinct organizations 
 and separate officers, a feature which has come 
 down from colonial times, a sort of two-headed 
 concern, not at all satisfactory or equitable in 
 its representation in the legislature . The ad- 
 ministration of justice is in the hands of a city 
 court, while other courts, both of the State and 
 the United States, hold sessions in the city. 
 
 The city is well supplied with schools of a 
 Hgh order. Many of the school-houses are com- 
 modious and elegant. The HiUhouse High 
 School is one of great excellence. There are 
 various private schools, which, together with 
 Hopkins Grammar School, the oldest in the 
 State, and Yale College, in its various depart- 
 ments, furnish the highest educational advan- 
 tages. 
 
 New Haven is a port of entry, and has consid- 
 erable coastwise and some foreign commerce. 
 
 Manufactures are the princiiial source of its 
 prosperity, and carriages, guns, builders' hard- 
 ware, rubber goods, articles from iron, clocks, 
 etc., are made. 
 
 There are many fine public buildings. Among 
 these are several church edifices, college and 
 seminary buildings, and elegant city hall and 
 court-house, a commodious and well-managed 
 State hospital, insurance liuilding, music hall 
 and ojjera houses. There are about forty churches 
 of all denominations. 
 
 Many fine streets and handsome residences 
 adorn the city. HiUhouse Avenue, Whitney 
 Avenue, Prospect, Orange and Chapel streets 
 are among the finest. The new, or lower Green , 
 is a gem of beauty, surrounded with elegant 
 houses. The old cemetery, on Grove Street, 
 contains the ashes of Eaton, Clap, Stiles, Hum- 
 phreys, Dwight, Eli W^hitney, and many others 
 of world-wide and national fame. Evergreen 
 Cemetery, on the banks of the West River, is one 
 of more modern pretension, and is an ornament 
 and honor to the city. 
 
 Six daily and as many weekly papers keep the 
 people well posted on current events. There are 
 also several college papers as well as ponderous 
 quarterlies. 
 
 New Haven is the largest city in the State, 
 and the third in New England. Few cities in 
 location, iu historical interest, in educational 
 institutions, in wealth, beauty or culture surpass 
 it. 
 
 Among the most distinguished residents here 
 is Leonard Bacon, D.D., for fifty years pastor of 
 the First Church, and now professor iu the theo- 
 logical department of Yale College, a man of 
 great culture, an able preacher, a tine debater, 
 aud thoroughly versed iu the colonial and eccle- 
 siastical history of New England. Ex-Governors 
 English, lugersol and Bigelow also have their 
 homes here. Mr. Sheffield, the founder of Shef- 
 field Scientific School, is among the most hon- 
 nored citizens. 
 
 Waterbury was viewed by a colour from Far- 
 mington with reference to a settlement in 1073. 
 August 21, 1674, land was purchased, on both 
 .sides of the Naugatuck, of the Indians "for ^39, 
 and divers other good causes." King Philip's war 
 put a check ujjon its immediate settlement ; but 
 after peace was established the settlers returned 
 to their purchase and commenced work in 
 earnest. In 1681 they made a new purchase of 
 land from the Indians, making in all a territory 
 eighteen mdes in length and ten miles in width, 
 containing the present towns of Waterbury, 
 Watertown and Plymouth, together with most 
 of Middleburv, half of Wolcott, and a small part 
 of Oxford and Prospect. This large, flue terri- 
 tory was gravely reported to the General Assem- 
 bly" " as capable of supporting thirty families." 
 One wonders at the size of the famdies of those 
 days, since the same territory now supports more 
 than 20,000 persons, and is not half occupied. 
 
 The orignal town was located on an eminence 
 on the western banks of the river, aliout a mile 
 from the present location of the city. 
 
 For ten years the settlers were -n-ithout a 
 minister and the regular ordinances of religion. 
 In 1689 Jeremiah Peck was settled among them, 
 
HE VIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 125 
 
 and remained until his death in 1699. Their 
 tirst house of worship had no glass until 1716, a 
 dark place in which to preach a gospel of light 
 and life. 
 
 Waterburv is located on the Xaugatnck (which 
 runs its entire length) and the JIad Rivers, both 
 of which furnish fine water-power. HiUs rise 
 on either side, forming an amphitheatre, in 
 which the present city is mainly located, al- 
 though many fine residences are creeping up the 
 slopes of the hills. It lias extensive and widely 
 celebrated manufactories, with a capital of more 
 than 86,(100,000, seven churches, some of them 
 among the finest in the State, two national 
 banks, besides other banking institutions, a tine 
 citv hall, a hall fur public amusements that seats 
 l.iOO people, and is altogether one of the thrift- 
 iest and most energetic communities in the 
 State. The Bronson Library contains 18.000 
 volumes, the gift of Cyrus Bionson of New York. 
 The water-works are among tlie best in New 
 England. It has a handsome park and fine 
 cemetery. There are also several schools of con- 
 siderable note located here. St. Margaret's 
 Diocesan School for young ladies, the Academy 
 of Notre Dame i Convent School I, and Waterbury 
 English and Classical School for boys. It has 
 one daily and two weekly newsjiapers. To such 
 a goodly city,' the tifth in the State, has the wil- 
 derness settlement grown. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Hopkins, D. D., of such wide fame 
 and remarkal)le powers, was a native of this town. 
 He began life as a farmer's boy. At the age of 
 fifteen he commenced his studies in Woodbury. 
 He entered Yale CJoUege at tlie age of sixteen, and 
 graduated in 1741. After graduating he went 
 immediately to Nortliampton, Mass., where he 
 studied theology with Jonathan Edwards. After 
 he was licensed to prcacli, in 1642, he remained 
 still at Northampton, pursuing his studies and 
 occasionally preaching. He was settled in several 
 small towns in Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 
 April, 1770, lie went to Newport, R. I., where he 
 remained until the war of the Revolution interrupted 
 his labors. In December, 17713, when the British 
 took possession of Newport, he retired to Great 
 Barrington. In 1780, lie returned to Newport, 
 only to find his old church and congregation too 
 much diminished to provide for his support. He, 
 luiwfcver, continued to preach for them for what 
 they could collect by a weekly contribution and the 
 aid of generous friends, until he died, Dec. 20, 
 1803. Few men more influenced the religious 
 thinking of his age. His writings were numerous, 
 bold and forcible. He was author of a system of 
 divinity, that bears his name and perpetuates his 
 memory. 
 
 licmuel Hopkins, M. D., was also another of 
 Waterbuiy's great sons. He was as renowned in 
 medicine as Samuel in divinity. He w.is founder 
 of tlie Connecticut Medical Society, and also the 
 author of several poems of considerable note. 
 
 Guilford was one of the colonies constituting 
 the New Haven judisdiction. The first settlement 
 was commenced in Uio'.t, the next year after New 
 Haven. The first settlers were Mr. Henry White- 
 field, and several members of his church and con- 
 gregation in England, to the number of about 
 forty pers(ms. They were drawn to this spot from 
 
 the resemblance it bore to the homes they left behind 
 them in England. They secured the land by peace- 
 ful purchase from the Indians. .\s a place for the 
 security of all, a stone liouse was built, and is now 
 standing, ))robably the oldest liouse in the United 
 States. The first marriage in this town was 
 solemnized in tliis building. The sumptuous 
 marriage feast consisted of jiork and peiis. The 
 government was first administered by four leading 
 ))lanters. When a Congi'cgational church was 
 formed in 1()4:!, all power and authority was formally 
 passed over to it, and thechurch.asinso many New 
 England towns, became the nuclcusand g<'rm()f the 
 town. The government was in nearly all respects 
 similar to New Haven, church-members alone being 
 freemen and allowed to vote. 
 
 Guilford is situated (population about 3,000) 
 fifteen miles east of New Haven, on Long Island 
 Sound, and on the Shore Line Railroad. Farming 
 and fishing are the principal pursuits. There are 
 five churches and a fine stone school-liouse. Sachem's 
 Head, a jiicturesque point of land, reaching out 
 into the Sound, is a favorite summer resort, as are 
 many other places in this noble old town. Off the 
 coast is Leete's Island, named from Gov. Leete, 
 one of the most distinguished men of colonial 
 times, and the first governor of Connecticut. His 
 house on tliis island was set on fire during the 
 Revolution. This place was also the home of the 
 famous Chittenden family. 
 
 Derby is situated (population about 12,000) nine 
 miles nortliwest of New Haven, at the confluence 
 of the Naugatuck and Housatonic rivers. About 
 the year 1033, Lieut. -Gov. Goodyeaie and others, 
 of New Haven, purchased the land, and the year 
 ensuing some few settlements were made. 
 
 It was incorporated in 1 07.1, and the name changed 
 from Paugassett into Derby. Derby Landing is at 
 the head of navigation on the Housatonic River. 
 Humphreysville, four miles above Derby Landing, 
 is famous as the home of Gen. David Humphreys, 
 who established here a large woollen factory, one 
 of the first in the United States. He was a warm 
 personal friend of Gen. AVashington, one of his 
 aids, ambassador to France under Jefferson, and 
 afterwards to the court of Portugal. The modern 
 township is divided into Derby Village, Birming- 
 ham, and Ansonia, named from Hon. Anson G. 
 Phelps, of Phelps, Dodge & Co., who have large 
 iron-works here. 
 
 North .Haven (1,800) on the N. Y., N. H. and 
 Hartford R. R., was formerly a part of New Haven. 
 It lies on both sides of the Quinuipiac River. The 
 gardens of North Haven are celebrated for early 
 vegetables and fine small-fruits. The extensive 
 s.alt-meadows produce immense quantities of grass. 
 The first settler of North Haven is believed to 
 have been William Bradley, who had been an 
 officer in Cromwell's army. He lived here soon 
 after 1660, on laud owned by Governor Eaton. 
 The settlement was slow, and for nearly forty 
 years the people attended church and buried 
 their deail at New Haven. The women usually 
 went on foot, attended two long services and re- 
 turned, model pedestrians as well as model 
 Christians. The Indians were numerous, but 
 harmless, serving only to frighten women and 
 children, never to injure them. The fine fishing 
 and hunting grounds about the rivers drew them 
 
126 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 into tliis region. They swarmed at times along 
 these streams, holding their " powwows," mucli to 
 the terror and disgust of the jjeople. 
 
 North Haven is the birtli]>lacc of Kev. Ezra 
 Stiles, one of the most celeljrated of Connecticut's 
 great men, and for more than half a century the 
 home of Dr. Benjamin Trumbull, the historian of 
 Connecticut, lie was born in Hebron in IToo; 
 graduated at Yale in 1757; settled in North Haven 
 in 1700, where he remained nearly sixty years. He 
 wrote 4,000 sermons, pul>lished able essays on the 
 inspiration of the Scri])tures, wrote a history of 
 Connecticut, and also of the United States. He 
 received high honors from his alma mater, and 
 ■was widely known and esteemed as an able divine 
 and accurate historian. 
 
 Milford (3.500) was one of the settlements of 
 the original New Haven Colony. The purchase of 
 land was made from the Indians about the same 
 time as those of New Haven, and settled in 1C39, 
 purchase price Ijeing six coats, ten blankets and 
 ■one kettle, together with a number of hoes, knives, 
 hatchets and glasses. The Indians, however, made 
 a reservation of al:)OUt twenty acres, which was 
 subsequently bought in 1(551, for six coats, two 
 blankets and two pairs of Ijreeches. 
 
 The original settlers were from the counties of 
 Essex and York, and came over with Messrs. Eaton 
 and Davenport's company, and remained with them 
 one year Ijefore making a permanent settlement. 
 They located themselves on either side of Mill 
 River and West-end Brook, for convenience of 
 themselves and cattle. Tlie town was named Mil- 
 ford in commemoration of their native town in 
 England. 
 
 A court of five judges was directed to set out a 
 ■meeting-house lot in such manner as they should 
 judge most convenient for jjublic good. The site 
 was the one occupied by the present meeting-house 
 of the First Society, where it stood until 1727. 
 
 The first settlers being godly men and women, 
 they formed themselves at once into a church, ac- 
 cording to their peculiar views. It was formed in 
 New Haven on the second of August, 1639. Peter 
 Pruden was the first ministei-. In 1741, forty-seven 
 persons, being dissatisfied with Mr. Whittlesey's 
 moderate opinions, declared their dissent from the 
 established church, professing themselves to be 
 Presbyterians, according to the Church of Scotland. 
 They were stoutly opposed by the First Churcli, 
 "having, in this respect, a common experience with 
 all new churches in both the River and Sound col- 
 onies, and a protracted and bitter op))osition, some- 
 times persecution even, followed. They were not 
 invested with their full legal rights for nineteen 
 jears. 
 
 In 1648 a famous battle was fought near the 
 town between the Mohawk and Milford Indians, 
 resulting in the utter defeat of the former. In all 
 the wars in which the county has been engaged, 
 Milford has furnished her full quota of brave men. 
 There is a quarry of beautiful serpentine marble 
 in the eastern section of the town. The harbor, 
 never deep, has l>een gradually filling up since the 
 first settlement. Milford Island, containing ten 
 acres, is about three-fourths of a mile from the 
 shore. Jlilford Point, at the southwest extremity 
 of the town, is a place of some note, and also a 
 summer resort. 
 
 There are five houses of worship, three Congre- 
 gational, two Episcopal. The first church was 
 organized in 1727, under Rev. Jonathan Merrick. 
 The general intelligence of the peojile is evi- 
 denced from the fact that it has furnished more 
 young men, who have been liberally educated, 
 than anv other town of its population in the 
 State. 
 
 WaUingford formerly belonged to the original 
 purchase made by Gov. Eaton and John Daven- 
 port, in 1638. The settlement was projected in 
 1669, and called New Haven Village. The first 
 minister was the Rev. Samuel Street The 
 houses were fortified during King Philip's war, 
 and much anxiety felt for the safety of the peo- 
 ple. . It is watered by the Quinnipiac River, and 
 lies on the N. Y., N. H. and Hartford Railroad, 
 twelve miles from New Haven. It contains nine 
 churches, five schools, one hotel, extensive man- 
 ufactories of britannia and silver ware, one news- 
 pajier, boot manufactories, and machine shops. 
 The WaUingford Community, a branch of 
 Oneida Community, was founded here in 1850, 
 by John H. Noyes and Henry Allen. It com- 
 prises 340 acres, 150 of which is covered by a 
 valuable water-power belonging to the Commu- 
 nity. Their business is agriculture, horticulture, 
 job-printing, and book-making in all forms. 
 
 Lyman Hall, one of the signers of the Declar- 
 ation of Independence, was a native of this town. 
 He graduated at Yale in 1747, and first studied 
 theology, but aftei-wards medicine. He subse- 
 quently removed to Georgia, and was a delegate 
 to the general Congress in 1775, and afterwards 
 became governor of Georgia. 
 
 One of the most remarkable tornadoes ever 
 known visited WaUingford August 9, 1878. A 
 large number of houses were caught up and 
 whirled from their foundations, and crushed into 
 fragments. One church was demolished, the 
 ujiper story toi-n from the fine new high school 
 house, the large trees were twisted and uin-ooted 
 along the track of the whirlwind. Several per- 
 sons were killed, others maimed for life, and 
 much property destroyed. The scars of the ter- 
 rible tornado still remain. It will not soon pass 
 from the minds of those who witnessed its power 
 or looked upon its desolation. It awakened 
 much interest in scientific circles, and a careful 
 study of this strange and unusual ijhenomenou. 
 
 The remaining towns of New Haven County 
 are Bethany, originally a parish in the town of 
 Woodbridge, and famous for being the scene of 
 the celebrated Dayton Bobbery, committed by a 
 comiJauy of Tories from Long Island ; Branford, 
 which owes its final settlement to religious con- 
 troversy and dissension at Wethersfield, beauti- 
 fully situated on Lake Saltonstall, much frequent- 
 ed as 11 place of summer resort, and off the sea 
 coast of which is a fine cluster of islands in the 
 Sound called Thimble Islands, among which is 
 Money Island, where Capt. Kidd is said to have 
 concealed large sums of money. In this town 
 also was once the home of Montowise, an early 
 Indian chief. The place is the summer residence 
 of sevei-al wealthy gentlemen. 
 
 Cheshire, originally a part of WaUingford, the 
 seat of an Ejiiscopal academy, founded in 1801 ; 
 East Haven, incorporated and taken from New 
 
REVTEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 127 
 
 Haven in ITSo, and noted as being a favorite place 
 of resort of the Indians, as also on account of 
 the first iron-works in Connecticut having Ijcen 
 estal)lislK'd lierc in 1055; Ilauiden, also origi- 
 nally a ])art of New Haven, embracing several 
 manufacturing villages, among them Wliitneyville, 
 so named from Hon. Eli Wliitney, the inventor of 
 the cotton gin. where is located Mount Carmel, one 
 of the most elevated eminences in the State ; Madi- 
 son, formerly a part of Guilford, and sharing in all 
 the colonial gli'ry of that old town — a favorite 
 summer resort. The famous regicides, Goffe and 
 Whalley are said to have stopped in their wander- 
 ings on the banks of the stream west of the 
 churches, and gave it the name of Pilgrim's Harbor 
 — a name it still bears. 
 
 Middlebury, in which town is Break-Neck Hill, 
 on whose summit the army of Gen. Lafayette, 
 while on their way to the Hudson, is said to have 
 encamped ; North Branford, and Orange (so 
 called for William, Prince of Orange, King of 
 England), noted as the place where the British 
 landed when they invaded New Haven in 1771); 
 Orford, famous for its mineral .spring, called the 
 Pool, whose waters are said to heal salt-rheum and 
 other kindred complaints, and which are reported, 
 moreover, never to freeze, even in the coldest 
 weather, nor even to fail in times of the severest 
 drought; Soutlibury; Woodbridge named for the 
 first minister, Benj. Woodbridge, settled here in 
 1742; Prospect and Wolcott. Some of the most 
 charming scenery in Connecticut is found in the 
 valley of the Naugatuck at a celebrated pleasure 
 resort called High liock Grove, owned by the 
 Naugatuck Railroad Co., and visited annually by 
 thousands. Illnstrations of the same are given in 
 this work. 
 
 Mebiden — This city occupies a natural amj^hi- 
 theatre among the surrounding hills, midway 
 between the cities of Hartford and New Haven, 
 eighteen miles distant on the New York, New 
 Haven A: Hartford Kailroad. No place in Con- 
 necticut has .sjjrung into existence so quickly as 
 a manufacturing centre. The ground on which 
 the city now stands was, twenty years ago, a 
 farm. The comjiarison to-day is bewildering, 
 and a transformation scene is enjoyed. 
 
 The refinements of civilization and the resist- 
 less tide of manufacture have taken jiossession, 
 and the result is churches, schools, immense 
 manufacturing establishments, elegant private 
 residences, and a city of twenty thousand jieople. 
 In 1870, Meriden bad a population of 10,495. 
 To-day it is one of the most entei-prising cities 
 
 of New England, witli public water-works, gas, 
 electric lights, teleplionos, banks, insurance com- 
 panies, daily and weekly jKipers, mo<lern built 
 hotels, and all the requirements to meet the de- 
 mands of modern civilization. Silver and plated 
 ware, lamps and lamj) trimmings, bouse furnish- 
 ing hardware, agricultural implements, ma- 
 chinery, hand-bells, spectacles, hammers, vises, 
 butts, lanterns, coffee mills, spoons, faucets, 
 scissors, shears, breech-loading guns, dies, hard- 
 ware and sheet metal goods, forks, colfin trim- 
 mings, punehing-j)resses, pewterer's machinery, 
 glassware, paper boxes, lathes, fui'niture casters, 
 jiiauo stools, jajiaunedand tinware, brass screws, 
 butcher and slioe knives, tine cutlery, door locks 
 and knobs, door bells, corsets, etc., are made in 
 Meriden. 
 
 The gi-owth of this city and the success of its 
 manufacturing establishments is a commentary 
 on the skill, financial ability and enterprise of 
 her peoi^le. 
 
 Orville H. Piatt, United States Senator. Among 
 the list of Connecticut's puljlic men, the name 
 of Orville H. Piatt stands foremost as a Christian 
 and ])hilanthro|)ic statesman. He was born in 
 Washington, Litchfield County, Conn., .July 19, 
 1837. His father, Daniel G. Piatt, was a f.armer 
 and the son learned his fir.st lessons in life on the 
 farm and at the district school until he was nearly 
 twenty-one years of age. Later he studied law and 
 was admitted to the bar in his native county in 
 ls49. For a time he was a resident of Towanda, 
 Bradford County, Pa., a.ssociated with Hon. Ulysses 
 Mercer, now .Judge of the Supreme Court of Penn- 
 sylvania. In 1851 he returned to his native State 
 and located in the then village of Meriden, in 
 which he saw great possibilities. Here he entered 
 into the pr.actice of law, and has since l>een identi- 
 fied witli its interests and prosperity. His first 
 public oftice in connection with the State Govern- 
 ment w.is clerk of the Senate in 1855-G. In 1857 
 he was Secretary of State. He was a member of 
 the Senate in 1801-2, and a member of the House 
 in 1804 and 1800, in the latter year serving as 
 Speaker. From 1877 to 1879 he was State Attorney 
 for New Haven County, which office he held until 
 he was elected in the latter year United States Sen- 
 ator to succeed Hon. William H. Barnum. 
 
 Sir. Piatt is tall in person, and has a genial, pop- 
 ular but commanding presence. He is an able law- 
 yer, making a specialty of patent cases. In private 
 life he is known as a Christian statesman, interested 
 in all the movements for the general good of society. 
 His term will expire March 3, 1885. 
 
 0)1 m 
 
NEW LONDON COUNTY, 
 
 New London County, as originally constituted 
 by the General Court in 1666, embraced territory 
 extending from Pawkatnck River on the east, to 
 the western bounds of Homonaseet Plantation 
 on the west, and from the iuterinr settlements 
 on the north, to Long Island Sound on the south. 
 As now constitiited, New London County is 
 bounded north by Tolland and "Windham coun- 
 ties, on the east l>y Windham County and Rhode 
 Island, on the south by Long Island Sound, and 
 by the Connecticut River and Middlesex County 
 on the west. Its average length from east to 
 west is twenty-six miles, and it has a medium 
 breadth of twenty miles. 
 
 The face of the country is diversified liy hill 
 and dale, and is well supi^lied with streams of 
 water. The soil is of varied fertility, but gen- 
 erally adapted to grazing and fruit growing, and 
 moderately to general agriculture. Its navigable 
 waters ai'e extensive, and imsuriiassed, for mari- 
 time pui'poses, by those of any section of equal 
 extent u]5on the coast. 
 
 Notwithstanding these natural advantages, 
 which rendered it an inviting locality for the early 
 Engh.sh settlers to improve, more than one- 
 fourth of a century elapsed after the planting of 
 a Colony at Plymouth before an attemj^t was 
 made by the emigrants to settle upon any ])or- 
 tion of this domain. A principal cause of this 
 delay was doubtless the fact that the territory 
 was i)re-occu])ied by the Pequots, a tribe of In- 
 dians belonging to the widespread Algonquin 
 race. This powerful tribe of savages had, by 
 their cruelty, become the dread of the whites, 
 far and near. It had, in fact, grown into a set- 
 tled conviction on the part of the colonists, that 
 it was only by their complete overthrow that 
 eastern Connecticut coT'.ld be colonized. This 
 tribe inhabited a broad extent of territory, but 
 their central seat was between the Thames and 
 Mystic rivers in the eastern part of the present 
 town of Groton. Theii' jirincipal hamlets were 
 overlooked and guarded by two fortifications, 
 the one on Pequot Hill, and the other on Fort 
 HUl. The Colony of Massachusetts had already 
 failed in her attempt at theii- subjugation. At 
 this juncture a company of ninety men was 
 raised in the vicinity of Hartford, and placed 
 under the command of Maj. John Mason, to 
 chastise and subjugate the offending tribe. He 
 was accompanied by Uncas, the Mohegan chief, 
 and friend of the white man, at the head of sev- 
 enty warriors. After a circuitous and well- 
 planned march, Capt. Mason reached their for- 
 tress on Pequot HUl on the morning of June 5, 
 1637, undiscovered by the Indian;;, till too late 
 to make a successful defense. The English won 
 a decisive victory over their savage foes. Their 
 fort was destroyed, their dwellings consumed, 
 
 and half the entire nation slain. By this single 
 contest, in the overthrow and annihilation of the 
 Pequot nation, the fate of eastern Connecticut and 
 the adjoining country was decided. Unlike what 
 till then had taken place elsewhere, eastern Con- 
 necticut was obtained by conquest. 
 
 New London County was the arena ot military 
 events scarcely less excitmg during the Revolution- 
 ary period. On the 6th of September, 1781, a large 
 part of the town of New London was laid in ashes 
 by that infamous traitor, Benedict Arnold. The 
 British troops Inirnt sixty-five dwellings, containing 
 ninety-seven families, thirty-one stores, eighteen 
 sliops, twenty barns, andnine public edifices, includ- 
 ing the court-house and several churches. 
 
 Fort Griswold on Groton Heights, after an obsti- 
 nate resistance, surrendered to tlie enemy. The 
 valiant Col. Ledyard was, after the surrender, slain 
 with his own sword. Seventy oflicers and privates 
 were also murdered. 
 
 During the war of 1812, the southern portion of 
 the county was again menaced by the enemy. At 
 this time the attack was made upon Stonington. 
 On the 9th of August, 1814, Sir Thomas Hardy, in 
 command of the British squadron, approached 
 Stonington and bombarded the place vigorously 
 for several hours. The attack was renewed each 
 day till the 1 2th. and then as all their efforts to burn 
 the townhad proved abortive, the enemy withdrew. 
 
 In possession of rare maritime advantages and 
 railroad facilities, the county of New London has, 
 during the piist half century, greatly prospered, its 
 jjopulation having increased from 35,913 in 1820 
 to 73,137 in 1880. 
 
 Towns. 
 
 New London, as originally organized, included 
 all the territory extending four miles on each side 
 of the " Mohegan River," reaching north six miles 
 from the sea. The Indian name of the prospective 
 township was Pequot. A settlement was com- 
 menced here in 1646. The place was then known 
 as Nameaug. In March, 1648, the General Court 
 recommended that the town from that date should 
 be called New London, and the river named Thames. 
 New Loudon was constituted a town in 1G49. 
 
 The names of John Winthrop, Jr., Esq., Rev. 
 Richard Blinman, Samuel Lathrop and Robert 
 Allen were prominent among tlie early settlers. 
 
 The town is .situated on the west bank of the 
 Thames, three miles from Long Island Sound. It 
 is four miles in length from north to south, and 
 has an average breadth of three-fourths of a mile 
 New London was constituted a city in 1784. By 
 the act of incorporation the entire township is in- 
 cluded within the city limits. New London is also 
 a half-shire town and a port of entry. Owing to 
 the unevenness of the site, the city is, for the most 
 part, irregularly laid out. Yet it contains many 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 120 
 
 handsome public and private structures. Possess- 
 in i^ as it does, one of the finest and most capacious 
 liai bors on tlie coast, it occupies a prominent rank 
 amcng the commercial cities of Xew Enijland. 
 
 The maritime surroundings of Xew London have 
 had a niarlrtjd infiuence in developing the l)nsiness 
 of the place. The wliale and seal fisheries have at 
 times constituted an important lirancli of commerce, 
 'rile jilace is ilefended by Fort Truml)ull, which 
 stands upon the west side of the Thames, altout one 
 mile Iwlow the city. 
 
 Richard Law, LL. D. , son of Gov. Jonathan Law, 
 was l)orn at Milford, March 17, 1733 ; graduated 
 at Yale IT.^jl ; was admitted to the l)ar, and 
 settled in New Loudon, wliere he died .Tan. 26, 
 1800. He held successively the offices of represen- 
 tative, member of the council, judge, and chief 
 justice of the superior court, memlier of the Con- 
 tinental Congress, judge of the district court, and 
 mayor of New London. This last municipal office 
 he held twenty-two years. 
 
 Rev. Gurdon Saltonstall, son of Col. Nathan, and 
 grandson of Sir Richard Saltonstall, was born at 
 Haverhill. Mass., Marcli 27, 1606, graduated at Har- 
 vard in 168^1, and was ordained, Nov. i'i, 1691, 
 minister at New London, where he continued to 
 discharge the duties of Ida sacred office in a most 
 satisfactory manner till elected governor of the 
 Colony in 1708, which office he heldimtil his death 
 in 1724. 
 
 John Winthrop, F. R. S., son of Gov. Winthrop 
 of Massachusetts, was born in Groton, Eng., Feb. 
 12, 100.5. His fine genius was improved by a 
 liberal education at the universities of Cambridge 
 and Dublin, and by travel on the Continent. He 
 first came to New England in 1031, but three years 
 later returned to Europe. While there he was em- 
 powered liy Lords Say and Brook to make a settle- 
 ment upon Connecticut River, and was commis- 
 sioned as governor of the plantation. On his 
 return to the New World in 1635, he did not press 
 his claim to the chief magistracy, but caused a fort 
 to be built at Saybrook, and otherwise gave aid to 
 the settlers. New London is the home of Gov- 
 ernor Waller. 
 
 The first settlers of Stonington in 1646 began 
 their plantation under the direction of the 
 younger Winthrop. He continued to reside at 
 New London, and was identitied with the public 
 afl'.tirs of the town until elected governor of the 
 Colony in 1657. Subsequently he resided in 
 Hartford. He held the office of governor of 
 ' Connecticut and of the united Colonies to the 
 time of his death in 1676. 
 
 Fitz John-Winthroi3, son of the preceding, was 
 Ijorn March 14, 1639. In 1689, he was, with the 
 rank of major-general, commander of the ai'my 
 sent to operate againt Canada. Sulisequently he 
 was an agent of the Colony to Great Britain, and 
 I'endered such service that the legislature pre- 
 sented him with £500 sterling. In 1698 he was 
 elected governor of Connecticut, and was an- 
 nually re-elected to the office till the time of his 
 death, November 27, 1717. 
 
 Norwich — The domain lying lietween the Yantic 
 and Shetucket rivers was by the Indians termed 
 'Mohegan." In May, 1659, the Cxeneral Court 
 authorized the planting of a colony in the Mo- 
 
 hegan counti-T, and in the next month Uncas 
 and his brother Wawequn, for the consideration 
 of £70, ceded to the English a portion of their 
 territory nine miles square, including within its 
 limits the jjresent towns of Norwich, Franklin, 
 Bozrah, Lisbon and Sprague, with portions of 
 other towns. In the spring of 1060 thirty-live 
 proprietors, under the guidance of Jlaj. John 
 Mason and Rev. James Fitcli, removed from Say- 
 brook hither, and established themselves in the 
 locality now known as Norwich Town. The 
 name Norwich was given to the settlement in 
 1662, in honor of Norwich in England. In the 
 old Saxon language it signifies North Castle, and 
 the towering rocks found here might easily sug- 
 gest the idea of battlements. 
 
 The township has an average length from north 
 to south of seven miles, and a medium breadth 
 of three miles. The surface is diversified by 
 hills and plains, which give to the place a pic- 
 turesque appearance. The prevailing soil is 
 dark-colored loam, which is generally fertile. 
 Norwich is favored with excellent water-priv- 
 ileges. The Shetucket from the noi-theast, and 
 the Yantic from the northwest (after dashing- 
 over high rocks at Norwich Falls, and rushing 
 through a narrow, winding chasm in the cove 
 below), unite, and in their union become the 
 Thames. The entii'e length of the Thames, thus 
 constituted, to Long Island Sound, is fourteen 
 miles. 
 
 Norwich Town is situated about two miles 
 above the navigable waters of the Thames. This 
 place for two-thirds of a century was the jirin- 
 ciijal centre of business in the town. It was also 
 the seat of the courts till comparatively a late 
 date. The buildings, though not modern in 
 style, are quite respectable in ajipearance. The 
 location had good natural advantages for the 
 planting of a town at that date. Norwich City 
 was incorporated as such in 1784. At an early 
 day it was known as Chelsea or the Landing, 
 being situated at the head of the Thames. Al- 
 though the locality possessed rare maritime and 
 other advantages, they remained unimproved tiU. 
 about 1726. At first it required great labor to 
 remove the rocks and ledges, and reclaim the 
 low, swami:)y grounds before eligible sites for 
 the streets and for their dwellings could be 
 secured. But by unremitting eflbrt these obsta- 
 cles have been overcome, and now a pleasant, 
 romantic city crowns these rugged hillsides. 
 The pubUc buildings include the court-house 
 and jail, the fi-ee academy, and several elegant 
 churches. Almost the entire distance from the 
 town jdot to the city is studded with elegant 
 and sulistantial residences. 
 
 The vast water-power of Norwich has, to a 
 large extent, been brought into use. The She- 
 tucket has been dammed at Greenville, at Taft- 
 ville, and at Occum, and large milLs have been 
 erected at each of the.se villages for manufactur- 
 ing pTirjioses. Greenville is particularly ilis- 
 tinguished for its mammoth paper mills. The 
 waters of the Yantic River have been utilized at 
 the Falls, and at other villages higher uj) the 
 stream. 
 
 The Yantic Cemetery, on the east bank of the 
 Yantic River, was consecrated in 1844. It includes 
 
130 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INBUSTMIAL 
 
 au extensive area of ground, agreeably diversified, 
 in a romantic section, and already contains many 
 elegant and costly monuments. 
 
 Tlie ancient Indian cemetery was located at the 
 head of tlie cove. It contains a granite obelisii 
 that commemorates the name of Uncas. Tlie corner- 
 stone of this monument was laid by President Jack- 
 son in 1833. Tlie history of Norwich from its first 
 settlement to the j)resent time has been characterized 
 by steady improvement. The population of the 
 town and city in 1880 was 21,141. 
 
 Samuel Huntington, LL.D., bom in Windham 
 in 1731, was admitted to the bar, and settled in 
 Norwich, where he soon rose to the front rank in 
 his profession. In 1775, having previously held 
 the office of judge of the Supreme Court, he was 
 chosen a delegate to the Continental Congress, and, 
 on the 4th of July, 1 776, he appended his name to 
 the Declaration of Independence. In 1779 he was 
 chosen president of Congress, and was re-elected to 
 the same oflice in 1780. In 1'. 33 he was re-elected 
 to Congress, and during the following year he was 
 appointed chief justice of the Superior Court. In 
 May, 1780, he was elected governor of the State, 
 and was annually re-elected until his death in 1790. 
 Gov. Huntington, though not a graduate, had 
 received honorary degrees from Dartmouth and 
 Yale. 
 
 Rev. Nathaniel Whitaker, D. D., was born in 
 1710, graduated at Harvard in 1730, and was in- 
 stalled as the first minister of Chelsea, in Norwich, 
 in 1701. As Mr. Whitaker was a man of tine 
 talents and of prepossessing apjjearauce, and had 
 also manifested a deep interest in the welfare of 
 the Mohegan Indians, he was, in 1700, selected to 
 accompany Occum in his mission to England and 
 Scotland. The selection proved to be judicious, 
 for the collections from this source amounted to 
 more than £10,000. His publications were quite 
 numerous, consisting of sermons, tracts, etc. He 
 died in Virginia in 1795. 
 
 Rev. James Fitch was born an Boking, Eng., in 
 1632, and came to New England 1038." He was 
 for seven yeai-s in Hartford under the instruction of 
 Messrs. Hooker and Stone. In 1640 he was 
 ordained over a church at Saybrook, where he 
 remained until 1060, when he removed, with the 
 bulk of his people, to Norwich, and in that town 
 passed the remaining active days of his life. When 
 the infirmities of old age obliged him to cease from 
 his public labors, he retired to the home of his 
 children in Lebanon, where he died November 18, 
 1702. He became acquainted with the language 
 spoken by the Mohegan Indians in the neighbor- 
 hood of Norwich, and often preached to them in 
 their native tongue. For his second wife he mar- 
 ried Priscilla, daughter of Major John Mason, by 
 whom he had seven sons and one daughter. 
 
 Benjamin Huntington, LL.B., was born in 
 Norwich, in 1736, graduated at Yale in 1761, and, 
 being admitted to the bar, settled in his native 
 town, and soon rose to eminence in his profession. 
 He was a member of the Continental Congress 
 from 1780 to 1784, and from 1787 to 1788, and a 
 representative to Congress from 1789 to 1791. He 
 was a judge of the Superior Court from 1793 to 
 1797. On the incorporation of Norwich City in 
 1784, he was chosen its first mayor, in which office 
 he served until 1796. He died 'in 1800. 
 
 Maj. John Mason, the military leader of the early 
 settlers of the Colony of Connecticut, was born in 
 England about the year 1600. and was bred to arms 
 in the Netherlands under Sir Thomas Fairfax. 
 During the civil disturbances in England in Crom- 
 well's time, Fairfax requested hiin to join his 
 standard, and assist those who were contending for 
 the liberties of the people, but he did not comijly 
 with the request. 
 
 ]\Iason arrived at Dorchester, Mass., in 1630, in 
 company with the Rev. John Wareham and others, 
 and in 1635, he removed to Windsor, Conn., and 
 assisted in laying the foundation of a new Colony. 
 The history of the part he acted in the Pequot war 
 in 1637 is given in detail elsewhere. He removed 
 from Windsor to Saybrook in 1647, and from 
 thence to Norwich in 1660, where he died in 1672. 
 He was successively commander-in-chief of the 
 militia of Connecticut, a magistrate from 1642 to 
 1660, and dei^uty governor of the Colony until he 
 retired from public life in 1670. He was wise and 
 prompt in planning and energetic in executing 
 whatever he deemed Ijest for the general good. At 
 the request of the General Court, he drew and pub- 
 lished a brief history of the Pequot war which has 
 since been reprinted. 
 
 Benedict Arnold descended from an honorable 
 Rhode Island family, where one of his ancestors, 
 bearing the same name, held the office of governor 
 for fifteen years. Two brothers of this family — 
 Benedict and Oliver — removed from Newport to 
 Norwich in 1730. The elder Benedict, the fatlier 
 of the traitor, soon became engaged in business, 
 and not long after his arrival in Norwich, married 
 Mrs. Hannah King, whose maiden name was 
 Latliro)). Benedict was born in Norwicli January 
 3, 1741. Early in life he was apprenticed to Dr. 
 Lathroj), a druggist in Norwich, with wliom he 
 remained during his minorty. He sul)sequently 
 embarked in the same business in New Haven, and 
 while there became captain of a company of militia. 
 After the battle at Lexington he made a hasty 
 march to Cambridge at the head of his company, 
 and volunteered his services to the Massachusetts 
 Committee of Safety. With the rank of colonel in 
 the Continental army he joined Ethan Allen and 
 assisted in the taking of Ticonderoga. Having 
 been wounded at Quebec and at Saratoga, and so 
 rendered unfit for active field service, he was placed 
 in command at Philadelphia, after that place had 
 been evacuated by Carleton, in 1778. He was at 
 this time a major-general in the Continental army. 
 While in Philadelphia, Arnold married the 
 daughter of Judge Shippen, a Tory. At his own • 
 earnest solicitation he was, in August, 1780, 
 appointed by Washington to the command of West 
 Point. His eternally infamous act of treachery 
 soon followed. Arnold received from tlie British 
 government the stipulated reward of his perfidy. 
 He was made a brigadier-genaral in the British 
 service, which rank he held throughout the war. 
 In childliood Arnold was quarrelsome, untruthful, 
 and disobedient; and in manhood was ambitious, 
 pei-fidious, dishonest, and revengeful. He died in 
 disgrace at Gloucester Place, London, in June, 
 1801. 
 
 Stonington. — Southertou, or Stoningtou, was 
 for a time claimed by Massachusetts by virtue 
 of assistance rendered to Connecticut in the 
 
REVIEW OF THE tiTATE (iF CONNECTICCT. 
 
 131 
 
 conquest of the Pequots. And further, this 
 place was suiJposed to be include<l in a grant to 
 tkem l>y the Earl of Warw-iok and Council for 
 British America. DecemVjer 10, 1G43, and was 
 settled by i)ersous who went thither under John 
 Wiuthroi), Jr., in 1646. It was assigned to Con- 
 necticut l)v commissioner's of the United Colo- 
 nies July 26, 1647. This order being revoked, 
 the settlers at Southerton petitioned to Massa- 
 chusetts that they might be a township, which 
 was granted Octolier 25, 1658, and they were 
 united with Suflblk County. They continued 
 to sustain this relation, and entered into a vol- 
 untary comi^act on the 30th of June to govern 
 themselves and conduct theii- own aft'airs. But 
 after Connecticut obtained the Royal Charter in 
 1662. the town, being included in the grant, 
 was re-auuexed to Connecticut. 
 
 In Octolier, 1665, the General Court gave to 
 the settlement the name of Mystic. In May, 
 1666, the name was changed to Stoningtou. The 
 Indian name was Pawcatuck. 
 
 The water-jirivileges of the town, including 
 the Mystic Eiver on the west, and the Pawca- 
 tuck on the east, with the several intermediate 
 streams known as Copjj's Brook, Stony Brook 
 and Anguilla Brook, are of great value. All 
 these streams discharge their waters into the 
 Sound, thus aflbrding excellent manufacturing 
 and maritime privileges. Add to these natural 
 advantages the " Point," with its harbor, break- 
 water and railroad, and it will be made clear 
 how so many large and self-sustaining villages 
 have grown uj3 within the township. These are 
 the Borough, on Fisher's Island Sound, which 
 was incorporated as such in 1801 ; Mystic Bridge, 
 Greeumanville and Mystic on Mystic Eiver ; and 
 StUlmanviUe and Pawcatuck Bridge, on the 
 Pawcatuck River-. These have in the past been 
 largely dependent uj^on shipbuilding and other 
 maritime interests for their prosperity, and have 
 in turn been efficient nurseries for the produc- 
 tion of an able bodv of seamen. The poi^ula- 
 tiou in 1880 was 7,353. 
 
 Capt. Thomas Miner, born in England in 1608, 
 came to New England in 1G:'0, and was one of 
 the original settlers at New London, being asso- 
 ciated with Wiutlirop, in 1647. In 1053 he removed 
 to Stoningtou and made that place his future home. 
 He was for a long period engaged in civil affairs, 
 and during King Philip's war rendered efficient ser- 
 vice as a military leader. He died at Stoniugton 
 Oct. 23, lO'.lO. 
 
 ' Thomas Stanton, "The Indian Interpreter," came 
 to tliis country in 1030, and with almost unparal- 
 leled facility, acquired the mastery of the dialects 
 spoken by the aborigines in New England. In 
 1638 he was appointed to the office of interpreter by 
 the General Court of Connecticut. lie also received 
 the appointment of interpreter-general from the 
 commissioners of the United Colonies. His peculiar 
 qualifications as an interjjreter rendered his services 
 quite indispensable throughout New England. 
 He was one of the early settlers of Stoningtou. 
 His long-established residence was on the Connecti- 
 cut side of the Pawcatuck River, where he died in 
 1078. 
 
 William Cheeseborough, the fii-st permanent set- 
 tler of Stoniugton, was bom in Boston, Eng., in 
 
 1594. He came to New England with Gov. Win- 
 throp and first settled in Boston. In 1 04'.t he settled 
 in Stonii>gton. He held the office of tirst selectman 
 of that town for a succession of years till his death 
 in 1007. 
 
 Capt. George Denison, boni in 1018, came to New 
 England in 1031, in company with the Rev. Jolm 
 Eliot, and settled tirst in Koxliury, Mass. In 1051 
 he licci'me a resident of New London and there re- 
 niiiined till 1054, when he removed to Stoningtou, 
 where he became permanently cstalilished. Prom 
 1071 to 1094, he represented Stoniugton in the Gen- 
 eral Court. As a military leader he became distin- 
 guished. He participated in the Narragansett 
 Swamp fight in 1075, where he rendered inqiortant 
 service. In March, 1070, he, with others, made an 
 incursion into the Narragansett country and made 
 Canonchet, the chief sachem, a priscjiicr. The sav- 
 age, when offered his life on condition of living in 
 peace, said, " he chose to die Ijefore his heart grew 
 soft." The prisoner was shot at Stonmgton by 
 Oneco, son of Uncas. During the year 1 670, Cajjt. 
 Denison and his volunteers killed and took as pris- 
 oners two hundred and thirty of the enemy. He 
 died at Hartford in 1094, while attending a session 
 of the General Court. 
 
 Groton was constituted an ecclesiastical society 
 in 1703, from the section of Pequot country lying 
 east of the Thames River. It was incorporated as 
 a town in 1705, from territory which originally be- 
 longed to New London. It was named in honor 
 of Groton, Suffolk County. Eng., the birthplace of 
 John Wiuthrop, .Jr., the tirst governor of Connec- 
 ticut after the union. The township is uneven, 
 being hilly and abounding in rocks. A narrow 
 tract extending along the Sound, and another ex- 
 tending up the Thames to a considerable distance 
 from its mouth, are pleasant and fertile, but the 
 remainder is difficult of cultivation. The town is 
 watered by the Mystic and Poquonoc rivers, which 
 discharge their waters into the Sound. 
 
 Tliere are five villages in the township, in each 
 of which is a jjost-office — Groton Centre on the 
 north. Mystic River on the east. Noank and Po- 
 quonoc on the south, and Groton Bank on the west. 
 
 Mystic River is navigable for vessels of 400 tons 
 burden to Mystic Bridge. Shipbuilding has been 
 carried on to some extent at the head of Mystic. 
 
 A monument has been erected on Groton Heights 
 in memory of those who were slain in Fort Gris- 
 wold in 1781. Its foundation stone is 130 feet 
 above tide- water, and the monument itself rises 127 
 feet above its l>a.se. 
 
 The population m 1880 was 5,127. 
 
 John Ledyard, the distinguished traveler, was 
 born in Groton in 1751. He sailed with Capt. 
 Cook on his third voyage of discovery, and wit- 
 nessed the tragical end of the great circumnavi- 
 gator at Owyhee. After extensive travel in the 
 sparsely inhabited provinces of Europe and Asia, 
 he was finally employed by the African Association, 
 which had been organized under the direction of 
 Sir Joseph Banks, to make a thorough exploration 
 of the interior portions of the African continent. 
 He engaged in the service of this company with 
 great enthusiasm and sailed from London on his 
 tour of discovery June 30, 1788. After repeated 
 delays at Cairo, he died at that jilace. greatly 
 lamented, Jan. 17, 1789. 
 
132 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Col. William Ledyard, brother of the above, was 
 also a native of Groton. In 1781 he was military 
 commander of tlie district which included Fort 
 Griswold on Groton Heights. The fortress was 
 not strong nor sufficiently manned to resist a 
 large force. When a detachment of British 
 troops, numbering about 900 men, under the 
 command of Col. -Eyi'e were advancing toward 
 the heights, the brave Ledyard remarked : "If 
 I must lose to-day honor or life, those who know 
 me best can tell which it will be." With only 
 one hundred and fifty men he made a brave but 
 ineflfectual resistance, for, overpowered by iium- 
 bers, the fort was carried by assault with the 
 bayonet. Col. Eyre and Maj. Montgomery, hav- 
 ing been slain, the command devolved upon 
 Maj. Bloomtield, who inquired who commanded. 
 Ledyard replied, "I did command, sii', but you 
 do now ; " and presented to him his sword. The 
 ferocious officer instantly ran him through with 
 his own sword. All the Americans in the fort, 
 uumberiug about seventy, were brutally slain 
 after they had surrendered. 
 
 Silas Deane was born in Groton, graduated at 
 Yale in 17.58, and became a resident of Wethers- 
 field. In 1774 he was chosen a member of the 
 Continental Congress, and while acting in that 
 cajjacity was aijpointed as an agent from his own 
 government to the Court of France to enlist the 
 sympathies and secure the co-oiieration of the 
 Pi'euch i^eople in our struggle for independence. 
 He arrived in Paris in July, 1776. Through his 
 influence Lafayette, Kochambeau and others 
 were induced to aid the patriot cau.se. With 
 Dr. Franklin and Ai'thur Lee, he was commis- 
 sioner for negotiating treaties with foreign pow- 
 er.s. He died at Deal, in England, in 1789. 
 
 Sprague was incori^orated as a township iu 
 1861, from the territory of Franklin and Lisbon. 
 It is well supplied with streams of water, which 
 afford extensive manufacturing jjrivileges. It is 
 washed by the Shetucket the entire extent of its 
 territory from the northwest to the southeast 
 boundary. Little River waters the eastern sec- 
 tion of the town, and Beaver Brook the western. 
 Sprague was organized priuciiJaUy as a manu- 
 facttu'ing town. In the village of Baltic, in the 
 central part of the town, uj^on the Shetucket 
 Eiver, is located a mammoth cotton mill. In 
 the same village are two woolen mills on Beaver 
 Brook, which there unites with the Shetucket. 
 At the village of Hanover, two miles noi'theast 
 of Baltic, is located a woolen mill, on Little 
 Eiver ; and at the village of Versailles, two miles 
 southeast of Baltic, is another woolen mill on the 
 same stream. The population in 1880 was 3,207. 
 Colchester. — The General Court, in Octo- 
 ber, 1698, enacted that a township should be 
 organized at or near the place called Jere- 
 miah's Farm, on the road to New London. 
 This locality was then iu Hartford County. 
 In Octolier, 1099, it was called Colchester, and an- 
 nexed to New London County. Some of the names 
 prominent among the original planters were those 
 of the Rev. John Bulkley, Samuel Gilbert, Micliael 
 Taintor and Joseph Pomeroy. The face of the 
 township is uneven. The soil is a gravelly loam, of 
 medium fertility, Tiie borough of Colchester was 
 incorporated in 1824. 
 
 The borough contains a pleasant village, centrally 
 situated upon elevated ground, of perhaps fifty or 
 sixty houses. Bacon Academy is located in this 
 village ; also a Congregational church. The exten- 
 sive works of the Hayward Rubber Company are 
 located a short distance east of the village. The 
 population of the town in 1880 was 2,974. 
 
 Rev. John Bulkley, first minister in Colchester, 
 was a son of Rev. Gershom Bulkley, who had been 
 pastor of the cliurches in New London and Wethers- 
 field. His mother was a daughter of President 
 Chauncy of Harvard College. He graduated at 
 Cambridge in 1699, was ordained iu 1703, and died 
 in June, 1731. He was regarded as one of the 
 most profound and learned men in New England. 
 He was thoroughly versed iu theology, law, medi- 
 cine, and science in general. Griswold was con- 
 stituted the North Society in Preston in Octolier, 
 1716. It was incorporated as a town in 181.5, and 
 received the name of Griswold. Tlie Indian name 
 of the settlement was Pachaug. Tlie surface of the 
 townshijj is uneven. The prevailing soil is a 
 gravelly loam, of medium fertility. Jewett City is 
 the principal village in the town. It is located on 
 the east side of the Quinebaug River, and contains 
 about 1,000 inliabitants. 
 
 HopeviUe is a small manufacturing village, situ- 
 ated on the Pachaug River, about Similes east of 
 Jewett City. 
 
 Doaneville and Glasko are two manufacturing 
 villages located quite on tlie eastern border of the 
 town. Glasko contains the Griswold paper-mill. 
 The population in 1880 was 2,745. 
 Montville was constituted the North Parish iu 
 New London in May, 1714. It was incorporated 
 as a town iu 1786 from territory which originally 
 lielonged to New London, and received the name 
 of Moutville. 
 
 Montville was originally the royal seat of Uiicas, 
 the Mohegau sagamore, and continued to l:>e the 
 residence of the royal family till it became extinct. 
 In the eastern part of the town was located a large 
 Indian reservation, which was held by the Indians 
 in common till 1790, when it was divided among 
 the families by the legislature of Connecticut. 
 Since that period they have been under the care of 
 guardians. Their interests have been carefully 
 guarded, and much has been done to impi'ove their 
 condition. Still, the tribe is wasting, and but a 
 remnant now remains. Tliis reservation has for 
 some years been favored with a convenient church 
 edifice. Though agriculture is the principal busi- 
 ness of tlie inhabitants, there are yet two manu- 
 facturing villages on the Oxoboxo River, iu tlie 
 southern part of the town. These are Uucasville 
 and Montville, and eacli has a post-office. 
 The population in 1830 was 2,666. 
 William flillhouse was the son of the Rev. 
 James Hillhouse of New London, now Montville, 
 where he was born August 25, 1728. He was for 
 more than fifty years a member of the legisla- 
 ture, and for forty years a Judge of the Court of 
 Common Pleas. " JJ'rom 1783 to 1786 he was a 
 member of the Contin3nt.1l Congress. In 1792 
 he received the honorary degree of A. M. from 
 Yale College. He died January 12, 1816. 
 
 James Hillouse, LL.D. , son of the above, was 
 born in Montville, October 21, 1754, and gradu- 
 ated at Yale in 1773. He was an officer in the 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 i:i:i 
 
 war of the Rovolution ; in 1791 was chosen a 
 niemlier of Congress ; from 179C to 1810 was a 
 member of the United States Senate ; from 1810 
 to 1825 was Commissioner of the School Fund 
 of the State ; and from 17<S'2 to 1832 was Treasurer 
 of Yale College. He died at New Haven, Decem- 
 ber 29, 1832. 
 
 Rev. Sampson Occum, an Indian preacher of 
 the Mohegan tribe, was boru in the jjresent town 
 of Montville in 1723, and received his education 
 from tlie Rev. Dr. Wheelock, the founder and 
 first President of Dartmouth College. From a 
 roving .savage he became a humble Christian, and 
 for about ten years was employed as a teacher 
 among the natives of Long Island. In August, 
 1759, he was oi-dained by tlie Suffolk Presbytery. 
 In 1766 he was sent on a mission to England by 
 Ml", '^Taeelock to promote the interests of Meor's 
 Indian charity school. From February, 1766, 
 to July, 1767, he preached nearly four hundred 
 sermons in various parts of England and Scot- 
 land, and everywhere immense throngs of people 
 flocked to his meetings. Large contributions 
 were made to the school, which was soon trans- 
 planted to New Hamjishire, and formed the 
 germ of Dartmouth College. He was often em- 
 ployed as a missionary among the different tribes 
 of Indians. He died near Utica, N. Y., in Julv, 
 1792. 
 
 Uncas, sachem of the Mohegan Indians, was a 
 Pequot by birth, and of royal descent. To the 
 English he was uniformly friendly from the first 
 settlement of the coimtry. The triumph of 
 Major Mason over the Pequot Indians in 1637 
 was largely due to the supiMrt of Uncas and his 
 warriors, and to the information which he im- 
 l^arted. He was shrewd to jilan and Itrave to 
 execute, and generally the victor. After a lapse 
 of forty years from the victory on Pequot Hill, 
 and at a time when all the Indian tribes in New 
 England were lianded together under the leader- 
 saip of King Philip for the utter extermination 
 of the whites, Uncas, at the head of two hundred 
 warriors, accomijanied ISIajor Talcott to western 
 Massachusetts, and rendered imiwrtant service 
 to the settlers. He died in 1683, probably not 
 less than eighty years of age, and was buried in 
 tlie royal Indian burying-ground in Norwich. 
 
 Lebanon. — It was ordered by the General 
 Court in Octolier, 1697, that the new jilautation 
 situated west of Norwich be called Lebanon. 
 Lebanon was originally constituted of four dis- 
 tinct proi)rieties, known as the five-mile ])urchase, 
 the one-mile purchase, the Clark and Dewey 
 purchase, and the ^\^liting purchase. These 
 different tracts were united by agreement, and 
 in their union obtained an act of incorporation as 
 a township in 1700. Windham County, con- 
 stituted in 1726, included Lebanon within its 
 jurisiliction. It was annexed to New London 
 County in 1824. Agriculture is the principal 
 business of the inhabitants. The town has three 
 flourishing parishes, known as Lebanon Proper, 
 Goshen and Exeter. These have church edifices 
 of the Congregational order, and high schools. 
 
 This histoi-ic town has given birth to six di.s- 
 tiuguished individuals, each of whom has risen 
 to the rank of chief magistrate of a State in our 
 Republic. Of these, five became governors of 
 
 our own State, and the sixth of a State in the tar 
 West, as wUl ai)pear from the annexed biographi- 
 cal sketches. The i)opulation in 18,S0, 1,845. 
 
 Jonathan Trumbull, son of Cai)tain Joseph 
 Trumbull, w.as born in Lebanon in 1710, and 
 graduated at Harvard College in 1727. Early in 
 life he eonse'rateil himself to the ministry, but 
 the exigencies of the times called him to a differ- 
 ent if not a higher sphere of public exertion, 
 and conse(piently he served as Governor of the 
 Colony and State for fifteen years, commencing 
 in 1769. He was the only governor of a Colony 
 that remained true to his people during the war 
 of the Revolution. In Revolutionary times he 
 was almost universally known as "Brother Jona- 
 than," having been so called by Washington in 
 token of his filial regard and confidence. He 
 died August 17, 1785. 
 
 Jonathan Trumbull, son of the preceding, was 
 born in Lebanon, Jlarcli 26. 1740, graduated at 
 Harvard College in 1759, and settled in his native 
 town. From 17T.5 to the close of the campaign of 
 17TS, he was jiaymaster to tlie army in the northern 
 department. In 1780 he was appointed secretary 
 and first aid to Washington, in whose family he 
 remained till the close of the war. In 17S!) he 
 became a memljer of Congress, and two years later 
 was elected speaker of tlie House of Representa- 
 tives. In 1T!I4 he was elevated to a scat in the 
 Senate of tlie United States, and in 1798 became 
 governor of Connecticut, which |)Osition he con- 
 tinued to hold for eleven vears. He died August 
 7, 1S09. 
 
 Joseiih Trumbull, LL. D., grandson of the senior 
 Gov. Tnimlaill. was liorn in Lebanon, Decenilier 7, 
 17S2, graduated at Yale in 1801, was admitted to 
 the bar in ISOL', and 1804 removed to Hartford, 
 where he becainepcrmanently established. He was 
 a member of Congress from 1839 to 1843, and in 
 1.H4!) was elected governor of Connecticut. He 
 died in Hartford August 4, 1861. 
 
 Clark Bissell, LL. D., was born in Lebanon in 
 1784. graduated at Yale in 1806, was subsequently 
 admitted to the bar and became established atNor- 
 walk, where he soon rose to eminence. He was a 
 judge of the Su|)erior Court, from 1829 to 1839; 
 governor of the State for the years 1S47 and 1848. 
 and lU'ofcssor of jurisprudence in Yale College, 
 from 1847 to 18.55. lie died in 1857. 
 
 William A. Buckingham, Llj. D., was born in 
 Leliaiion in 1804. Early in life lie became success- 
 fully engaged in business in Norwich, represented 
 that town in the State legislature, was for a long 
 period mayor of the city of Norwich, and from 
 1859 to 1866 was governor of the State. From 
 1869 to the time of his death in 1875. lie was a 
 niemlier of tin; United States Senate. lie was hon- 
 oralily known as the " War Governor of Connec- 
 ticut." 
 
 Nelson Dewey, son of .lolin Woodward Dewey, 
 was Ijorn in Lclxanon early in the ))resent century. 
 Removing to the West, he became a resident of 
 Lancaster, Wis., and, during the years 1849 and 
 1850, served as governor of his adopted State. 
 
 William Williams, son of the Rev. Solomon 
 Williams, I). I)., was Ixirn in Lebanon, April 8, 
 1731. and graduated at Harvard in 1751. In 1755 
 he participated in the battle of Lake George, being 
 thi-n a member of the staff of Col. Ephraim Wil- 
 
134 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Hams. After protracted service in tlie legislature 
 of his own State, he was, during the years 1776 and 
 1777, a member of the Continental Congress, and 
 as such signed the Declaration of Independence. 
 He made great sacrifices for the cause of his country. 
 He married a daughter of the elder Gov. Trumbull. 
 Mr. Williams died at Lebanon, August 2, 1811. 
 
 Preston. — Permission was granted to Thomas 
 P.irke, Sr., and others, by the General Court in 
 January, 1686-7, to make a plantation east of 
 Norwich bounds. In October, 1687, it was l)y the 
 same court named Preston. Preston was incor- 
 porated as a town in 1786, just a century after its 
 first settlement. The Indian name of the locality 
 was Poquetannock. 
 
 There are three villages in the township. Poque- 
 tannock is situated at the head of a cove of the 
 same name aljout two miles east of the Thames. It 
 contains about forty dwellings and several stores. 
 Preston City is a village located in the eastern part 
 of the town, which contains about thirty dwelling-- 
 houses and two churches. The other village is 
 situated upon the south bank of the Shetucket, 
 opposite to the city of Norwich. Laurel Hill, 
 situated near the junction of the Shetucket and 
 Thames rivers, was, till recently, included within 
 the Preston limits. It now constitutes an inviting 
 section in Norwich city. 
 
 The population of Preston in 1880 was 2.519. 
 
 Lyme. — The General Court authorized the divi- 
 sion of Saylirook in May, 1649, the section east of 
 Connecticut River to be known as East Saybrook. 
 It was first settled in 1663, and was incorporated 
 as a distinct township with the name of Lyme in 
 1667. Tlie Indian name of the locality was 
 Nehuntic. The surface of the township is rocky, 
 and parts of it hilly and mountainous. The soil is 
 hard, and does not admit of a general cultivation 
 of crops, ))ut affords tolerable grazing. Farming 
 is the principal business of the inhabitants. 
 
 The principal villages in the town are at Ham- 
 burgh and North Lyme. Both are situated upon 
 Eight-mile River. 
 
 The population in 1880 was 1,025. 
 
 Matthew Griswold, LL.D., was born in Lyme, 
 March 2.5, 1714. After serving as a representative, 
 member of the council, chief judge of the Superior 
 Court, and lieutenant-governor, he was from 1784 
 to 1786, governor of the State. In 1788 he was 
 chosen president of the convention which adopted 
 the Constitution of the United States. He died 
 April 28, 1799. His mansion was located at Black 
 Hall, near the mouth of the Connecticut River. 
 
 Roger Griswold, LL.D., son of the above, was 
 Ijorn in Lyme, May 21, 1762. He graduated at 
 Yale in 1780, and being admitted to the bar, located 
 in Norwich, and soon rose to eminence as an 
 advocate. In 1811 he was elected governor of the 
 State, having previously held the offices of judge 
 of the Superior Court and lieutenant-governor of 
 the State. He remained in office until his death, in 
 October, 1812. 
 
 East Lyme was constituted the East Parish in 
 Lyme in Octolser, 1721. The Indian name of the 
 locality was Neanticut. A moiety of the territory 
 now constituting East Lyme was an Indian reser- 
 vation for the Western Nehantics, when the towns 
 of New London and Lyme were incorporated. 
 This reservation was afterwards claimed by each 
 
 town, l)ut by mutual agreement the ownership was 
 decided hy a pugilistic contest between two com- 
 batants from each town in the field. Lyme became 
 the winner, and the territory was annexed to that 
 town. The surface of the township is diversified. 
 Hills and rocks prevail in tlie northern i)ortion, 
 while on the Sound the grounds are low and 
 marshy. The village of Flanders is located at the 
 head of Niantic River, while Niantic Village is 
 seated at the mouth of the same river on the Sound. 
 
 Population in 1880, 1,731. 
 
 Old Lyme was re-incorporated as a township in 
 18.5.5, wholly from the territory of Lyme. At first 
 the new town was called South Lyme. This name 
 was subsequently changed to Old Lyme. The 
 settlement of East Saybrook, at the mouth of the 
 Connecticut River, primarily led to the early incor- 
 poration of the town of Lyme. Agriculture gives 
 employment mainly to the inhabitants. 
 
 Lyme Village is situated about twelve miles 
 from the Sound, and one mile east of Connecticut 
 River. The main street runs parallel witli the river, 
 and contains a Congregational church edifice and 
 the Lyme post-office. Black Hall, the ancient seat 
 of the Griswold family, lies directly upon the 
 Sound, near the mouth of the Connecticut River. 
 The population of Old Lyme in 1880 was 1,387. 
 
 Franklin was originally included in the territory 
 of Norwich. It was constituted the Second Eccle- 
 siastical Society in Norwich in October, 1716, with 
 the title of West Farms. Its settlement was almost 
 coeval i\ith that of the present township. In 1663 
 measures were taken to apportion the territory 
 within the present town limits to the original pro- ^ 
 prietors tlien residing at Norwich town. Soon 
 thereafter settlements actually commenced on the 
 hillsides and up and down the streams, and shortly 
 a thriving community occupied the most desirable 
 portions of the new settlement. Among the early 
 settlers are names that still honor the town, as 
 Ayer, Huntington, Kingsbury, Mason and Tracy. 
 It was incorporated as a town in 1 786, and received 
 the name of Franklin. Its poijulation in 1880 was 
 686. The face of the township is diversified by 
 hills and valleys. The soil is a loam, well adapted 
 to grazing, grain-growing and fruit-culture. 
 
 There is no village within the limits of tlie town, 
 and Ijut one church edifice, and that a Congrega- 
 tional. Agriculture has been tlie principal pursuit 
 of the inhabitants, which has been successfully 
 conducted, but not to the neglect of more im])or- 
 tant interests. The common school has ever had 
 the watchful, fostering care of the inhabitants, and 
 to the credit of the community it may be said that, 
 with a limited poulation, more than forty of her 
 sons have graduated with honor at the different 
 colleges in our country. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Nott, D. D., was born in Saybrook, 
 .lanuary 23, 1754. He graduated at Yale in 1780, 
 and was settled in the ministry at Norwich, now 
 Franklin, May 13, 1782, where he remained until 
 the close of his long and useful life. His ministry 
 covered a period of more than seventy years. His 
 death occurred May 26, 1852, from the effects of a 
 burn. He published a large number of sermons. 
 
 Hon. Uriah Tracy, born in Franklin, February 
 2, 1755, graduated at Yale in 1778, read law with 
 Judge Reeves of Litchfield, and settled in that town 
 in the practice of his profession. He often rejire- 
 
REVIEW OF THE UTATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 135 
 
 sented Litchfield in tlie lecfislature, and in 1793 was 
 speaker of the House. From 1T93 to 1796 he was 
 a representative in Congress, and from 179G to 
 1807 was a member of the Senate, and in 1800 was 
 president pro tern, of that l>ody. He rose to tlie 
 ranlc of major-general of militia. Gen. Tracy was 
 a leader of the Federal ))arty, and an intimate 
 friend of Hamilton, Ames, Morris, and their asso- 
 ciates. He died at Washing-ton, .July 19, 1807, and 
 was the first person interred in the congressional 
 burying -ground. 
 
 North Stonington was constituted the North Par- 
 ish in Stonington, in October, 1 720, and was by 
 the General Court named North Stonington in May, 
 1734. The Indian name of this locality was 
 Wequetequock. It was incorporated as a town in 
 1807, from territory which was originally a pait of 
 Stonington. It is an agricultural town, and is 
 watered by the Shanock and Pawcatuck rivers, 
 whicli afford sites for mills. 
 
 The only village in the town is now known by 
 the name of North Stonington. This place was 
 anciently called Milltown. It contains about 
 thirty dwelling-houses, half a dozen stores and two 
 churches. 
 The population in 1880 was 1,769. 
 Ledyard was made tlie North Parish of Groton 
 by the General Court in October, 1725. It was 
 then known as North Groton. It was incorporated 
 as a town in 1836, and named from the hero of 
 Groton Heights. Agriculture is the principal bus- 
 iness of the inhabitants. A small remnant of the 
 Pequot tribe of Indians still remains in tlie north- 
 eastern section of the town. The principal village 
 in the town of Ledyard is at Gale's Perry, on the 
 east bank of the Thames, which consists of about 
 thirty dwelling-houses. 
 The population in 1880 was 1.373. 
 Salem. — In May, 1728, a parish was consti- 
 tuted from sections of the towns of Colchester 
 and Lyme, to which the name of New Salem 
 was given. This was incorporated as a town in 
 May, 1819, and received the name of Salem. 
 There is no village in the townshij) of magni- 
 
 tude. There are three houses of public wor- 
 ship— Congi-egational, Methoilist and Episcopal. 
 Agriculture is the principal business of the in- 
 habitants. The population in 1880 was .574. 
 
 Bozrah.— Bozrah was constituted a society 
 within the limits of Norwich in May, 1737, with 
 the name of New Concord. It was incorporated 
 a town in 1786, with the name of Bozrah. 
 Among the early settlers the names of AVater- 
 man and Hough and Fox were prominent ; 
 names not uncommon at this date. The face of 
 the township is generally uneven, consisting of 
 hills and valleys ; its geological character i.s 
 granitic ; the soil is gravelly loam, moderatelv 
 fertile. 
 
 FitchviUe, located near the centre of the town, 
 and Bozrahville, two miles above, are both man- 
 ufacturing villages, and both .situated upon the 
 Yantic Kiver. The central part of the town is 
 fourteen mil'es from New London and thirty- 
 three from Hartford. The poijulation in 1880 
 was 1,155. 
 
 Lisbon was originally included within the 
 limits of Norwich. It was constituted the north- 
 east parish of the parent township in May, 1718, 
 and received the name of Newent in October,' 
 1722. It was incorporated as a town in 1786, 
 and given its present name. The Indian name 
 of the locality was Shetucket. 
 
 Agi-iculture is the leading business of the in- 
 habitants. The population is conseauently scat- 
 tered. The number of inhabitants in 1880 was 
 630. 
 
 Waterford was incorporated as a township in 
 1801, including all the remaining territory of 
 New London except the city. The Indian name 
 was Tawawaug. A valuable quarry of granite is 
 extensively worked in the southwestern section 
 of the to-n-n. A small village, to whieh the 
 name of Grauiteville has been given, is located 
 near the quarry. Agriculture is the principal 
 business of the inhabitants. The population in 
 1880 was '2,701. 
 

TOLLAND COUNTY, 
 
 ToLT.AXD Cor>;TV, the youngest and the least in 
 area, except one, of tlie Connecticut counties, was 
 incorporated h\ tlie General Court, at New Haven, 
 in October, ITS.j, and included Tolland. Stafford, 
 Bolton, Somers, Hebron, Willington, Union and 
 Ellington. Tlie act estalilislnng the county was 
 conditioned upon the l)uilding of a suitable court- 
 house and jad in tlie town oi Tolland. In May, 
 1786, the General Court re-enacted the act of 178.5, 
 and added Coventry to the lists of towns. This 
 number of towns has lieen increased to tliirteen by 
 the creation of Vernon out of Bolton in 1808; by 
 the transfer of Mansfield and Columliia from Wind- 
 haui County in 1827, and by tlie organization of 
 Audover out of Coventry and Hebron in 1848. All 
 of tlie towns were settled long before the county 
 was organized, and most of them were incorporated 
 before its organization. 
 
 About one-quarter of this county was bought ot 
 Indians — .loshua, a Moliegan sachem, and others. 
 Some of it was sold by the Colony. Tlie county 
 lies, a small part of it, at the base, and a larger 
 part among the hills which rise out of the Connec- 
 ticut Valley about twelve miles east of Hartford, 
 and extend beyond the eastern border of the county. 
 Many of the early settlers came from Norwich 
 and vicinity, and from the Connecticut Valley, as 
 tliose regions became more thickly populated. 
 Among the earliest were many from eastern Massa- 
 chusetts. The original settlers were of the Pilgrim 
 and Puritan stock, and brought with them the pur- 
 pose to make their settlements religious commu- 
 nities. Their first care, after finding habitations 
 for themselves, was to establish the regular weekly 
 worship of God, and to provide a house for this 
 worship. The next pulilic care was to open a 
 school. 
 
 The earliest industries of the county were princi- 
 pally farming — clearing tracts of land and getting 
 the soil in proper condition to raise produce for the 
 maintenance of the family — and the manufacture, 
 in each home, of hand-spun and hand-woven 
 woolen and linen cloth for tlie wear of the family. 
 The streams of this county give numerous facili- 
 ties for manufacturing, and, in later years, they 
 have utilizetl, and have furnished water-jiower for 
 factories which have drawn to themselves that 
 dimiestic manufacture which before was scattered 
 over the liills, and gave activity to every household. 
 It may lie said of this county, as a whole, that it 
 has well improved its miriufacturing facilities. In 
 1870 there were only two counties — Windham and 
 New JIaven — that had a larger ratio than Tolland 
 County of capital invested in manufacturing, in 
 proportion to the total valuation of ])ro|)erty. 
 
 The brooks and rivers of the county gather a 
 portion of the waters tliat unite at Norwich to form 
 the river Thames. The Willimantic Is the princi- 
 
 pal river in the county, and lias contributed much 
 to the support of the inhabitants. In early tunes 
 shad and salmon were caught in large quantities up 
 as far as Tolland, and probably higher. 
 
 Large tracts of heavy woodlands remained in this 
 county thirty years ago, especially in the eastern 
 part of it. It is estimated that full one-half of the 
 forest trees then standing have been since cut off. 
 
 The New Yprk and New England, and the New 
 Loudon Northern are the jnincipal railroads in the 
 county. The Boston and New York Air Line runs 
 into the borders of two of the southern towns, and 
 there are besides two or three short liraiich roads. 
 
 The people of Tolland County have always been 
 law-abiding and orderly. There have been less 
 crimes and fewer criminal trials than in any other 
 county in the State. Only one jierson has ever been 
 executed for murder in the county, and only four 
 capital trials have occurred from its organization to 
 the present time. The first of these occurred about 
 thirty-eight years after its incorporation. The 
 criminal was convicted of murder, and publicly 
 liung in the jiresence of a vast concourse of people, 
 who had come from every town in the county to 
 witness so unusual a spectacle. The execution took 
 place on an eminence near the county jail. 
 
 The county in Connecticut has no legislative 
 functions. It is empowered to establish roads, and 
 to prosecute offenses against the laws. As a county 
 it has no representative in the General Assembly, 
 and lias no political life. The town is the unit, 
 and it is not couuty-wise but town- wise that the 
 people act as citizens of tlie Commonwealth of Con- 
 necticut. Tlie history of the county is therefore to 
 be found in the town records, and we turn to the 
 towns for the history of the civil and religious life 
 of the county. These were so much one in the 
 colonial period, that any history of Connecticut 
 would lie partial and incomplete which should 
 attempt to separate the civil from the religious 
 history, and give one without the other. Incleecl, 
 the dominating religious purpose of the Colonies 
 necessarily makes any faithful history largely a 
 religious history. 
 
 The population of the county in 1700 was 13,100, 
 and in 1880, 24,112. 
 
 Towxs. 
 
 Mansfield, was originally a part of Windham. 
 Settlements began to" be made as early as 1690, 
 several years earlier than any other town in the 
 county. From that time the inhabitants gradually 
 increased in numbers until they began to petition 
 the General Court of the Connecticut Colony to make 
 them a distinct town, on account of the great diffi- 
 culties and hazards to which they were exposed by 
 reason of the "deep and dangerous river" between 
 
138 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTBIAL 
 
 them and the meethig-liouse in Windham. lu May, 
 1T03, the Court granted the petition, and the town 
 was incorporated. 
 
 Among the original grantees are the names of 
 Shubael Dimmock, Joseph Hall, Samuel Storrs, 
 Robert Fcnton, Peter Cross, John Eoyce and Peter 
 Crane, nearly all of whom have lineal descendants 
 in the place at this time. 
 
 Mansfield was incorporated on condition the 
 petitioners should settle over them au "able and 
 orthodox " minister of the gospel. Worship was 
 regularly held and a pastor sought continuously 
 until, in 1710, Mr. Eleazer Williams, son of Rev. 
 John Williams of Deerfield, Mass., accepted a call 
 to settle. The church was organized and the pastor 
 ordained the same day. The second pastor was Dr. 
 Richard Salter, whose ministry extended into and 
 through the war of '70, an<l who helped to give 
 the tone of jiatriotism which distinguished eastern 
 Connecticut in the early days of that conflict. 
 
 Mansfield was divided into two i)arishes — the 
 north and south — in 1737; and in the same year 
 that Mr. Salter was ordained over the first church, 
 Mr. William Throop was ordained the first pastor 
 of the second churcli, Sept. 19, 1744. It is note- 
 worthy that the second and third ])astors of the 
 second church were father and son — Daniel Welch 
 and Closes Cook Welch — whose united ministry 
 covered seventy years. It is an interesting fact 
 that another meml^er of the Welch family — Moses 
 Cook Welch — a grandson and namesake of the 
 second Mr. Welch, has been in recent years a 
 pastor of the same chui'ch. He served as chaplain 
 during the civil war. 
 
 About the time that Mr. Salter and Mr. Throop 
 were ordained Mansfield had its experience of 
 trouljles ]5roduced hy the Separatist movement. 
 This i^eculiar religious movement was the natural 
 outcome of several causes, some which lay far 
 back in the history of the Colony. There had first 
 been brought into the cliurches, gradually, through 
 the half-way covenant, an element which loosened 
 the discipline and led to decline in the piety of 
 the churches. Along with this, and perhaps a 
 result of tills, there grew a demand for a closer 
 union of the churches, and some judicial authority 
 outside of the individual church. This desire 
 found expression in the Say brook Platform, which 
 organized the Consociation. This was a court of 
 judicature over Congregational churches. The 
 General Court was in sympathy with this feeling 
 and made the Platform the rule of the churches. 
 Then came, in 173.5, '41 and '42, powerful revivals, 
 which awakened an earnest spirit of active piety 
 mingled with self-confident enthusiasm. New 
 proofs of being in a state of grace were demanded, 
 and censorious judgments were pronounced upon 
 such church-memliers as were not in sympathy with 
 the revival. Churches were divided into parties. 
 The "New Lights," or promoters of the revival 
 were disciplined. Laws were enacted' restraining 
 liberty of worship outside of the "established 
 order." Many of the " New Lights " paid no i-egard 
 to these laws, but withdrew from the established 
 churches and organized churches of their own. 
 
 A Separatist church was organized in Mansfield 
 consisting in large part of memljers of the two 
 established churches iu town ; but as it was the 
 first church of the kind in that section of the State, 
 
 seceders from the established churches in adjoining 
 towns united with them, and jNIausfield gained a 
 certain notoriety as being the headquarters of the 
 Separatists in that vicinity. This church called 
 itself Congregational. It was not in any sense an 
 active protest against Congregationalism ; it was 
 a protest against the want of tolerance in the 
 colonial laws and in the spirit of the churches. 
 But the ])rotest, as is usual in such cases, was urged 
 with an intolerance wliich emulated the intolerance 
 of which they complained. This Separatist Church 
 maintained its organization an uncertain number of 
 years, and was disbanded sometime before the end 
 of the century. 
 
 As early as 1793 there began to be Methodist 
 services in town, and a Methodist meeting-house was 
 built in 1797, in the eastern part of the north parish. 
 
 A Baptist society was organized in this town in 
 1808, and the society erected a meeting-house iu 
 the centre of the town tlie same year. 
 
 Tolland County, together with the rest of eastern 
 Connecticut, was profoundly stirred by the arbi- 
 trary proceedings of the British Parliament in tlie 
 Boston Port Bill and the Quebec Bill, and pre- 
 viously in the Stamj) Act. In town meeting, Octo- 
 ber, 1774, the citizens of Mansfield expressed their 
 affliction at tlie oppressive measures which threat- 
 ened tlie inhabitants with total loss of liberty, and 
 declared it to be their duty to oppose cruel and 
 unjust measures, and to maintain ffeedom. ; and 
 resolved that tliey would be faithful subjects of 
 King George the Third, so long as the crown 
 maintained inviolate the stipulated rights of the 
 people; and that they would defend with their 
 lives and their fortunes their national and consti- 
 tutional rights. 
 
 As early as February, 1 77.1, Mansfield directed 
 her representatives to move in General Court that 
 a proper number of men be levied and equipped 
 for the defense of the Colony; and in October 
 they were directed to move tlie Court to dispose of 
 lands belonging to persons inimical to the cause of 
 liberty. 
 
 Mansfield has been from a very early period a 
 manufacturing town. There is record of a fulling- 
 mill iu 1731, and of a spinning-mill in 1734. The 
 early raising of silk-worms, principally by women 
 and girls, and the manufacture of silk by hand, 
 gave distinction to the town. In 1 788, thirty-two per- 
 sons of this town petitioned the General Court to be 
 incorporated for tlie manufacture of silk. The re- 
 quest of the petitioners was allowed, and silk-cul- 
 ture gradually Ijecame a leading industry in Mans- 
 field. Nearly every farmer raised mulberry trees, 
 and his wife and daughters fed the silk-worms, and 
 spun the silk. 
 
 The introduction of machinery run by water- 
 power, for spinning silk, made a revolution in do- 
 mestic silk manufacture. The first experiments in 
 this new method were made by Rodney Hanks, and 
 his nephew, Horatio Hanke, in 1810, with machin- 
 ery invented by themselves, and made with their 
 own hands. Tlie Hanks family, in several genera- 
 tions, has been noted tor its inventive genius, which 
 has, from time to time, i^roduced various new 
 machines and implements for facilitating labor in 
 different branches of industry. It was several 
 years, however, after the Messrs. Hanks began to 
 spin silk by water-power, before a silk-factory of 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 139 
 
 considerable dimensions was liuilt in tlie town. 
 Before that time, two cotton-spinning' factories 
 were erected in the western part of Mansfield, on 
 tlie Williniantic Kiver, and tlie women in the town 
 were employed to talve liomc the factory-spnn yarn, 
 and weave it into shirting and sheeting in liand- 
 looms. After tlie use of water-power had become 
 successfully established for weaving as well as 
 spinning, the houseliold manufacture of sewing- 
 silk, and of woolen and linen cloth, gradually 
 declined, and many of the girls left their fathers' 
 houses, and worked in tlie mills. Then l>egan a 
 great change in the social life of the town ; the 
 girls l^egan to leave the hillsides for the manufactur- 
 ing villages, the young men and boys also sought 
 business away from their homes, and few besides 
 the elderly people remained by the old firesides. 
 Farms were less widely cultivated ; agriculture 
 declined ; the long-established churches diminished 
 in numljcrs and wealth, and the inherited customs 
 and old Xew England habits were so changed as to 
 forever separate the modern from the old New 
 England life. 
 
 Tlie oldest burying-groundin Tolland County was 
 laid out iu KilMi, in what was then called the Ponde- 
 place — now the first parish of Mansfield — seven 
 years before Mansfield was made a distinct town. 
 Here was Viuried Samuel Storrs, who came from 
 England, and who was one of the original projjri- 
 etors of the town — the great ancestor, not only of 
 the families of Storrs in Mansfield, but of Rev. Mr. 
 Storrs, of Longmeadow, Mass. ; of Dr. Richard 
 Salter Storrs, of Braintree, ]Mass. ; and Dr. R. S. 
 Storrs, of Brooklyn, X. Y. In fact, he is the com- 
 mon ancestor of nearly all of the numerous families 
 of Storrs in tlie United States. 
 
 The second parish of ilansfield, through tlie mu- 
 nificence of Mr. Charles Storrs, of Brooklyn, N. Y.. 
 has an unusually large and beautiful cemetery, in- 
 closed by a substantial stone wall. From the rear 
 of this cemetery, which is the highest ground in 
 Mansfield, a view is obtained such as few inland 
 towns furnish. 
 
 In 1804, Mr. Storrs became desirous that a school 
 should be established in Mansfield of a higher grade 
 than the district school. By his earnest solicita- 
 tions and liberal aid. Mr. Edwin Whitney, of the 
 Reform School in Providence, was induced to open 
 a boarding and day school in the north parish in 
 186.5. Mr. Wliitney was well adapted for the work, 
 and the school started with every prospect of suc- 
 cess, but before tlie close of the first term it was 
 broken up by a fire, which destroyed the principal's 
 dwelling. Mr. Wliitney built anew, but before the 
 house was ready to be opened for scholars he offered 
 it, with the farm, to the State, for use as a soldiers' 
 orphans' home. Mr. Whitney had been prevented 
 l>y physical disqualification from volunteering, and 
 said that, as he could not offer himself to his coun- 
 try, he must do something that should be of service 
 to the common cause. The State accepted the gift, 
 aud so the Connecticut Soldiers' Orphans' Home 
 was established in JIansfield. 
 
 The population of the town is 2,154. 
 Vernon, incorporated in 1808. was first settled by 
 sons from East Windsor and Bolton. The east- 
 ern part of the township is crossed by a range of 
 mountains, forming the eastern boundary of the 
 
 Connecticut Valley. The considerable streams 
 are the Hockanum aud the Tancanhocsen, which 
 supply water to many mills ami factories. Eoek- 
 vLUe, the principal manufacturing village, ob- 
 tains its w-ater-power from the Hockanum. It 
 contains nine woolen mills, three cotton mills, a 
 silk factory, machine shops, and various other 
 industrial establishments. 
 
 A cotton factory was iu operation in this town 
 shortly before the year ISOO. In 1811, Peter 
 Dolison erected machinery for spinning cotton 
 iu Vernon. He conducted the business of cotton 
 manufacturing for fifty years, and in connection 
 with bis family for nearly seventy years. The 
 business is still continued iu the vicinity. ^.^ 
 
 The war of 1812 created a necessity for making 
 cloth for soldiers. Our ports were blockaded, 
 and all trade outside the States cut off. A 
 piece of cloth Irom a tailor's bench was 
 shown Mr. Dobson. Closely examining it, he 
 found the warp cotton and the filling woolen 
 yarn. He then made a jack and jenny for spin- 
 ning wool, having .seen .similar machines in Eng- 
 land. In a short time the facilities for sjiinning 
 wool for tilling, aud cotton yarn for warps, in-o- 
 duced a cloth called satinet. This cloth was 
 blue mixed for soldiers' wear, aud was made in 
 a variety of colors. Satinets were made iu Ver- 
 non from the first until 1841. The first cassi- 
 meres in Eockville were made in the New Eng- 
 land mill, burned soon after its construction, 
 and rebuilt in 1841-2. ^ 
 
 The population of Vernon is about 7,000. 
 
 Stafford, on the Massachusetts line, and incor- 
 porated iu 1808, was settled in 1719 Ijy Robert 
 White aud Matthew Thomjjson from England, 
 Samuel aud John Warner from Hadley, Mass., 
 David aud Josiah Blodget from Woburu, Dauiel 
 Colburu from Dedham, and others from towns 
 iu Connecticut and Mas.sachusetts. The first 
 minister, Mr. Graham, was settled iu 1723. 
 There are several minerals in the town, of which 
 iron ore is the most imi^ortant. The ore which 
 is iirinciijally used is the liog ore, and is of an 
 excellent quality. In 1779, John Phelps and 
 others btiilt a blast furnace on a large scale. 
 Hollow-ware, cannon, canuot-shot, and a great 
 variety of patterns for manufactures aud descrip- 
 tion of machinery were cast. In 1796 another 
 large furnace was erected, and from that time 
 uutU 1820 an immense business was carried 
 on. Since the latter date the demand has been 
 too gi'eat to be suijplied from the ore-beds, and 
 pig-iron has been used for machinery castings 
 everywhere. The locality of the old furnace was 
 called Furnace Hollow, and it is the post-office 
 name to-day. But the blast furnace is gone, and 
 also the business of former years. Stafford Springs 
 and Foxville contain six large factories, and several 
 of lesser imiJortance. The mineral springs in 
 Stafford in former years acquired considerable 
 celebrity. The Indians made the white settlers 
 acquainted with the virtues of these springs, when, 
 in 1719, this region was first settled. It had been 
 their practice from time immemorial, to resort to 
 the springs in warm weather, and plant their wig- 
 wams around them. It is said that in 1 T6G the 
 springs were carefully examined by Dr. Joseph 
 Warren, who then had tlioughts of purchasing the 
 
140 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 land on vphich they rise, -with a view of estalilish- 
 ing himself upon it. Subsequent events trans- 
 formed the physician into the soldier, and Dr. 
 Warren fell in tlie first great struggle of the Revo- 
 lution—the battle of Bunker HUl. Dr. Willard 
 afterwards put the plan of Dr. Warren into opera- 
 tion, by erecting a large hotel for the accommoda- 
 tion (if patients and others. 
 
 Stafford Springs contains four churclies and sev- 
 eral banks. The New London and Northern Rail- 
 road passes through the place. Total number of 
 churclies in the town, eleven. About five years 
 since a large reservoir in the northern part of the 
 town gave way. Dams and mills were destroyed, 
 and at the Springs, six large dwellings, a church, 
 factories, stores, a bank, etc., were swept away, 
 and two men, standing on the steps of the church, 
 were drowned. Staffordville, Hydeville, and West 
 Stafford, have important manufactures. The en- 
 tire town has a po]iulation of about 4,. 500. 
 
 Coventry was first settled about the year 1700, liy 
 Nathaniel Rust and others. In the spring of 1709, 
 a numljer of persons, principally from Northamp- 
 ton and Hartford, moved here, and two years later 
 the town was incorporated. The township was 
 given by Joshua, sachem of the Mohegans, to a 
 number of legatees in Hartford. These conveyed 
 their right toVilliam Pitkin. .Joseph Talcott, Wil- 
 liam Whiting and Richard Lord, to be a committee 
 to lay out the township and make .settlements 
 therein. 
 
 A stream called the Skungamug runs through 
 the town, and, uniting with other streams, forms 
 the Hop River. Lake Wangombog, two miles in 
 length, is an important feature of the landscape. 
 
 Coventry will ever be remembered as the birth- 
 place of Capt. Nathan Hale, the jiatriot and mar- 
 tyr. He was the son of Richard and Elizabeth 
 Hale, and was bom June (!, 17.5.5, being the third in 
 descent from Rev. John Hale, the first minister of 
 Beverly, Mass. Nathan Hale graduated at Yale in 
 in 1773, with high honor, and for a brief period 
 taught school at East Haddam and New London, 
 with great success. His parents intended him for 
 the ministry, but, on the Lexington alarm in 1775, 
 he wrote to his father, saying that sense of duty 
 urged him to sacrifice everything for his country, 
 and soon after entered the army as lieutenant, but 
 was soon promoted to be captain. He served with 
 credit in the vicinity of Bo.ston, and in September, 
 177G, when in New York, he with an associate, 
 planned and effected the capture of a British sloop, 
 laden with provisions, taking her at night from 
 under the guns of a man-of-war. After the retreat 
 of the army from Long Island, when it was import- 
 ant to understand the plans of tlie enemy, Capt. 
 Hale answered Gen. Washington's ajiplication for 
 a discreet and faithful officer to enter the enemy's 
 lines and obtain intelligence. Passing in disguise 
 to the British camp, he made full drawings and 
 memoranda of all the desired information, but on 
 his leturn was apprehended and taken before Gen. 
 Howe, by whom he was ordered for execution the 
 next morning. He was denied a Bible and the aid 
 of a clergyman ; the letters he had written to his 
 father and sisters were destroyed, and he was 
 hanged, saying with his last breath: " 1 only 
 regret that I have but one life to lose for my 
 country." 
 
 In November, 1837, an association was formed 
 for the purpose of erecting a cenotaph that should 
 fitly commemorate the life and services of Hale. 
 The day on which it was formed was the anniver- 
 sary of the evacuation of New York, and twenty 
 Revolutionary soldiers were present. It was not, 
 however, until 1840, that the monument was 
 completed. It is of Quincy granite, and bears for 
 one of its inscriptions tlie dying words of the youth- 
 ful hero. 
 
 A romantic and tender interest attaches to the 
 last utterances of Alice Adams, to whom Hale was 
 betrothed. She married William Lawrence of 
 Hartford, and for many years had in her possession 
 a minature of Hale, besides numerous letters and 
 his camp book. She died Sejjt, 4, 1845, at the age 
 of eiglity-eight. Tlie last words of Mrs. Lawrence 
 were "AVrite to Nathan." 
 
 Coventry has produced many men of eminence. 
 Among them may be mentioned Harlan Page. It 
 has a population of 3,043. 
 
 Hebron began to be settled in 1704. Among the 
 earliest settlers were Samuel Curtiss, Timothy 
 Plieljis, Stephen Post, Jacob Root, William Ship- 
 man and Benoni TrumliuU, who came fiom towns 
 on the Connecticut River. 
 
 Hebron was made a distinct town in 1707. The 
 earliest church was organized in 1717. The first 
 pastor was the Rev. Jolin Bliss, who liecame the 
 occasion of the establishment of an Eiiiscopal 
 church in Hel;)ron, by his own conversion to Ejjisco- 
 jiacy in 1734. 
 
 The second jiastor of the Congregational church, 
 was the Rev. Benjcamin Pomeroy who, like many 
 of the best ministers of the Colony in that day, was 
 one of the "New Lights," or promoters of tiie 
 revivals that spread through Couuecticut in the 
 years ijnmediately following his settlement in 1735. 
 
 The notorious Rev. Samuel Peters, of Connecti- 
 cut " Blue Laws " fame, was a native of this town 
 and a Tor}'. A moli of about 300 assembled in 
 August and again in September, and made known 
 their determination to obtain from him satisfaction 
 for his published slanders, .and the acknowledg- 
 ment of his errors. He met themarrayed in official 
 robes for protection. But the exasperated molj 
 had as little respect for these as for the wearer, 
 and seizing him violently, to the damage of his 
 garments, they carried him to the Green where 
 he was forced to make a confession previously 
 prepared for him, and then he was set at lib- 
 erty. After this he went to Boston, from whence 
 be wrote to his mother, in a letter that was inter- 
 cepted, that six regiments were now coming from 
 England, and sundry men-of-war. "So soon as 
 they come, hanging work will go on and destruc- 
 tion will first attend the sea-port towns ; the lintel 
 sprinkled and the side posts will protect the faith- 
 ful." A few days later he sailed for England, 
 where he published the famous liistory of Connec- 
 ticut, which has served by its Munchausen stories 
 to preserve the name of the author from olilivinn. 
 
 A second ecclesiastical society was incorporated 
 in 1748, and called Gilead. It was stated to the 
 first pastor of the Gilead church, as an encourage- 
 ment to settle there, that there was not a drunkard 
 in the parish, and not a prayerless family, the 
 result of revivals under the ministry of Dr. Pome- 
 roy. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 141 
 
 iiectifut in 1831 and 1S32, was a native of Hebron. 
 And su was William A. Palmer, at one time gov- 
 enor of Vermont ; and also Erastus Uoot, who was 
 once lieutenant-governor of New York. 
 
 Inasmuch as Hebron gave birtli to the author of 
 Peters" "History of Connecticut," it was fitting 
 tliat the liistorical l)alance should he restored by tlie 
 ])roduetion of another liistory of Connecticut Ijy 
 llev. Benjamin Trumliull, D. D., anotlier son of 
 Hebron, and one of her most honored cliildren. 
 
 At the commencement of the present century, 
 Hebron was ])roliably at the lieight of itsi)rosperity. 
 The po[)ulatiou of Hebron in 188U was 1,243. 
 
 Soniei's, situated in the nortliwest corner of the 
 county, was originally a i)art of Enfield, and botli 
 were comprehended within tlie limits of tlie ancient 
 town of Springfield. The first settlers of Enfield 
 were from Spriugtield. In Jlay, 1R83, these first 
 settlers petitioned the General Court of Jlassachu- 
 setts for a new townsliip, asking that the limits of 
 tlie town extend ten miles east from the Connecticut 
 River. The grant inclosed tlie present town of 
 Somers. These parties respected tlie Indian title, 
 and paid the Indians £25 for tlie land covered by 
 the grant. The Indian chief Totatuck alienated all 
 right except that of hunting and fishing. This 
 purchase was in 1G88. 
 
 The first settler of Somers was one Benjamin 
 .Tones, of Welsh descent. He adopted the Indian 
 fashion of making Somers a summer residence, 
 returning into Enfield to spend the winters. But 
 for five years he was alone, and singular in this way 
 of livmg. In 1713, others began to come in from 
 Enfield to make a permanent settlement. Among 
 these first settlers were men liearing the names of 
 Kiljbe, Pease. Sexton, Root, Chapin, Parsons and 
 Woods, nearly all of whom have lineal descendants 
 in Somers. Of those who were in Somers in 1730 
 most were from Enfield. The remainder were from 
 Springfield, Xorthampton. Longnieadow, Pomfret, 
 and Wallingford. In 1734 the General Court of 
 Massachusetts incorporated the town by the name 
 of Somers. It is said that Gov. Belcher asked that 
 the town receive this name in honor of Lord 
 Somers. It continued under the jurisdiction of 
 Massachusetts until 1749, the year in which the 
 Connecticut court passed the resolution, declaring 
 that the towns south of the Massachusetts line were 
 entitled to the privileges of the Cormecticut 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 Eight of the'first settlers of the town were con- 
 stituted a church, the 15th of March. 1727, and on 
 the same day the Rev. Samuel Allis was settled as 
 pastor. Four years after a meeting-house was 
 built, where all the inhabitants of the town could 
 sit at once on tlie sills. 
 
 The third jiastor of this church was Mr. Charles 
 Backus, who was ordained and settled in a pas- 
 t ..rate which became distinguished, and was ter- 
 minated by his death in 18tl3. Dr. Backus was, 
 according to the testimony of Prof. Woods of 
 Audover, who studied theology with him, one 
 of the ablest cttemiioraueous preachers of his 
 day. He became noted as an instructor in theol- 
 ogy, and nearly fifty young men sought his in- 
 struction. Among them were Leonard Woods 
 and Dudlev Field. 
 
 Somers was prompt, like all eastern Connec- 
 ticut, to respond to the alarm of war in 177.5. 
 News of the battle of Lexington, June III, 
 reached the town the day following. A Mr., 
 afterwards Captain Chapin of Sinners, wrote in 
 his diary that very day : ''When the news of the 
 fight reached Somers, the militia were ordered 
 to meet at the meeting-house, and about fifty 
 enlisted for the relief of their brethren in ami 
 near Bo.ston. Emory Pease was cho.seu cajitain. 
 Friday the 21st, at about nine o'clock, we set 
 out on our march to Boston byway of Wilbra- 
 ham and Palmer." Captain Pease's alarm com- 
 pany reached Cambi-idge and jDaraded on ^Ion- 
 day at 4 r. M. 
 
 Somers i.s mainly a farming community. The 
 town lies for the most 2)art at the base of the 
 hills of Tolland County, and in the more level 
 and fertile region of the Connecticut Valley. 
 
 Thei'e has also 1 leeu manufacturing of diffei-ent 
 kinds in the town. About 1830, Mr. Ebeuezer 
 Clark commenced the manufacture of straw bon- 
 nets. It is said that it was the first establish- 
 ment of the kind in the State. The liraiding of 
 the straw and the sewing of the In-aid into bon- 
 nets gave employment not only to many of the 
 women and girls of Somers, but to many in 
 adjoining towns. Not far from this time another 
 firm liegan to make straw bonnets anil palm-leaf 
 Shaker bonnets. The palm-leaf was put out 
 into private families all over Tolland County, 
 where it was woven into sheets. These sheets 
 were returned to Somers, where they were cut 
 uj) and made into Shaker bonnets, w-hieh were 
 worn extensively in New England, and were sent 
 in large quantities to the South. 
 
 There was in 1825 a small establishment for 
 making satinet in Somers. About 1836 a satinet 
 factory was built in Somersville. 
 
 L. E. Pease, a native of this town, and a de- 
 scendent of one of the original settlers, was 
 secretary of state for Connecticut for several 
 years. 
 
 The i^opulation of Somers in 1880 was 1,242. 
 
 Tolland has been the county-seat of the county 
 of Tolland from its organization. In 1715, a peti- 
 tion of some inhabitants of Windsor to the General 
 Court to make a town of what is now Tolland, 
 states that ''several families arc already there." 
 The petition was granted, and a town called Tol- 
 land incorporated the same year. 
 
 The historian of Tolland— Hon. Loren P. Waldo 
 — says that this region was the summer resort of 
 Indians whose home was nearer the sea-coast. 
 Snipsic Lake contains in its name a memorial of 
 the Indians. 
 
 The names of Joseph Benton and Joseph Baker 
 occur among the first settlers, and also of Nathaniel 
 Grant, .Joshua Loomis, Jo.sepli- Mather, Hozekiah 
 Porter, Sliubael Stearns, Joshua Willes, Henry 
 Wolcott, William Eaton, Joseph Slaf ter and Tliomas 
 Stoughton. 
 
 The war for Independence was generously sup- 
 ported. Like other towns of eastern Connecticut, 
 Tolland began to enlist a company the same day 
 that news came of the beginning of hostilities in 
 1775 at Lexington. A company of ninety-eight 
 was formed, which served near Boston. Judge 
 Waldo, in his history of Tolland, says; "Several 
 
142 
 
 THE IIISTOIUCAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 times almost tlie entire active male population was 
 absent in the army, and ordinary work on the 
 farms was done l)y female hands. I heard a vener- 
 able lady, daughter of one of the Revolutionary 
 oiRcers of Tolland, relate that she and her younger 
 sisters frequently yoked the oxen, and harvested 
 the crops with their own hands." 
 
 The first church of Tolland was organized, it is 
 supposed, and the first minister ordained, in .June, 
 1723. This minister was Rev. Stephen Steel, who 
 continued pastor until 17.58. 
 
 Rev. Nathan Williams, grandson of Rev. John 
 Williams of Deerfield memory, was second pastor 
 of this church. He was its sole j^astor for nearly 
 fifty-three years. 
 
 The fourth pastor of this church was Rev. Abram 
 Marsh. He was installed in 1813 and continued in 
 the pastorate until 1808. So fur a period of one 
 hundred and forty-five years the Congregational 
 Church of Tolland had had but four settled minis- 
 ters, and during all those years there had been but 
 fourteen months' vacation in the office. 
 
 In 1791 the Methodists succeeded in establishing 
 a chiu'ch in Tolland, and in 1794 they built a bouse 
 for ijublic worship. 
 
 In 1807 a Baptist church was organized. 
 
 Satinet, cottou-ljatting, cotton-yarn and thread 
 have formerly been to some extent manufactured in 
 Tolland. 
 
 The business of tanning and currying leather 
 had been carried on near the village for many 
 years before 1840. About that time Mr. Moses 
 Underwood purchased the property and continued 
 the business successfully for several years, when 
 he and one of his sons engaged in manufacturing- 
 belts in connection with the business of tanning 
 leather. The Underwood Belting Company, formed 
 in 1875, have increased this business and have 
 erected more commodious and extensive buildings, 
 furnished witli expensive machinery. 
 
 From about 183G to 1845, the manufacture of 
 silver spoons and tlie frames of silver-bowed spec- 
 tacles was successfully carried on in Tolland. 
 
 Loren P. Waldo was born in Canterburv, Wind- 
 ham County, Feb. 2, 1802. Mr. Waldo was 
 educated in the common schools of his native 
 town, and commenced teaching in a common school 
 before he was fifteen years of age. He was ad- 
 mitted to practice in Tolland County in September, 
 1825. He was State's attorney twelve years; 
 represented the first congressional district in Con- 
 necticut in the thirty-first Congress of the United 
 States ; two and one-half years was commissioner 
 of pensions at Washington cit}' ; and eight years a 
 judge of the Superior Court of the State of Con- 
 necticut. It is doulitful if any other lawyer has 
 ever resided in the town of Tolland who will live 
 longer in the memory of its sous and daughters and 
 be held in more grateful affection by them than 
 Judge Waldo, by reason of the deep interest he 
 has always manifested in their welfare, and because 
 of his faithful "Early History of Tolland," on 
 which he spent much time and careful research. 
 Sir. Waldo's home was in Tolland from 1830 to 
 1803. 
 
 William Wallace Eaton, who was a memlaer of 
 the United States Senate, was born and reared in 
 the town of Tolland, and is a lineal descendant of 
 
 William Eaton, one of the i)ioneer settlers of the 
 town. 
 
 Tolland was at its zenith of prosperity in the 
 early part of the present century. Judge Waldo 
 says: "These jirincipal mail routes have been 
 turned from Tolland in consequnce of the building 
 of the railroads, so that while other places have 
 been benefited by those improvements, this town 
 has been a sufferer." Its population in 1880 was 
 1,109. 
 
 Willington. — Early in 1720 a company of 
 eight men from different towns in western Con- 
 necticut purchased a tract of land containing 
 10,000 acres of the colonial governor for £150. 
 This tract was called AVellington. 
 
 A Congregational church was organized, proba- 
 bly some time in 1728, for on Sept. 11, 1728, 
 Mr. Daniel Fuller was "ordained pastor of ye 
 Church of Christ in Wellington. It is quite prob- 
 aljle that the church was organized the same day. 
 They had no meeting-house at that time, and the 
 ordination services were held at the house of Jlr. 
 John Merrick, one of the original settlers. 
 
 Mr. Fuller died of small-pox in the thirty-first 
 year of his ministry and sixtieth year of his age. 
 He was interred in the old burying-ground on Wil- 
 lington Hill, which he himself gave to the town. 
 
 Willington was not backward in doing its jjart 
 for the defense and welfare of the Colonies during 
 the Revolutionary period. Thirty men went at 
 once from Willington on hearing of the Lexington 
 battle. And early in tlie Revolutionary war a com- 
 pany of fifty men went from the town under the 
 command of Capt. John Parker. 
 
 There were brave women as well as brave men in 
 those days in Willington. One fall, during the 
 war, several soldiers returned to their homes to see 
 about provisions for their families, and to cut and 
 get up wood for the winter. A Mr. Sanger came 
 home with two of his sons for this purpose, but his 
 patriotic wife urged him to return at once with his 
 boys to the army, and leave the care of the family 
 to her. He complied with her request ; and she 
 and her daughters husked the corn, threshed the rye, 
 felled trees in the woods, yoked the oxen, and 
 hauled to the door the winter's supply of fuel for the 
 fire. Mrs. Sanger was not an exceptional woman ; 
 there were other wives and mothers in Willington 
 as energetic and patriotic as she. 
 
 An eleven-year old lioy, son of Rev. Gideon Nolile, 
 the second minister of the Congregational Church, 
 went as fifer in one of the military companies from 
 this town. It was thought that he would want to 
 return home by the time he had reached New York, 
 and his friends expected that he would return ; but 
 he eontinued with the company throughout the 
 war. He was the pet of the soldiers, and he was 
 so small that they often carried him on their 
 shoulders while marching. 
 
 Abraham Weston, another Willington boy, went 
 as drummer in the same company. He was only 
 fourteen years old. 
 
 For man}' years after its settlement the business 
 of tlie town was aluiost entirely farming, and has 
 l)een mainly that always. Aljout sixty years ago a 
 glass-factory was Ijuilt in the western part of the 
 town, which was for a number of years a prominent 
 industrv. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF COXXECTICL'T. 
 
 143 
 
 Aliout forty years ago Messrs. Dale & Co. erectffl 
 a silk-mill uu Fenton river, in tlie soutlieast part of 
 "Willington, and a little village .soon grew up around 
 the mill, wliieli -went and still goes liy the name of 
 Daleville. For a few years a large l)Usiness was 
 done there, but ehanges occurred and the enterprise 
 ceased. For a numl)er of years that neighborhocjd 
 was so nearly deserted that it strongly reinintled 
 one of "Goldsmith's Deserted Villages." Witliin 
 a few years this jjniperty has been purchased by 
 another company who are now manufacturing 
 Ijcaver elotJi in the old silk-null, and the village 
 again has the appearance of activity. 
 
 Not far from the time that the silk factory was 
 established at Daleville, Messrs. Elisha Johnson, 
 Origen Hall, Otis Dimmick and others formed a 
 company for the manufacture of cotton spool- 
 thread, in the southwest jiart of the town. It was 
 one of the first establishments of the kind in the 
 United States. For a number of years the works 
 bad lain idle, when, at the commencement of the 
 late war, Gardiner Hall, Jr., & Co. purchased the 
 property and commenced manufacturing thread 
 again in the old mill. This part of Willingtou has 
 been greatly changed and improved within a few 
 years. This village goes by the name of "South 
 Willington," and it is now altogether the most 
 flourishing part of the town. 
 
 For many years after tlie organization of tlie town 
 the Congregational church was the only one in 
 Willington. But during the latter part of the 
 second minister's pastorate, a Baptist church was 
 organized in the north part of the town, and a 
 meeting-house was erected. 
 
 Several years later another Bajitish church was 
 organized on Willington Hill. After the fourth 
 pastor of the Congregational church — Rev. Hubbel 
 Loomis — had filled the pastorate to the acceptance 
 of his people twenty-four years, his doctrinal views 
 underwent a change, and he became a Baptist. 
 Mr. Loomis was a man of educati(3n, talent and 
 strong influence, and was greatly Ijeloved by his 
 people, and soon l>rought nearly one-half of the 
 church and society over to his views ; and so the 
 Baptist elnirch was formed on the hill, and a meet- 
 ing-house was soon erected near the Congregational 
 church. The Baptists in the north part of the town 
 united with this clnnch, and worship in the old 
 Baptist house was abandoned. In ISTS, this church 
 celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its orgnaiza- 
 tion. 
 
 There has also been for many years a Methodist 
 church in the northeast part of the town. 
 
 The (!ougregatif)nal church established a Sunday 
 school in 1815, which, it is said, is the oldest Sun- 
 day school in Tolland County. 
 
 VVilliugton claims as one of its most distinguished 
 sons. Rev. Jared S[)arks, a Unitarian clergyman, a 
 voluminous historical and liiographical writer, and 
 president of Harvard College from 18-19 to lS,5-.>. 
 He was Ijorn May 10, 1T8'J, and died at Cambridge 
 March 14, 1800. 
 
 Elias Loomis, professor of natural |)hilosophy 
 and astronomy in Yale College, and author of sev- 
 eral valuable textbooks, is a native of Willington, 
 and son of Rev. Hul)l)el Loomis. 
 
 The population of Willington in lS80was 1,080. 
 
 Columbia lies above the valley of Hop River, 
 which forms its northern bonmlarY- It is l>v con- 
 
 siderable climbing that one mounts from this valley 
 to the broad, level tract on whi(^h the village is 
 situated. This is a very i^leasant street and pre- 
 sents an agreeable picture of what the centre of an 
 ancient farming-town becomes, where tlie chief 
 and only l>usiness is farming, and there has come 
 to be a cluster or street of fai'mers' houses more 
 closely togetlier tlian in other parts of the town, 
 with the meeting-house, the house for tlie enter- 
 tainment of travelers, the store, the parsonage, and 
 the do(t<ir's office nestled among the white-painted, 
 green blinded, and sometimes vine-embowered 
 dwelling-houses. 
 
 For eighty-eight years after its separate organiza- 
 tion as an ecclesiastical society, Columbia was a 
 j)art of Lebanon, and was called the Second Eccle- 
 siastical Society of Lelninon. This part of Lebanon 
 went liy the name of Lebanon Crank. This eccle- 
 siastical society was constituted in ITIO, and con- 
 tinued the second society in Lebanon until 1804, 
 when Columbia became a distinct town. Although 
 it remained in its minority, so to speak, through 
 the eighteenth century, it nevertheless became 
 widely known as an ecclesiastical society, and its 
 independent history really dates back far beyond 
 the time of its organization as a town. For, ije- 
 sides its due quota of fathers and sons and brothers 
 given to the cause of national independence, the 
 events of which Dr. Wheelock was the central 
 figure and moving sjjirit, have given to Columbia 
 an eminent name among the towns of Tolland 
 County. 
 
 In the Revolutionary war it counted only as a 
 part of Lebanon in all its relations to the common- 
 wealth of Connecticut. At least si.\ty-four jjersons 
 went into active service from this parish. And of 
 these, fourteen were killed or died in the army. 
 Tlie soldierly spirit was not exhausted in this gen- 
 eration. During the war of 1812 the people of the 
 town of Columljia were quick to respond to the 
 Gill for the defense of New London. There is an 
 accredited tradition, the Rev. F. D. Avery, of 
 Columbia, tells us, that as soon as the news of the 
 burning of New Loudon reached the place, at the 
 hour of some religious service, Mr. Brockway, the 
 pastor of the church, .started off with his long gun 
 and deacons and parishioners to assist in doing 
 battle with the enemy. 
 
 In the civil war eight of this town's st)ldier,s 
 died in the service. 
 
 The Cougi-egational Church, which has been 
 from the first to this day the only church in 
 Columbia, was organized in 1720, and on the 
 same day Samuel Smith was ordained pastor. 
 
 The thii-d pastor was Eleazer Wheelock, emi- 
 nent for his activity and his sympathy with the 
 Crreat Awakening of 1742 and the following 
 years, and for his interest in the education of 
 Indian youth. 
 
 This interest was awakened by the coming to 
 him one day in December, 1743, a young Indian 
 sachem named Samson Occum, soliciting in- 
 struction. Oecum proved so apt a scholar that 
 Mr. Wheelock took up the jn-oject of training 
 Indian youth to become missionaries among 
 theii' own j)eople. To encourage this enterprise 
 Mr. Joshua Moor, of Mansfield, gave a lot of 
 land near the centre of the pari.sh. A school- 
 house was built, the frame of which is still pre- 
 
144 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 served iu the frame of the i^resent school-house 
 on the green. 
 
 The school was fairly stai-ted in 1754. Indian 
 youth from the Delawares, Mohawks, and other 
 tribes, resorted hither to obtain an education. 
 White students were also received into the 
 school in numbers about equal to the Indians. 
 Sometimes there were more than twenty in the 
 school. Many of the Indians became teachers 
 in theii- tribes. Occum only became an ordained 
 minister. But several of the white students 
 went to college and became missionaries among 
 the Indians. " And here in Lebanon Crank, says 
 Mr. Averv in his centennial sermon, were or- 
 dained first in Connecticut, missionaries to the 
 heathen. 
 
 Mr. "Wlieelock's school was sustained and the 
 missionaries were supported by appropriations 
 from the General Courts in Connecticut and 
 Massachusetts, and by funds from England to 
 the amount of £7,000" of which the king gave 
 £200, and from the Scottish Society for prop- 
 agating Christian knowledge. In acknowledg- 
 ment of Mr. Moor's generous donation, Mr. 
 Wheelock called the school "Moor's Indian 
 Charity School." 
 
 Out ' of Samson Occum's application to Mr. 
 ■^Tieelock for instruction grew Dartmouth Col- 
 lege ; for the government of New Hampshii-e 
 invited Mr. "^Tieelock to remove to Hanover to 
 establish a college in that place. He consented 
 to do so, and in 1770 took his family and school 
 to Hanover. The funds contributed in England 
 to the Indian school were intrusted to a Board, 
 of which the Earl of Dartmouth was the presi- 
 dent. And from this circumstance, although 
 the earl himself was opposed to the removal of 
 the school from Columbia, the new institution 
 was called Dartmouth College. 
 
 The situation of Columbia has made it for the 
 most part a farming towu. There has been, how- 
 ever, for over forty years, a cotton-mill at Hop 
 River, which has grown in recent years under the 
 proprietorship of W. Curtis Jillson, into its present 
 thriving condition. It now goes by the name of 
 the " Hop River Warp Manufacturing Company." 
 It has been for several years the chief manufactur- 
 ing industry of the town. Previous to this there 
 was a carding-mill near tliat place. 
 
 There was also in former years considerable busi- 
 ness in the town in the manufacture of cheap 
 woolen hats. Fur hats were also made here at 
 one time, on a small scale. 
 
 Hon. Dwight Loomis of Rockville, who was 
 elected representative to Congress from the first 
 congressional district of Connecticut, in 1859, and 
 re-elected in 1861, was born and reared in Columbia. 
 
 The population of the town is about 800. 
 
 Union. — The first settlement was made in 1737 
 by William McNall, .John Lawson and James 
 Shearer from Ireland. The town was incorporated 
 in 1734. 
 
 In 1738 the first meeting-house was erected in the 
 town, and tlie s mie year the Congregational church 
 was constituted, audithe Rev. Ebenezer Wymanwas 
 ordained jjastor. The ordination services were held 
 in a jn ivate dwelling, as the meeting-house was not 
 sufficieutlv complete at that time for this purpose. 
 It appears that tlie Puritan element was, almost 
 
 from the first, well represented T)y settlers who 
 came from some of the oldest Puritan towns of 
 New England, notwitlistaudmg Union's pioneer 
 settlers were Scotch-Irish from the north of Ireland, 
 and were probably Scotch Presbyterians of tlie .Jolm 
 Knox and Covenanters' stamp. 
 
 Union ranks among the smallest towns, both iu 
 area and population in the county — in fact iu the 
 State; but its history shows that it has contributed 
 its full quota to the advancement and prosperitv of 
 tlie republic ; 146 persons from this town served in 
 the war of the Revolution ; and iu 1774 the total 
 population of Union was only 514. 
 
 Union is chiefly a farming community, but the 
 soil is hard to till and unproductive, compared 
 with some portions of the county. The tliriftiest 
 of pine and hemlock trees grow here. They are 
 indigenous, and formerly they were to be found in 
 every part of the town. It is said that Union has 
 jjroduced more pine and hemlock lumljer than all 
 of the rest of Tolland County. The lural)er business 
 has been, and still is an important industry of the 
 town. Thirty years ago, or more, tlie domestic 
 manufacture of boots and shoes was carried on to 
 a limited extent. 
 
 Mashapaug Pond, covering 800 acres, with its clear 
 waters overshadowed with evergreen trees, is an 
 attractive featme. 
 
 The nearest railroad station to Union is at Staf- 
 ford Springs, about six miles from the centre of 
 town. 
 
 Among some of the distinguished men who orig- 
 inated in Union was .lesse Olney (1798-1872), at 
 one time a j)opular school-teacher in Hartford, tlie 
 author of a number of valuable sciiool-ljooks, and 
 for several years comptroller of the State, and Rev. 
 Charles Hammond, LL.D., widely known as the 
 principal of Monson Academy, Mass. Jlr. Ham- 
 mond was bom June 15, 1813, and died November 
 7, 1878. 
 
 In 1880 the population of Union was 539. 
 
 Bolton is situated on the western brow of the 
 hills of Tolland County. The scenery from some 
 of the hills is exceedingly beautiful. 
 
 Settlements began to be made in Bolton about 
 the year 1717, by two or three different parties, 
 coming from Windsor, Wethersfield. and Hartford. 
 It was made a distinct town in 1720. As was the 
 universal custom in the towns of the Colonies, im- 
 mediately after' Settlement. Bolton's first care was to 
 establish tlie regular public worshij) of God. There 
 is a record that Jonathan Edwards preached there 
 in 1722, and received a call to settle. In November, 
 1723, the following record is entered, in his hand- 
 writing, upon the town records: "Upon the terms 
 that are here recorded I do consent to be the settled 
 pastor of the town of Bolton. Jonatlian Edwards. " 
 Mr. Edwards" appointment to a tutorship in Yale 
 College seems to have broken up this arrangement. 
 
 Mr. Thomas White, the first settled pastor of 
 this people, was ordained and installed in Hi'), 
 and the church was probaiily organized at tlie same 
 time. 
 
 Rev. George Colton, the second pastor of this 
 church, was installed in 1763. He died in 1812. 
 Jlr. Colton was distinguished for his eccentricity 
 and piety. He is said to have been six feet and .seven 
 inches in height, and he was familiarly called the 
 
HE VIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 145 
 
 /(/;//( priest of Bolton. It is said that, lie publislied in 
 rliynie, from his pulpit, his own marriage banns. 
 
 Two companies went from Bolton on the Lexing- 
 t(m alarm in 177.') — one of tliirty-iive men, and one 
 of twenty-eight. 
 
 Wlien Dr. Samuel I'cters, rector of the Episcopal 
 church in Ilebion, was moljbed for being so out- 
 spoken in defense of the arbitrary acts of Parlia- 
 ment, and for his false representations, a large 
 number of Bolton men were present and took part 
 in forcing a recantation from him. 
 
 From an early ])erioil in the jiresent century, the 
 principal occupation of the town, aside from farm- 
 ing, has l)een tlie quarrying of flag-stone. The 
 stone is a bright, light gr.iy, a species of slate, and 
 is very strong and enduring. Jlore stones for flag- 
 ging purposes have been sent out from these quar- 
 ries than from any otlier in the State. About 1812 
 this stone was used considerably for gravestones. 
 
 Fifty years ago, Mr. Duthon Avery of this place 
 carried on the cabinet-making business quite 
 largely for a country town, and peo]ile from all 
 the towns in tlie vicinity used to go there forhouse- 
 hold furniture, coffins, etc Mr. Avery took in 
 farmers' produce in exchange for his goods. 
 
 The following copy, from one of Mr. Avery's 
 old day-books, exhiljits tlie manner of traflicking 
 in those days, and some of the old-time prices : 
 
 Phineas Carver, Dr. 
 
 To a Coftin for your Child 67 
 
 Mother 4 50 
 
 Wife 4 50 
 
 To Cambric for Shroud 50 
 
 CJredit. 
 
 By a Saddle. 
 
 '• Mending wagon harness. 
 
 •' i day's work mowing. 
 
 " forty-five and a half pounds of beef at 6c. 
 
 " Eight pounds it si.x ounces cheese at 4c. 
 
 " Making two wagon harnesses. 
 
 The late Hon. Julius L. Strong, a member of 
 Congress in 1869, was a native of Bolton. 
 Tlie population of the town in 1880 was 512. 
 Andover is the youngest town in Tolland County. 
 As a distinct parish, however, it is much older than 
 the county, having been incorporated as a second 
 ecclesiastical society in May, 1747. The territory 
 of the new parish was taken from the three towns 
 of Hebron, Coventry and Lebanon. This parish, 
 
 Dr. Sprague thinks, was called Andover because 
 the original settlers were from Andover, Mass. It 
 consisted of sixty-eight members, called "house- 
 holders." 
 
 At an early date it was voted that a committee 
 of four '"go fortliwith and see out for a preacher 
 to iireach the gospel in tliis society. " Mr. Samuel 
 Loclvwood was ordained and installed as pastor of 
 tlie eliurch, Fel). 25, 174!). 
 
 His ministry continued till his death in 1791, and 
 during the whole of this period the parish seems to 
 have been in a state of great and growing prosper- 
 ity. In 1790, the degree of Doctor of Divinity 
 was conferred upon him by his alma mater, Yale 
 College. This Congregational church of Andover 
 had the common experience of long pastorates in 
 the early period of Connecticut Congregationalism. 
 Wlicn its one hundredth anniversary came, its 
 fourth pastor was then serving the twentieth year 
 of liis pastorate. 
 
 .\iidover was not incorporated as a town until 
 1848. Its civil history previous to this year is 
 therefore in part that of Hebron. 
 
 The cliief manufacturing industry has been the 
 making of paper. The liusiness is now entirely 
 farming. 
 
 Amimg the sons of Andover was William B. 
 Sprague, D. D., a distinguished minister, and an 
 autlior of various works. 
 
 The po|)ulatiou of the town in 1880 was 428. 
 
 Ellington was originally a part of the township 
 of East Windsor, called the Great Marsh, It was 
 not until aljout seventy-five years after the settle- 
 ment began on the east side of the Connecticut 
 lliver, that any settlers located them.selves in the 
 part now called Ellington. The present town in- 
 cludes what was formerly known as " Equivalent 
 Lands." This tract of 7,250 acres was granted by 
 the General Court, in 1716, to the town of Wind- 
 sor, as a recompense for a loss by that town of some 
 7,000 acres of land in the adjustment of the liound- 
 ary line between Connecticut and Massachusetts. 
 
 Rev. John McKinstry, the first minister of Elling- 
 ton, was educated in Scotland, and settled here in 
 1733. The |)rincipal settlers came from Scotland 
 and the north of Ireland. Ellington is largely a 
 farming town, and tobacco is raised to a consider- 
 aljle extent. The western section is well supplied 
 with water-power. The Windermere factory pro- 
 duces cassimeres and broadcloths. 
 
 The population of the town in isso was 1,569. 
 
M...Ms{ 
 
 
 
WINDHAM COUNTY. 
 
 In 1726, ten towns iu the northeast corner of 
 Connecticut, i)revioasly includecl in the counties of 
 Hartforil and Xew London, were erected into the 
 county of 'Windlwim. Union and AVoodstock were 
 sul)sec|Uently added ; Manstield, t'ovcntry, Leijauon, 
 Union and Columliia taken away; and several of 
 tlie original towns divided. Sixteen towns — 
 AVoodslock, Tliom])son, Putnam, Fomfret, Brook- 
 lyn, Killingly, Sterling, Plainfield, Canterbury, East- 
 ford, Ashford. Chaplin, Hampton, Windham, Scot- 
 land and Voluntown — form tlie present Windham 
 County. Its average length is about twenty-six 
 miles and its breadth nearly nineteen miles. Its 
 area comprises a little less than 5-i3 square miles. 
 
 Tlie greater part of this tract of country prior to 
 English settlement was included in Xipnet — the 
 Fresh-water country — the inland region between the 
 A.tlantic coast and the Connecticut River. It was 
 sparsely occupied l>y the scattered tril)elcts or 
 families of Xipmucks or Xipnets, altliougU tlie 
 land east of the Qiiiiiebaug was also claimed by 
 Jiarragansets. The northern part of tliis contested 
 strip was Mahniunsiiung — the Wlietstone country. 
 Land now included in the towns of Sterling, Plain- 
 field, and Canterbury was the Quinebaug country, 
 and Its residents were known as (Jninebaugs. The 
 tract west of the Quinebaug River, and north of 
 the Quinebaug country, was Wabbaquasset — the 
 niaf-producing country. 
 
 Acquittimaug of Wabliaquasset is the first Wind- 
 ham County inhabitant of whom we have record. 
 In the winter of 1680-^1, news came to this people 
 that a company of Englishmen had come to the 
 Bay who were in great want of corn, and would 
 pay a good price for it. The fertile hills and valleys 
 of the future Woodstock were already noted for 
 their large production of this aboriginal staple. 
 With each a bushel or more of corn upon their 
 backs, Acquittimaug and other Indians toiled 
 through the wilderness to the infant settlement at 
 Boston, and were joyfully welcomed by tlie needy 
 colonists. Acquittimaug lived about ninety-five 
 years after this incident, and when, in extreme old 
 age, he visited Boston, he was welcomed and gen- 
 erously entertained by some of the chief dignitaries 
 of the JIassachusetts Colony. 
 
 Tlie Windliam County territory became known to 
 the English with the first settlement of Connecticut. 
 It lay directly in the route from Bostou to Hart- 
 ford, a part of that " hideous and trackless wilder- 
 ness" traversed by the first colonists. A rude 
 track, called tlie Connecticut Path, obliquely cross- 
 ing what is now Thompson, Woodstock, Eastford 
 and Ashford, became the main thoroughfare of 
 travel Ijetween the JIassachusetts and Connecticut 
 colonies. Yet for fifty years no settlement was 
 effected within the limits of the county, and the 
 aborigines remained in undisfjuted possession of 
 
 the territory. They were subject clans of little 
 spirit or distinctive character. Their number was 
 small. A few families occupied the favorable local- 
 ities, while large sections were left vacant and des- 
 olate. Large tracts were Ijurned over every year 
 and kept open, to furnish pasture for deer. Game 
 and fish aliounded in wood, lake and river. The 
 principal rivers, lakes and hills bore the names that 
 still distinguish them. An Indian trail, known as 
 Nipmuck Path, ran soutli from Wabbaquasset to 
 the sea-shore. The Greenwich Path crossed east- 
 ward from the Quinebaug to Xarragauset. A few 
 rude forts were l>uilt and maintained in various 
 localities. 
 
 As the Blohegans increased in power, they laid 
 claim, under various pretexts, to the greater ])art of 
 this territory. The timid and peace-loving Wal)ba- 
 quassets readily acknowledged allegiance to Uncas, 
 and "'paid him liomage and obligations and yearly 
 tribute of white deer-skins, bear-skins and l)lack 
 wolf-skins." With the Quinebaugs Uncas was less 
 successful. His right to their allegiance was dis- 
 puted by the Narragansets. Pessacus, alias Moosup, 
 brother and successor to Miantonomo, asserted his 
 right to tlie Quinebaug country, affixing his name 
 to the largest branch of the Quinebaug. For many 
 years the land was in contention, the distracted in- 
 habitants yielding homage to whichever chieftain 
 chanced to be in the ascendency. Tradition tells 
 of various bloody rencontres and one distinct battle 
 lietween the natives. 
 
 While the Indians east of the Quinebaug were 
 thus contending, those on the west were yiekling to 
 better infiuences. The most noteworthy incidents 
 of Windham's aboriginal history were connected 
 with the ministry of the great Indian apostle, John 
 Eliot. Young Indians, trained by liiiii at X'^atick, 
 went out as missionaries into the Nipmuck wilder- 
 ness. The simple and tractable Walibaquassets 
 hearkened willingly unto the Gospel thus presented 
 and many were jjersuaded to unite in church estate, 
 and assume some of the habits of civilization. 
 They observed the Sabbath, gathered into villages, 
 and built ■wigwams, the like of which were seen 
 nowhere else in New England. Thirty families 
 were gathered at what was called Wabliaquasset 
 Village, now in the south part of Woodstock ; 
 twenty families at ^lyanexet, on the Quinebaug, in 
 or near the north part of Woodstock ; and twenty 
 families of X'ipmucks at Quinnatisset, now Thomp- 
 son Hill. These villages and churches were under 
 the care and guidance of Sampson, a hopeful, pious 
 and active young man. In 1(174 he was enc(mraged 
 and strengthened by a visit from Mr. Eliot, who, 
 with Maj. Daniel Gookin, magistrate over the 
 Praying Indians, came to contirm the churches, 
 settle teachers over them, and establish civil govern- 
 ment. They found peace, order and a friendly 
 
148 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 welcome in eacli of the praying villages. Mr. 
 Eliot preached in Myanexet, and gave them .John 
 M()i|ua for their teacher. ' ■ A sober and pious 
 young man of Naticlv, called Daniel," was appointed 
 minister for Quinnatisset. At Wabbaquasset, where 
 he ]jasscd tlie night, Eliot was warmly welcomed 
 by the teacher, Samijson, and entertained in the 
 spacious wigwam of the sagamore. On tlie follow- 
 ing morning, Sept. 16, 1674, a great meeting was 
 held in Wabbaquasset Village. All the Praying 
 Indians from the different villages were there, and 
 many others. An opening religious service was 
 conducted h\ Mr. Eliot, and then a "' court" was 
 held by Maj. Gookin, estalilishing civil government 
 among the natives. The teaclier Sampson was 
 ap])roved as their minister, and Bhiclv .James of 
 Chaubougagum installed over them as constable. 
 Having tlms settled religious and civil institutions, 
 Mr. Eliot and his friends ))ade adieu and journeyed 
 homewards, greatly pleased witli tlie progress of 
 Christianity and civilization among this tractable 
 and friendly people, Seventy families had been 
 reclaimed from heatlienism. 
 
 These hoj)eful prospects were soon lilighted. 
 The Narraganset war .swept away the restilts of 
 years of missionary labor. The villages were 
 destroyed, the churches bi'okeu up, and the 
 Praying Indians relapsed into savages. The 
 Nii)mucks east of the Quiuebaug joined the Isar- 
 ragansets ; the terrified Wabliaqiiassets left their 
 pleasant homes and jjlanting fields and threw 
 themselves under the protection of Uneas at 
 Mohegan. No l)attle or skirmish occurred dur- 
 ing the war within Windham County territory, 
 but it was repeatedly traversed and ravaged by 
 scouting and foraging jiarties. Great quantities 
 of com and beans, stately wigwams, the like of 
 which had not been seen, and the several forts 
 were all demolished. The close of the war 
 found the Nipmucks almost annihilated. Those 
 that were left sought refuge with distant triV;)es. 
 The Wabbaquasset.? remained for a time at Mo- 
 hegan. The aboriginal inhabitants of the future 
 Windham were scattered or destroyed, and their 
 territory left to English occupation. 
 
 The first English pro])rietor within Windham 
 County territory was Governor John Winthrop, 
 of New London, who, in 1653, secured from 
 Hyems and Massasshowett a gi'ant of the Quine- 
 baug country. The validity of this conveyance 
 was extremely doubtful. The grantors were 
 renegade Narragansets, exercising a delegated 
 authority, with no legal title to the land con- 
 veyed. The General Court of Connecticut, how- 
 ever, "allowed the governor his Indian purchase 
 at Quinebaug, and gave him liberty to erect 
 thereon a plantation ; " but the Indian troubles 
 23revented settlement. After the restoration of 
 peace, the Massachusetts government opened 
 negotiations with the remaining Nipmucks, and 
 February 10, 1682, secured a deed of the whole 
 Nipmuck country, allowing to the Indians a five- 
 mile reservation. A full half of this reservation 
 was immediately made over by them to Gover- 
 nors Josejih Dudley and William Stoughton, 
 who had served as commissioners in the transac- 
 tion. Dudley's fine farm was laid out in the 
 Quiuebaug Valley, and was afterwards included 
 in the towns of Thompson and Dudley. Five 
 
 thousand acres at Quinnatisset, emliracing what 
 is now Thompson HO! and its vicinity, were 
 conveyed to Stoughton, laid out in farms, and 
 sold the following year to Robert Thompson 
 and Thomas Freak, of England. Tracts of land 
 in Quinnatisset were also granted by the Massa- 
 chusetts government to other jiroprietors. 
 
 Connecticut's share of Windham County terri- 
 tory was mostly approjjriated by Uncas and his 
 representatives. To his son Owaneco was as- 
 signed the whole Wabbaquasset country and 
 rights in the Quiuebaug country. This chief- 
 tain was a drunken, worthless fellow, of no sta- 
 bility or force of character. Swarms of greedy 
 land hunters now gathered around him, eager to 
 obtain jjossession of his land upon any pretext. 
 Conscious of his own inaliility to manage his 
 great possessions, Owaneco yielded to the jjer- 
 suasious of his friends and accepted the younger 
 James Fitch of Norwich as his guardian. 
 
 The wliole Wabbaquasset country was formally 
 conveyed to him in 1689. Tlie landed interests of 
 Windham County were tlius to a great degree vest- 
 ed in the hands of one individual, destined to play 
 an important part in its settlement and develop- 
 ment. 
 
 Towns. 
 
 The first white inhabitant of the present town of 
 Windham (population 8,000), was one John Gates, 
 an English refugee, hiding, according to tradi- 
 tional rejjort, from the spies of Andros. In the 
 autumn of 1688, he found his way into this desolate 
 wilderness, and passed the winter in a cave or cel- 
 lar, dug out by the hands of his faithful negro. 
 With tlie restoration of peace and charter govern- 
 ment in 1689, Gates came out of his hiding-place, 
 and purchased a tract of land. The second re- 
 ported settler was Jonathan Giunings. He was 
 soon followed by Joshua and Jeremiah Ripley of 
 Hingham, Mass., May 12, 1692, the jjlantation 
 was granted the liberty of a township, to be called 
 Windham, and June 12, a town government was 
 organized. Only fifteen citizens were then reported, 
 but their number increased rapidly. The gi-eat 
 size of the town occasioned its first serious diffi- 
 culty. A controversy ensuing in regard to the 
 location of tlie church, resulted in a division of the 
 town in May, 1703, the north part of AVindham 
 being formally erected into the town of Mansfield. 
 A church had previously been formed, December 
 10, 1700, and Mr. Samuel Whiting ordained as its 
 pastor. A meeting-house in Windham Green was 
 completed in 1703. 
 
 The first settler in the northeast section, now 
 Hampton, was David Canada, a reputed Welshman. 
 Many sterling JIassachusetts families settled in this 
 vicinity on Appaquage Hill and River. The diffi- 
 culty of attending public worship at Windham 
 Green led these northern settlers to ask for society 
 privileges, and in 1717 a religious society was there 
 organized. This section was known as Canada 
 Parish, and also as Windham Village, and a churcli 
 was gathered there in 1723. A third religious 
 society was set off in 1732, in the southeast section 
 of the town, known as Scotland Parish, and a 
 churcli organized in 1735. 
 
 AVindham Green continued to increase in influence 
 and importance as the seat of town government and 
 
IiEVIE^\■ OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICCT. 
 
 149 
 
 business centre of a liirge seetion. A Court of Pio- 
 l)atc was estal)lislH'd here in ITl'.l. ('apt. .lobn Fiteli. 
 juclire. In 1720 Windliam was maoctlie shire town 
 of the newly constituted Windliam County. The 
 first Court of Common Pleas was held June 20. 
 Timothy Pierce of Plainfield was appointed judye. 
 A jail and state liouse were soon erected, and tlie 
 town soon received a fresh impetus. Iron works 
 were nowestablisliedat Williniantic Falls, andotiier 
 manufactures. The First Church of Windliam was 
 particularly tlourishiui; at this time. A very remark- 
 alile religious awakening had been enjoyed during 
 the last years of Mr. Whiting's ministry. His suc- 
 cessor, Mr. Tlumias Clap of Scituate, was a young 
 man of uncommon administrative ability, who 
 brought the whole population under stringent 
 watcli and discipline. Every head of a household 
 was connected with tlie church, either by profession 
 of faith or owning the covenant. Family prayer 
 was oliserved in every household, and every child 
 consecrated by baptism. Profane swearing was but 
 little known, and open violation of the Sabbath 
 very rare. In 178!) Windham was comiiellcd to re- 
 sign her distinguished miuister to the iiresidencj' of 
 Yale College. He was succeeded by Mr. Stephen 
 White, a young man of very dissimilar character. 
 It was about this time that Windham's famous 
 "Frog Panic," more widely kuown tlian any event 
 in its early history, occurred. War between Eng- 
 land and France was imminent. Indians were alert 
 and turbulent, ready to join in the first outbreak. 
 One night the residents of Windham Crreen were 
 aroused from their .slumbers by the most ajipalling 
 and unearthly sounds — an indescribable hubbub and 
 tumult, that seemed to fill tlie heaveus and shake 
 the earth. Some thought it an earthquake ; some 
 thought the Day of Judgment was at hand. Others 
 seized upon the more natural, Ijut hardly less ap- 
 ))alling, explanation that an army of French and 
 Indians was marching u|)on them. Consternation 
 and terror fell upon all. and the night was passed 
 in anxious suspense, not to say frantic lamentation. 
 The morning dawned at length, and brought a 
 ludicrous solution of the mystery. The unearthly 
 clamor and uproar had been produced by a chorus 
 of frogs, excited in some mysterious way to a pre- 
 ternatural activity. This story of AVindham's tragic 
 alarm flew all over the country, with innumerable 
 additions and exaggerations. It was sung in song ; 
 it was related in history; it served as a standing 
 joke upon cvei-y native of Windham. A letter to 
 President Stiles fixes the date of this incident as 
 prior to July 'J, 1754. 
 
 The military spirit for which Windliam was 
 always noted found ample exercise during the 
 French and Indian war. Many of its citizms 
 served with distinction in numerous bloody cam- 
 paigns. Public affairs and political issues engrossed 
 more and more of their attention. No peojile were 
 filled with more patriotic fervor, and move ready to 
 engage in the great struggle for American liberties. 
 They resjionded to the first summons from Boston 
 by remiuncing the use of all imported articles not 
 absolutely essential. At a fashionable wedding 
 in 1708, bride and guests wore home-spun, and 
 all the refreshments were home-made. As agi- 
 tation went on, the Windham boys were fon-most 
 in ojiposition to imposts and Tories. When the 
 port of Boston was closed, Windham's instant 
 
 offering of a small flock of 258 sheep was 
 the first succor received by the distressed 
 Bostonians. Througliout the long Uevolutionary 
 struggle she was oiiually ready and faithful. 
 I)yer, Ehlcrkin and Wales sewed day and night 
 ill C'onnecticut's Committee of Safety. Grav 
 and Kldcrkin make jxiwder in their mills at Wii- 
 limantic. Huntington made the first ^uu turned 
 out of an American workshoj), and rejiaired the 
 wretched firearms carried by the common sol- 
 diers. Hundreds of brave men iieriled their 
 lives in camp and battle, sustained and encour- 
 aged by the jjrayers and sympathy of thousands 
 of \\'indham woiU"U, as patriotic and devoted as 
 themselves. 
 
 With the establishment of independence, 
 Windham entered uiion a new era of growth and 
 2)ros])erity, her citizens engaging with such 
 s|)irit in various business enterprises that she 
 was reijorted '• to exceed any inland town in the 
 State in trade and merchandise." Avast amount 
 of jiroduce was raised and sent to market. Sjie- 
 cial industries were developed in difl'erent neigh- 
 liorhoods. Exjjerimeuts were made in sOk rais- 
 ing and manufacture. In 1791 Windham issued its 
 first newspaper, " The Phenix," or "Windham 
 Herald," printed by John Byrne, which attained 
 extensive circulation throughout the country. 
 Before 1800 the first jiost-offiee was opened, John 
 Byrne postmaster. An academy had also been 
 opened. The venerable Stephen White died in 
 1798, after a ministry of fifty-two years. He was 
 succeeded V>y Rev. Elijah Waterman, a young 
 man of great energy, active in jn-omoting new 
 measures and public interests. Foremo.st among 
 AVinilham's pulilic men of this generation was 
 Zejianiah Swift, one of the ablest lawyers in 
 Connecticut. 
 
 In 1819, ■" bill was passed, transferring the 
 courts of .t'indham County to the town of 
 Brooklyn. Windham had prc-\-i()Usly lost more 
 than half her original territory by the formation 
 of new towns. To the loss of prestige and posi- 
 tion was now added a transference of business 
 interests from the Green to the Willimantic — 
 the younger settlement attaining leadersliii). 
 
 riainfield (4,000)— The settlement of this town 
 was contemporaneous with that of Windham. 
 The beautiful valley of the Quinebaug, with its 
 open hiU-slopes and bountiful yield tif corUjOlTered 
 great attrac'tion to settlers, esjiecially as its 
 Indian inhabitants, though vei-y numerous, were 
 most tractable and frienilly. 
 
 Timothy and Thomas Pierce, Thomas Wil- 
 liams, Edward, Joseph and Benjamin Spalding 
 were among the east-side settlers. Major Fitch, 
 Samuel Adams, Elisha Paine and others settled 
 oil the west side. In 1(569 the Quinebaug Plan- 
 tation was invested with town privileges. The 
 Governor, Fitz John Winthrop, gave the new 
 town the name of Plainfield. The first care of 
 the town was to call a minister, Mr. Joseph Coit, 
 of N(n'wieh, who held religious services statedly 
 iu private houses. 
 
 In consequence of the difficiiity of crossing 
 the Quinebaug River in winter and during high 
 water, for the purpose of attending meeting, tlie 
 town, iu October, 1703, was <livided, the territory 
 
150 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 webt of the river lieing erected into the to-n-nship 
 of Cauterbury. 
 
 The tranquility of Plainfield was most griev- 
 ously disturbed by controversies growing out of 
 the great awalvening of 1740. A i^leasing feature 
 of the revival was its effect upon the sur\-iving 
 Quiuebaugs, who were "not only filled with 
 knowledge of ye way of Salvation," but reformed 
 in their ways of living and abstained from drink- 
 ing. Dissenting from some of the doctrines and 
 practices of the established church, and especial- 
 ly from the payment of the minister liy rate or 
 tax, the new converts, after a time, organized as 
 a separate church. Mr. Coit was now old and 
 infirm. A majority of the town refused longer 
 to ]iay their assessments for his support. The 
 settlement of his successor was followed by a 
 most bitter and protracted contest, demoralizing 
 churches and town, and " sej^arating very friends 
 and brothers. " After a generation of strife and 
 contention, the churches finally hajipily united 
 in the choice of Kev. John Fuller, of Norwich, 
 all jiarties agreeing that the ministry should 
 thenceforth lie supported by voluntary contribu- 
 tion, without tax or coercion. This same con- 
 troversy jirevailed nearly throughout the county, 
 distracting and jirostrating many of even the 
 most prosperous churches on the territory. 
 
 Throughout the Revolutionary period Plain- 
 field was active and prominent. 
 
 Plainfield Academy was established during 
 this ijeriod. In 1778 Ebenezer Pemberton, of 
 Newport, was secured as its rector. Scholars 
 came in large numbers from Providence, New 
 York, New London and other places. For many 
 years this academy enjoyed a high reputation 
 under such distinguished teachers as Dr. Pem- 
 berton, John Adams, Benjamin Allen, Zechariali 
 Eddy, Timothy Pitkin, Calvin Goddard, Elij)ha- 
 let Nott, Binaldo Burleigh, and many others. 
 Dr. Joel Benedict, who succeeded Mr. Fuller in 
 the jjastorate at Plainfield, a man of high char- 
 acter and uncommon attainments, and Dr. Elisha 
 Perkins, one of the most noted jihysicians and 
 surgeons of his generation, were among the dis- 
 tinguished citizens of this town. 
 
 Plainfield embraces within its limits the flourish- 
 ing manufacturing villages of Central Village, 
 Jloosum and Wauiegun. 
 
 Canterbury (1,300) — The western part of the 
 Quinebaug Plantation, when endowed with town 
 privileges 1703, had but few inhabitants, but these 
 were men of character and position, well fitted to 
 manage the affairs of the town. Maj. Fitch was 
 long "the great man" of all the surrounding 
 country, and his Peagscommek liomestead, a very 
 noted estaljlishment, a rendezvous for land specu- 
 lators, civil and military oflBcials, and hordes of 
 idle Indians. Here courts were held, military 
 expeditions organized, and whole townships of 
 land bartered away. Maj. Fitch was for a time 
 one of the mostjjrominent men in Connecticut, and 
 had great personal and political influence; but his 
 immense land optratiuns, and his own violence and 
 lack of judgment, involved him in very serious 
 complications and quarrels. The claims of Fitch 
 and other large land-owners delayed the growth of 
 the town. " All the good land upon the Quine- 
 baug" had been mono23olized by these voracious 
 
 '■ hind-grabliers," and for a considerable period but 
 few persons succeeded in estaljlishing settlements. 
 Town records are lacking till 1717. Previous to 
 this date a meeting-house had been built, a church 
 organized, and Mr. Samuel Estaljrook ordained as 
 minister. Mr. Estabrook remained in charge of 
 the Canterbury cliurch till his deatli in 1727. 
 
 Canterl>ury was the scene of a remarkable 
 ecclesiastical controversy, growing out of the mem- 
 oral)le great awakening, to which reference has 
 already l)een made. A majority of the cluirch had 
 become what were termed New Lights — opponents 
 of the established or "standing order" church. 
 The Rev. James Cogswell, a candidate for settle- 
 ment over the Canterbury church, was strenuously 
 opposed to the new measures. The civil and ecclesias- 
 tical authorities, professing to have become alarmed 
 at the ungovernal)le fanaticism of the revivalists, 
 determined upon the revolutionar)', unconstitu- 
 tional, uncongregational, and hence utterly unau- 
 thorized measure of settling the candidate of the 
 minority. This flagrant violation of the rights of 
 the majority not unnaturally excited widespread 
 indignation, while the bold and persistent cham- 
 pionship on the part of the latter of the rights of 
 the majority and of pure Congregationalism, in 
 opposition to the arbitrary measures and assump- 
 tions of the authorities, elicited much admiration 
 and sympathy, and was the occasion of the organi- 
 zation of many societies on an entirely independ- 
 ent basis. 
 
 The persecution visited upon this new movement 
 significantly indicates the temper of the times. 
 Elisha and Solomon Paine, the acknowledged 
 leaders of the revival party in Canterliury, were 
 fined and imprisoned; their nephews, from Yale 
 College, for presuming, while at home in vacation, 
 to attend the religious services conducted by their, 
 uncles were expelled. One Obadiah Johnson, an 
 old and respected citizen, when chosen a represen- 
 tative of the town to the General Court liy a fair 
 majority, was expelled from his seat in the House 
 for being a member and officer of one of these 
 separate or independent organizations. 
 
 After the lapse of many j'ears, and the discon- 
 tinuance of this exciting and distracting contro- 
 versy, these "separate" societies either became 
 extinct, or were finally resolved into regular Con- 
 gregational churches. 
 
 Mr. Cogswell remained in charge of the Canter- 
 bury church till 1771. Among many pupils re- 
 ceived into his family were Naphtali Daggett, 
 afterwards president of Yale College, and Benedict 
 Arnold. The western part of Canterbury was in- 
 corporated as Westminster Society in 1770, and a 
 church organized the same year. Rev. John Stajiles 
 was ordained as its pastor in 1773, and continued 
 in charge till his death in 1807. 
 
 The most noted citizen of Canterbury during the 
 Revolutionary period was Moses, son of Capt. 
 Aaron Cleveland, who entered early upon the prac- 
 tice of law, and also engaged in extensive business 
 enterprises. He was agent for the Connecticut 
 Land Company, that settled the Western Reserve, 
 Ohio, and selected the site of the city of Cleveland, 
 which was named in his honor. 
 
 " Master John Adams," a very successful teacher, 
 principal for many years of Phillips Academy, 
 Andover, was another noted son of Canterbury, and 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OP CONNECTICUT. 
 
 151 
 
 won liis first laurels in his native town, where he 
 opened a liigh scliool in ITOU. Among many Can- 
 teiliuiT youtli, tlistinguislieil in after life, who were 
 jjupils of Master Adams, was .lolin Hough, pro- 
 lessor at Middlel)Ury College. Ebcnezer Fiteli, 
 tirst president of Williams College, was also a 
 native of this town. 
 
 In 1831!, Canterljury was brought very promi- 
 nently into notiee in connection witli the colored 
 school ojjened l)y Miss Prudence Crandall. Under 
 the patronage of leading men of the town. Miss 
 Crandall had previously establislied a young 
 ladies' seliool, which had been handsomely sus- 
 tained. The introduction of a young colored girl 
 gave great offense to the parents of her other 
 pupils, who tlireateucd to withdraw their daugliters. 
 Finding that she could not instruct both white and 
 colored together, Miss Crandall decided in favor of 
 the latter, and, after counseling with friends in 
 regard to the matter, threw open her scliool "for 
 young ladies and little misses of color." Indignant 
 at what they deemed a breach of good faith, the 
 former patrons of Miss Crandall made use of 
 "every argumentative effort to convince her of the 
 injustice audimjiroprietj^ of the jiroposed measure." 
 But having decided upon it from supreme conviction 
 of duty, nothing could change lier resolution. 
 Personal insults and violence and legal injunctions 
 were alike ineffectual. 'At length a vehement 
 jietitiou from Canterbury procured the enactment 
 of the celebrated "Black Law," by which all per- 
 sons were forbidden to estalilish a school for the 
 instruction of the colored persons not inliabitants of 
 the State, or teach in any scliool, or harbor or board 
 any colored person attending such school, under 
 very heavy i)enalties. Undismayed by this op])osi- 
 tion and persecution in most annoying forms. Miss 
 Crandall went calmly on witli her school, supported 
 by her own indomitable spirit, and the smypathy 
 and material aid of prominent Abolitionists. 
 Arrested upon charge of Ijrcaking the newly 
 enacted law. Miss Crandall suffered herself to be 
 Ciirried to jail for a night, to awaken public 
 sympathy and indignation. A final trial was held 
 before the Court of Errors, .July, 1834, when the 
 court reserved its decision, and the suit was quashed 
 for alleged defects of information. During all this 
 time tlie greatest excitement raged in Canterbury 
 and the adjoining towns. Failing in their efforts 
 to break up tlie school by legal proces.s, the oppo- 
 nents of Miss Crandall resorted to more S3'stematic 
 violence, and, after an ineffectual attem|)t to set the 
 house on fire, broke in the windows with iron liars, 
 and so seriously damaged it that repairs were 
 deemed impolitic, if not inipractical)le. 
 
 Woodstock (2,700). — The first settlement within 
 the limits of the (iresent Windham County was made 
 in Woodstock. I3y a mistake in the southern liound- 
 ary lineof the Bay Colony, the territory now included 
 in Woodstock and Thompson was long lield by 
 ^lassacliusetts. 
 
 The first settlers of the town were emigrants from 
 Roxbury, Mass., and hence its original name of 
 New Roxbury. Among the settlers at Plain Hill 
 were Thomas and Joseph Bacon, James Corbin, 
 Benjamin Sabin, and Henry Bowen. 
 
 When the Frencli settlement at Oxford was de- 
 stroyed by marauding Mohawks, its fugitives found 
 refuge in the Kew Roxliury plantation. Great 
 
 apprehensions were felt at other times of a rising of 
 the Wal)baquassets. During these days of trial, the 
 women and children might have been seen gathered 
 into garrisons with but a single man to guard them 
 and "liold the fort," while tlie other men under 
 arms tried to carry on their out-door labor. In 
 KiyO the colony was accorded town jirivileges, and 
 granted the name of Woodstock, and during the 
 same year Mr. Josiah Dwight, of Dedham, engaged 
 in the work of the ministry. A meeting-house was 
 coin])leted in 1(!04, and a church soon afterwards 
 organized though the date cannot be ascertained. 
 From an isolated frontier town, Woodstock devel- 
 oped into a flourishing business centre. The most 
 prominent citizen during this period was Captain 
 John Chandler. All important commissions and 
 negotiations were intrusted to him. He was the 
 first and long the only representative sent to General 
 Court, and was sujierintendentof the Wabbaquasset 
 Indians. No man was more concerned in the settle- 
 ment of Windham County. He owned large tracts 
 of land in Killiugly, Pomfret and Ashford. Nearly 
 every town in Windham County was laid out by 
 him, and he was held in high repute by the Con- 
 necticut Government. When JIassacliusetts" soutli 
 boundary line was rectified in 1713, it was agreed 
 that she should retain jurisdiction over the towns 
 she had settled, an arrangement which for a time 
 gave entire satisfaction ; but after the death of 
 Colonel Chandler and other town fathers, the new 
 generation were led to desire transference to the 
 government of Connecticut, where taxes would be 
 lighter and greater privileges accorded. The 
 change was subsequently made and the first town 
 meeting under the jurisdiction of Connecticut was 
 held on Woodstock Hill, July 28, 174!l. 
 
 During the Revolution, Charles C. Chandler, a 
 rising lawyer, was very active on the Committee of 
 Correspondence ; Samuel McClellan was much en- 
 gaged in civil and military affairs, serving in the 
 northern army, leading out the militia again and 
 again, and paying them from his own purse when 
 the treasury was empty. After the close of tlie war 
 he was made general of the fifth brigade. 
 
 At the special request of Washington and Putnam, 
 the church at Woodstock Hill yielded their beloved 
 pastor, Rev. Abiel Leonard, LL. D., to officiate 
 as chaplain of Putnam's own regiment. His elo- 
 c^uence and patriotism made him a great favorite in 
 the army, and he continued to serve with much 
 fidelity and acceptance until liis most untimely and 
 lamented decease in August, 1777. Another dis- 
 tinguished son of Woodstock, Gen. William Eaton, 
 the conqueror of Tripoli, began his military career 
 during the Revolutionary war in the comjiany of 
 Capt. Dana of Ashford. 
 
 With the restoration of peace and prosperity, 
 Woodstock felt the need of greater educational 
 privileges, and through the active instrumentality 
 of Rev. Eliphalet Lyman, successor of Mr. Leonard, 
 an academy w-as established at Woodstock HiU in 
 1802. Its first preceptor was Thomas Williams of 
 Pomfret. He was succeeded by au array of teachers 
 more or less celebrated, under whom the Academy 
 maintained a good rejiutation. 
 
 Woodstock is liecoming famous as a summer re- 
 sort, vicing with Brooklyn and Tliom])Sou in this 
 regard. Elmwood Hall and Woodstock Common 
 are widely noted. Their publicity is mainly due to 
 
152 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTIUAL 
 
 the enterprise and public spirit of Mr. Henry C. 
 Bowen, publisher of the New York "Independent," 
 who, being a native of Woodstock, made it his 
 summer home, and who has done much for its im- 
 provement and adornment. Tlirough his efforts 
 and liberality, and the generous co-operation of his 
 fellow-citizens, the old Woodstock Academy is 
 placed on an assured basis, with an elegant new 
 academy building, and an ample endowment. His 
 last and jjcrhaps greatest achievement is the open- 
 ing to tlie public of Roselaud Park, a beautiful 
 pleasure-ground on tlie Ijorder of Woodstock Lake. 
 The old military and election parades, and other 
 rollicking festivites of the olden time tliat form- 
 erly furnished the cliief diversion of the populace, 
 have been outgrown. Mr. Bowen has projjosed to 
 meet the higher and varied demands of the present 
 generation by creating this delightful park, whicli, 
 with its musical concerts and many provisions for 
 innocent recreation, jiroraises to be a place of great 
 public resort. Woodstock has already suprised the 
 world with its monster mass-meetings and unique 
 Fourth of July celebrations, bringing togetlier, on 
 these occasions, some of the foremost men of the 
 nation. 
 
 Pomfret (1,.500) — The settlement of this town was 
 closely connected with that of Woodstock. On 
 May 1, 1686, 15,100 acres of wilderness land were 
 conveyed to several gentlemen from Ro.xbury, 
 Mass. The first settler was John Sabin (June 22, 
 1691). Tills sturdy pioneer, during the Indian 
 wars, rendered most important service by "standing 
 his ground," protecting the frontier, and engaging 
 the surrounding Indians as allies of the English. 
 After the restoration of peace, settlement Ijegan in 
 earnest. Mrs. Esther Grosvenor took ]jossession of 
 her allotment in 1700. Pliilemon Chandler, of 
 Andover entered soon after upon a riglit purchased 
 of Ruggles. Dea. Benjamin Sal)in of Woodstock, 
 with six sons, removed to the Mashamoquet settle- 
 ment in 1705. These settlers experienced compara- 
 tively few hardshii)s. Tlie soil was good and easily 
 sulidued. Smooth hills, mostly bare of trees, 
 yielded a coarse rank grass, so that cattle could 
 forage for themselves through the winter. Wood- 
 stock afforded them mills, market, and religious 
 privileges, men, women, and children toiling over 
 the rough ways every Sunday to ''Mr. Dwiglit's 
 meeting-house." A grist-mill was set up on Bark- 
 Meadow Brook by James Sawyer in 1709. A mil- 
 itary company was organized in 1710. In May, 
 1713, town privileges were accorded, and it was 
 also ordered " that the said Massamugget shall be 
 called Pomfret. " 
 
 A church was organized October 26, 1715, and 
 Mr. Ebenezer Williams of Roxbury was ordained 
 its pastor. 
 
 The most conspicuous event of Pomfret's early 
 history was the destruction of that " old she-wolf," 
 so famous in legendary story. Other Windham 
 county wolves had succumbed to the prowess of 
 hunters, but this "pernicious animal" found re- 
 fuge in an almost inaccessible ledge of rock and 
 forest in the south part of Pomfret, and feasted at 
 pleasure upon the richest flocks and herds of the 
 county. Combination and private effort failed to 
 effect her capture. Wary and wise she outwitted 
 all her jjursuers, and continued for many years an 
 intolerable nuisance. A slight snow-fall in the 
 
 winter of 1713 enabled some hunters to trace lier 
 to the vicinity of her lair, and a dog belonging to 
 Mr. John Sharpe tracked her into a den or cave, 
 tunneling between the rocks down into the depths 
 of the earth, and engaged with her in fierce combat. 
 A young son of Mr. Sharpe followed on and gave 
 the alarm. People gathered from all the farms 
 around and used every possible means tq rout the 
 wolf from her hiding-place. Her first assailant 
 was withdrawn from the cave badly disabled, and 
 no otlicr dogs would enter. Late at night it was 
 rememliered that a young farmer in Mortlake, one 
 Israel Putnam, had a bloodhound of superior 
 strength and courage, and the dog and his master 
 were called to the rescue. His coming brought 
 matters to immediate crisis. The obscure young 
 farmer of 1 743 was very like tlie brave " Old Put " 
 of '76. Not a moment was wasted. The wolf 
 must be mastered at any hazard If she would not 
 come out to them tliey must go in to her. Dog and 
 negro refused to go, but Putnam was ready for the 
 onset. With a rojje fastened round liis body and 
 a blazing torch in his hand, Putnam crawled down 
 the black icy jiassage until he could see the glaring 
 eye-balls of his adversary, and with one dexterous 
 shot dispatched Pomfret's last wolf, and made 
 himself famous. 
 
 The west part of Pomfret was incorporated as 
 Abington Society in 1749. A church was herein 
 organized, January 31, 1753, and David Ri2Jley of 
 Windham was ordained as its minister. A meeting- 
 house was comijleted the same year. Pomfret was 
 distinguished during this period for intelligence 
 and intellectual activity, eleven young men from 
 this town being contemporary collegiates in 1757-59. 
 Not only a most distinguished general, but many 
 brave officers and men rejjresented Pomfret in tlie 
 Revolutionary struggle. Lieut. Thomas Grosvenor 
 and a picked company of Pomfret boys were among 
 the defenders of Bunker Hill. 
 
 Pomfret maintained a leading position in the 
 county for many years. Dr. Waldo gained here a 
 high reputation for medical skill. Dying suddenly 
 in 1794, he was succeeded in practice by a young 
 pupil and fellow townsman, Thomas Hubbard, who 
 achieved even greater distinction than his master 
 ere he was called l)y Yale College to occupy a high 
 place in her surgical department. His contem- 
 porary, Dr. Jonatlian Hall, was also very noted and 
 popular, and his sons and daughters were shining 
 ornaments of that polite and cultivated society 
 which distinguished Pomfret above her sister 
 towns, and made her a favorite resort for Newport 
 and Providence families. 
 
 Richard Adams was the first white settler within 
 the limits of the iiresent town. Isaac Allen and 
 Edward Spalding soon followed. These settlers 
 were left for some years unrelated to any town, a 
 few isolated families surrounded by a wilderness. 
 In 1724, Richard Adams granted a parcel of land 
 for the setting up of a scbool-house, and Daniel 
 Cady granted another tract for "a convenient place 
 to bury ye bodies of the dead among us." In 1731, 
 parish [jrivileges were accorded, and a society 
 erected out of jjarts of Pomfret, Canterbury and 
 Mortlake. 
 
 The Mortlake Society, as it was commonly called, 
 organized a church and built a house of worship, 
 and on September 24, 1735, ordained Ephraim 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONXECTrcUT. 
 
 153 
 
 Avery of Truro, for its minister. The Rev. Mr. 
 Avery Wiis succeeded in tlie pastorate of the cliurch 
 by Josiali Whitney of Plaintield, who was ordained 
 Feliruary 4, 1756. Tlie widow of .Mr. Avery, after 
 a second marriage and widowliood, Itecame tlie 
 second wife of Col. Israel Putnam. In 17ti7, 
 Putnam removed from the Whitesliire fann-liouse 
 to Brooklyn Green, and opened a house of pulilic 
 entertainment. Through all the Stamp Act agita- 
 tion, and other pre-revolutionary movements, he 
 was the popular leader ; and this Brooklyn tavern 
 l>ecanic one of the most noted rendezvous in eastern 
 Connecticut. As a private citizen he was equally 
 alert and active, ever ready to serve town, cliurcli 
 and parish in any capacity. 
 
 During the whole Revolutionary ])eriod. Brook- 
 lyn was conspicuously prominent. Putnam was 
 a host in himself. The opening of hostilities at 
 Lexington called him from the plough to the 
 saddle, and, until disabled by paralysis, he gave 
 his wliole time and energies to the patriot cause. 
 The town and jiarish sustained him by constant co- 
 operation and syn\pathy. 
 
 Brooklyn (2,30(1) was incorporated as a town in 
 May, ICsi). Various improvements were now set 
 on foot, and the town took a leading position in 
 all jmblic affairs. The most important event oc- 
 curring for many years diiring this i^eriod, was a 
 controversy concerning the natnre and persons 
 of the Trinity, which resulted in church and 
 society division, and the organization of the first 
 Unitarian church in Connecticut. Dr. Whitney 
 remained in charge of the Orthodox church, 
 aided liy colleagues, till his death in 1824, aged 
 ninety-three years. The secular energie.s of the 
 town during this period were mainly devoted to 
 the struggle for a change of county-seat. After 
 many years of sectional agitation, the civd ad- 
 ministration of Windham County was transfeiTed 
 to Brooklyn Green, near the geographical centre 
 of the county. 
 
 The tirst bank in Windham Coiinty was estab- 
 lished in Brooklyn in 1822. In various reforms 
 and aggi'essive movements, Brooklyn now took 
 the lead. SamuelJ. May, the well-known jihOan- 
 thropist and reformer, pastor of the Unitarian 
 church, was active in all reformatory movements. 
 The Windham County Agricultural Society, 
 formed in 1820, now held its annual fair at 
 Brooldyu. In 1830, Brooklyn Academy was 
 incorporated and enjoyed for many years a large 
 share of jiatronage. After 1840, newspaj)ers and 
 some other business interests were transferred to 
 Danielsonville ; but, though a little aside from 
 railroads. Brooklyn has maintained her energy 
 and vitality, and gains in wealth and j)Opulation. 
 
 Thompson (2,300i. — This town was not incorjio- 
 rated till 1785, but its record begins more than a 
 century before that date, when twenty families 
 of " Praying Indians " gathered on Quinnatisset 
 hiU-to]) and received a Christian teacher from 
 Mr. Eliot. The first known white settler here 
 was Richard Dresser of Eowley. Sampson Howe 
 of Roxbury followed the next year. Samuel Con- 
 verse of Wolnirn, with five sous, purchased land 
 :SOuth of Quinnatisset Ilill in 1710. 
 
 The first society meeting was held on Thomji- 
 sou Hill, July 9, 1728. A church was organized 
 Janiiarv 28, 1730, and Marston Cabot of Salem 
 
 was soon after ordained its pastor. A Baptist 
 church was organized in 1773, and a meeting- 
 liouso built on what is now called Brandy HUl. 
 The town was incorporated in May, 1785. 
 
 The transference of travel from turnpike to rail- 
 road, greatly affected Thompson, with other hill- 
 top villages, and carried Inisincss away to other 
 centres; but the town in general has maintained its 
 early standing, and has ever been distinguished bj' 
 thrift, order and public spirit. The old Congrega- 
 tional Church has been especially noted for the 
 permanence of its ministry. The Rev. Daniel Dow, 
 ordained xVpril 20, ITOij, celebrated the fiftieth 
 anniversary of his settlement in 1840, and continued 
 to officiate till the dav of his death, in August, 
 1S4'.I. 
 
 Killingly (7,000).— The tirst white settler within 
 tli(' limits of the future town was Richard Evans, of 
 Rehoboth, who, in 1093, made a home in the wilder- 
 ness, three miles east from Woodstock. Peter 
 Aspinwall, sent liy Woodstock to cut through the 
 cedar swamps to make a way to Providence, .settled 
 east of the Quinebaug about 1700. .lames and 
 Jose|)h Leavens, of Woodstock, gathered turpentine 
 for Woodstock traders in this section, and soon 
 after joined the settlement, the latter marrying the 
 daughter of Capt. John Sabin, of Pomfret, she 
 receiving a beautiful valley farm for her marriage 
 portion. These early settlers were favored by 
 government oversight and protection, and in 1 708 
 were allowed town ])rivileges. 
 
 Tliough emigrants now came in more rapidly, 
 money was scarce. The border position of the 
 town made it particularly accessible to tramps, 
 vagabonds and roving Indians. Tlie large number 
 of roads made rerjuisite by the size of tlie town was 
 very burdensome, cspeciiilly as population was so 
 scattered that nearly every houscliold had to have 
 a way of its own. Jleantime these difficulties of 
 travel, in roundabout ways, over rocks, and through 
 swamps "to mill and to meeting," often became 
 the occasion of society division. Hence the luiild- 
 ing of the meeting-house on Killingly Hill in 1740, 
 the South Society occupying the house on B,cak- 
 neck. 
 
 Killingly Hill, after the l)uilding of the meeting- 
 hou.se in 1740, was recognized more and more as the 
 head and heart of the large townshiji, the place for 
 town meetings, trainings and pulilic gatherings. 
 Among its early residents were Rev. Aaron Brown, 
 Noali, son of Justice Joseph Leavens, and Dr. 
 Thomas Moffat, the first known ))liysician of the 
 town. John Felshaw, father and son, mainiained 
 a ijopular house of entertainment at the northern 
 extremity of the hill for more than half a century. 
 During the revolutionary trouWcs many substantial 
 families from seaboard towns found refuge in 
 Killingly, and were numbered among its mo.st 
 valued citizens. 
 
 A cliurch was formed in West KiUinglj- in 1801, 
 and Westtield Parish organized. A thriving village 
 grew up in this vicinity, which became a noted 
 social and business centre. Its first physician was 
 Dr. Ilutchins. Rev. Roswell Whittemore succeeded 
 Rev. Gordon Johnson in the pastorate of the church 
 in 1813, and retained the office for thirty years. 
 Other villages grew uj) on Five-Mile River ,ind 
 Whetstone Brook, which furnished many manufac- 
 turing privileges. Though it declined somewhat 
 
154 
 
 THE HISTOmCAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 in importance after the removal of tlie town centre, 
 Killingly Hill still fimiislic-s a pleasant ])lace of 
 residence. Rev. Elisha Atkins served as pastor of 
 the churcli from 1784 to 18:i9, and was greatly 
 esteemed. In 18.5.5 the north part of Killingly waj 
 incorporated into the new town of Putnam. 
 
 Among tlie most brilTiant and promising of the 
 sons of Killingly were the Rev. Joseph Howe, and 
 Manassch Cutler, one of the founders of the Ohio 
 Company, very active and prominent in the opening 
 andsettlement of the Northwest Territory. Through 
 his influence some of the best of Killingly youth 
 joined in the first emigration to the distant territory, 
 and many suljstautial families sought homes in the 
 far West. 
 
 Voluntown. — The old town of /oluntown, 
 which for many years emljraced what is now Ster- 
 ling, was, with Killingly, part nf the Whetstone 
 country, and was granted about 1700 Ijy the General 
 Court of Connecticut to volunteers in New London 
 County who had served during King Pliilip's war. 
 The roughness and liarrcnness of the land discour- 
 aged settlement, and it was long feared that the 
 scattered inhabitants would never be able to estal)- 
 lish religious worship. Several families of Scotcli- 
 Irish Presl:)yterians, however, purchased volunteer's 
 rights in 1721-22, and aided greatly in building up 
 tlie town and establishing religious institutions. 
 Town government was organized June 20, 1721. 
 A meeting-house was erected near the centre of the 
 long, narrow township; and October 1.5, 1723, a 
 cliurch was organized. Rev. Samuel Dorrance a 
 graduate of Glasgow University, licensed to preach 
 by the Presbytery of Dumbarton, received a unani- 
 mous call to the pastorate, and after a strong ojipo- 
 sition from dissenting inhabitants, who feared that 
 Presbyterianisin was a cloak for Popery and heresy, 
 he was formally ordained minister of the Volun- 
 town church and township. 
 
 Mr. Dorrance remained in cnarge of the Volun- 
 town church till 1770, though suffering mucli from 
 the disaffection of his people and the difficulty of 
 obtaining a comfortable support. He died Novem- 
 ber, 177.5, aged ninety years. The cliurch was 
 greatly weakened not only by dissension, Init by 
 emigration. Presliyterianism finally declining, a 
 Congregational church was organized in 1779. 
 
 Several cotton-manufactories have been put in 
 operation in the southwest part of Voluntown, 
 greatly stimulating its development and improve- 
 ment. 
 
 Ashford (1,000), so called on account of the 
 great number of its ash-trees, was first settled in 
 1710. John Mixer, the first emigrant to these parts, 
 settled on Mount Hope River, on the site of the 
 l)resent AVarrenville. The road from Boston to 
 Providence passed near his residence. John Parry 
 of Marll)orough settled soon after near the site of 
 the present Eastport Village. A town organization 
 was effected in 1715. About tliis time William 
 Ward sent in search of a minister, to serve for a 
 quarter of a year, and was so fortunate as to secure 
 one for a quarter of a century — Rev. James Hale 
 of Swansea, a most faithful and worthy man. 
 
 At this date Ashford contained about forty 
 families. A church was organized Nov. 26, 1718. 
 The First Baptist churcli in Windliam County, now 
 extinct, was formed in this town in 1743, and 
 Thomas Denison ordained its pastor. 
 
 Ashford's position on a great public thorough- 
 fare of travel bi'ought her prominence and pros- 
 perity, especially during the Revolutionary days, 
 when soldiers and even armies traversed her liigli- 
 ways. "Clarke's tavern'' still bears the name of 
 many an il lustrious guest upon its ancient windows. 
 AV'ashington spent at least one Salibath here. Many 
 of her own sons distinguished themselves greatly 
 during the war. Thomas KnowUon and his 
 brother Daniel, after gaining valuable experience 
 in the French war, took the field at once in favor 
 of American liljerties. The regiment sent by 
 Windham County upon the licxington alarm, was 
 placed under command of Thomas Knowlton. 
 The services rendered i)y Knowlton at Bunker Hill, 
 Boston, Long Island and Harlem, where his valu- 
 aljle life was offered up in sacrifice, will never be 
 forgotten by American patriots. Daniel Knowlton 
 was equally brave and devoted, serving throughout 
 tlie war. Capt. James Dana, second under Knowlton 
 at Bunker Hill, was almost equally forward and 
 meritorious. John Keyes, Daniel Marcy — indeed, 
 the thirty Ashford boys who fought at Bunker 
 Hill, and saved the retreating provincials from 
 destruction — deserve perpetual gratitude and com- 
 memoration. 
 
 The opening of the Boston and Hartford Turn- 
 pike in 1798 increased liusiness and travel through 
 Ashford, and contributed to its growth and import- 
 ance. These prosperous days have l^een succeeded 
 by isolation and decay. The opening of railroads 
 left the old town far from business centres and 
 markets, with no great farming or manufacturing 
 facilities. 
 
 Eastford (900) — The incorporation of the eastern 
 section of Ashford was delayed till 1777, when, not- 
 withstanding the scarcity of men and means, society 
 and church organization was initiated. Andrew 
 Judsou, pastor elect, Benjamin Sumner and others, 
 united in church fellowship Sept. 23, 1778. Capt. 
 Benjamin Sumner was long one of its most promi- 
 nent citizens. The present Congregational house 
 was erected in 1829, Benjamin Bosworth, Esq., 
 purchasing the former building. In removing tlie 
 old house from the hill-site, a chain snapped off, 
 whereupon the workmen demanded "treat," which 
 was refused by Esquire Bosworth, who had just 
 joined tlie new Temperance Society. Men and oxen 
 at once "struck "and left the old meeting-house 
 suspended, till Mr. Darius Matthewson of Pomfret, 
 president of the County Temperance Society, came 
 to the rescue with a band of good temperance men 
 from Abington, and accomplished its descent with- 
 out a single drop of liquor. 
 
 A woolen-manufactory was established in East- 
 ford Village abouttlie year 1810. In 1847Eastford 
 was made a town. 
 
 Nathaniel Lyon was born at Ashford July 14, 
 1819, graduated at West Point in 1841, and served 
 in the Florida and Mexican wars. At tlie outbreak 
 of the civil war he was in command of the arsenal 
 at St. Louis, and liroke up a camp of secessionists 
 establislied by the governor, C. P. Jackson. Jack- 
 son then assemliled a force at Boouesville, where he 
 was routed (June 17,1861) by Lyon. In tlie Ijattle 
 of Wilson's Creek, while attempting to hold his 
 position against the united forces of McCuUoch and 
 Price, after having been twice wounded, as he was 
 leading into action a regiment whose colonel had 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 155 
 
 just fallen, he was himself shot in tlie l)rcast and 
 killed on the spot, Aug. 10, lyiil. His funeral at 
 Eastf<:)i'd, where, by his own request, his remains 
 were buried l)eside his honored parents, was the 
 most remarkaljle ceremonial ever witnessed in 
 Windliam County. Gen. Lyon bequeathed §30,000, 
 nearly all his ))ro])erty, to the government, to aid in 
 the prosecution of the war. 
 
 Putnam (0,000) is pre-eminently the modern town 
 of Windham County. Its central site and c;reat 
 water-privilege have indeed long been occupied. 
 For one liundred and tifty years the Great Fall of 
 Quinebaug has run its grist-mills, and carried on 
 malting and dyeing. In the days of old Capt. 
 Cargil (1700-98) these mills were very celebrated, 
 and residents of the four adjacent towns resorted to 
 them on needful occasions. When Rhode Island 
 capitalists l)egan to look outside their little State 
 for cotton-factory locations, a keen eye marked this 
 spot, and active liands soon reared and ])ut in 
 operatiim the first successful cotton manufactory 
 in Connecticut. 
 
 It was at the opening of the Korwich and Wor- 
 cester Railroad in 18lj'J, that this place started on 
 a new career of progress. The fine geographical 
 position and great manufacturing facilities of the 
 location were at once recognized, and people from 
 all the surrounding towns liastened to take advan- 
 tage of them. Great factories, stores, churches, 
 and dwelling-houses, sprung up as if by magic, 
 and soon the gatliering population felt the need of 
 town organization. 
 
 In 1849 they asked for a distinct township, tak- 
 ing parts of Thompson, Killingly, Pomfret and 
 Woodstock. Against great and determined oppo- 
 sition, the incorporation of Putnam township was 
 secured in July, 18,5.j. In h^ss than a quarter of a 
 century, the place has far outstripped some of her 
 more venerable elders, and won a place among the 
 leading towns of Connecticut. With the spirit 
 and resolution of her heroic namesake, she has 
 grap|)led Avith every obstacle. The great fire of 
 1877 swept out her business centre, but the burnt 
 district was long since filled up with more substan- 
 tial liuildings, and business is flowing on with re- 
 doubled briskness and energy. Tlie junction of 
 the two railroads jiassing through the county, and 
 convenient access from all tlie neighboring towns, 
 make Putnam the railroad aud business centre for 
 a large section of country. New stores and ware- 
 houses are continually opening to meet the increas- 
 ing demand. Very many branches of manufacture 
 are now carried on, besides the mammoth cotton- 
 factories tliat are ever in motion. The jiopulation 
 of the village increases at a rapid rate. 
 
 Putnam has been remarkably fortunate in the 
 high character and pulilic spirit of her leading 
 business men, who have ever been ready to aid in 
 needful improvement, aud labor earnestly for tlie 
 best good of the town. Five school liuildingshave 
 been erected, and an admirable high school is in 
 successful operation. "Tlie Putnam Patriot," an 
 enterprising weekly journal, was established in 
 1872. The religious interests of Putnam have been 
 carefully guarded. Baptist, Congregational and 
 Methodist churches, formed at an early day, are 
 accommodated with convenient and even elegant 
 houses of worship. 
 
 Willimantic— Tlie village of Willimantic owes 
 its development to the establishment of cotton 
 manufactories. Soon after 1830 several manufac- 
 turing conqianies were formed, and eligible privi- 
 leges secured by Rhode Island capitalists and 
 residents of the vicinity. Half a dozen well-con- 
 ducted cotton-factories were somi in operation, and 
 population quickly gathered around them. The 
 site, like that of Putnam, formed the natural centre 
 for a numl)er of i>rosperous towns, and l)usiness 
 flowed to it from a wide extent of country. Bap- 
 tist and Congregatiimal churches were organized 
 and provided with houses of worsliip before 1830. 
 In 1833, the west side of Windham, (m botli sides 
 of the AVillimantic, was incorporated as a borough. 
 Its steady, healthy growth has been greatly quick- 
 ened by the opening of the New London Northern 
 and Hartford and Providence railroads, and still 
 farther stimulated Ijy the completion of the Air 
 Line route, making it a place of much business and 
 innjortancc. Maintaining its connection with Wind ■ 
 ham, but reversing previous relations, it became in 
 time the heud of the mother town, administerin"- 
 tbe tovra government and proliate office, and ab- 
 sorliing much of its Ijusiuess vitality. Its popu- 
 lation has been drawn largely from its immediate 
 vicinity. The energy and public-spirit of the 
 citizens of Willimantic are attested by its conven- 
 ient town liuilding for the accommodation of 
 public offices, its sub.stantial school-houses, its 
 numerous and handsome church edifices, its finely 
 graded streets and costly bridges, its tasteful 
 private residences, aud general as]iect of tlirift and 
 p-iosperity. Its various manufactories are carried 
 on with much spirit. Its cotton, woolen and linen 
 goods are well known in market, and Willimantic 
 thread is sold throughout the civilized world. 
 "The Willimantic Journal," established in 1848 
 by John Evans, has Iieen sustained for over thirty 
 yeai-s, and has greatly aided tlie improvement of 
 the village. 
 
 Danielson^-ille also owes its origin to manufac- 
 tures. Tlie Danielsonville ManufacturingConipany 
 was the second formed in Wiudliam County, and 
 the village dates liack to 1810. For many years its 
 growth was limited to the demands of the factory, 
 until the opening of the Norwich and Worcester 
 Railroad brought quickening growth and expan- 
 sion. From river to depot, and onward to West- 
 field village, and east, west, and south into the 
 surrounding country, it was soon built up with 
 houses, stores, and public buildings. The three 
 villages, of Westfield, Danielsonville, and East 
 Brooklyn were united in 1S50 in the borough of 
 Danielsonville, aud instituted local government. 
 It has gained steadily in business and population, 
 and is now a wide-awake and fltmrishing village, 
 its central position in the county giving it addi- 
 tional influence aud importance. "The Windham 
 County Transcript," established in 1848 under the 
 managemei.t of J. Q. A. Stone, has done much in 
 awakening county feeling, improving public morals, 
 and stimulating growth and improvement in every 
 direction. 
 
 The remaining towns of Windham County are 
 Chaplin ifJOOi, so called from its first settler, Hen- 
 jaiiiin Chaplin, Jr., incorporated in 182','; iSterling 
 (1,000), named for Dr. Jolm Sterling, who pre- 
 sented a public library to the town ; Hampton 
 
156 
 
 REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 (800), mcorporated in 178G, and Scotland (000), 
 ■whose first town meetiug was held July 4, 1S57. 
 
 The most remarkaljle family reared in Scotland 
 was that of Nathaniel Huntington. His sons, 
 Enoch and Joseph, received collegiate education, 
 and became distinguislied ministers. Jonatlian, 
 without scholastic education, filled an honoralsle 
 position as physician and jjreacher. Samuel, dur- 
 ing his apprenticeship at coopering, studied law, 
 and Isecanie an eminent lawyer, a signer of tlie 
 Declaration of Independence, president of the Con- 
 tinental Congress, and governor of the State. He 
 
 married tlie daughter of the Rev. Ebenezer Devo- 
 tion, long the respected pastor of the Scotland 
 church ; retaiued through life his affection for his 
 early home, and left a Ijequest to the Scotland 
 Society. 
 
 Another noted son of Scotland was James L. 
 Kingsley, who filled for many years a professor- 
 sliip at Yale College. 
 
 Hon. Chauucey F. Cleaveland of Hampton, an 
 able jurist and statesman, lias l:)een very active and 
 influential in jiulilic life, aud was for four years 
 governor of the State. 
 
 1/ 
 
 
HARTFORD. 
 
 Hartford, a port of entry, the capital of Con- 
 necticut and of Hartford County, is situated on tlic 
 west ))ank of tlie Couni'Cticut Kiver, at the liead of 
 sloop navigation, fifty miles from its moutli. It is 
 luiilt for tlie most part on elevated ground, and its 
 site is eminently picturesque and healtliful. Main 
 street, a wide avenue, has many imposing l)usiness 
 blocks, notal)ly the large granite Imildings of the 
 Charter Oak and Connecticut Jlutual Life Insurance 
 companies, and the massive Ijrownstone Cheney 
 lilock. The granite structure of the Hartford Fire 
 Insurance Company, and tliat of the PliuMiix 
 Insurance Company, are worthy of important men- 
 tion. Bushnell Park, a neatly laid-out inclosure of 
 forty acres, lies in the central part of the city. The 
 Park, or Little River, emptying into the Connecti- 
 cut at Dutch Point, is spanned by several substantial 
 Ijridges. Two ijridges cross tlie Connecticut at this 
 place — one foi- the New Yoik and New England 
 Kailroad, and tlie other a highway bridge. The 
 river, at an ordinary stage of water, is about 1,000 
 feet wide. 
 
 The new capitol, nnquestionably one of the most 
 satisfactory public liuildiugs in the country, occu- 
 pies an elevated site in Bushnell Park, in full view 
 of passengers arriving in tlie city by railroad. The 
 first state-house in Hartford was erected in 1719. 
 In 1783, during the celebration of the declaration 
 of peace, it was damaged l)y fireworks, and was 
 rebuilt in very modest style. The edifice now 
 standing on JIain street, and which was vacated liy 
 the State wlien the new capitol was finished, was 
 completed in 170(j, and is now the property of tlie 
 city of Hartford. In 1.S71 the Legislature made an 
 appropriation for the erection of a new capitol. 
 
 The Iniilding, which was completed in 1879, 
 at an expense, including the site, of more than 
 ^3,000,000, is in the modern secular Gothic style, at 
 once massive and ornate, and is constructed of 
 wliite niarlile, quarried at East Canaan, Conn. Tlie 
 extreme length of the structure from east to west 
 is nearly three hundred feet, and the average 
 breadth 100 feet. It is two and a half stories in 
 height, with a mezzanine story between the first 
 and second floors, and the rot>f is of the mansard 
 pattern. In the centre of the building is a- twelve- 
 sided tower, surmounted by a dome, terminating in 
 an open lantern, on which .stands a colossal ideal 
 figure in bronze, by Randolph Rogers, representing 
 the Genius of Connecticut. The total height from 
 the ground to the top of the crowning figure is 257 
 feet. In the interior polished granite of different 
 colors alternates with white marble, producing a 
 most agreeable effect. The staircases and halls are 
 ornamented with paintings and statues, including 
 an original portrait of Washington by Stuart, 
 painted in 1800. Tlie legislative halls are very 
 elaborately finished in gold and colors, and the 
 
 various ofiices are replete with every elegance and 
 convenience. 
 
 In Busluiell Park are bronze statues of Israel 
 Putnam, bv J. Q. A. Ward, and of Dr. Horace 
 Wells, by "T. H. Bartlett. The new buildings of 
 Trinity College are situated on the summit of a 
 rocky ledge, about one mile south of the former 
 location. The site is an admirable one, affording 
 most attractive views in either direction. The 
 architecture is the early French Gothic, and the two 
 structures already completed form the central por- 
 tion of the western side of the main quadrangle. 
 The college grounds contain about eighty acres, and 
 will be improved under the direction of Frederick 
 L. Olmsted, well known in connection with the 
 wonderful tiansfcirniation of Central Park, New 
 York. Trinity College was founded in 1826, 
 and was originally known as AVashington Col- 
 lege. The faculty is composed of fifteen mem- 
 bers, tlie Rev. Tlumias R. Pynchou, D. D. , being 
 president. The average number of students is 
 one hundred. The college library contains about 
 20,000 volumes. 
 
 The Theological lustitiite of Connecticut has 
 lately removed to its new buildings, a short dis- 
 tance west of the High School Iniilding. This 
 seminary, first established at East Windsor in 
 1834, has taken high rank among similar institu- 
 tions, and through the liberality of its friends, 
 notably the late James B. Hosmer, is enabled to 
 greatly extend its usefulness. 
 
 The American Asylum for Deaf-mutes is jileas- 
 antly situated on what is known as Lord's lliU, 
 near the principal railroad station. It was 
 founded in 1817 liy Rev. T. H. Gallaudet and 
 Laurent Clerc, and is the parent of all similar 
 institutions in the country. The average num- 
 ber of inmates is two hundred and thirty. 
 
 The Old Men's Home, endowed by the late C. 
 H. Northam, i.s the latest accession to the benev- 
 olent institutions of the city, and a monument 
 to his liberality. 
 
 The public schools of Hartford are unexcelled 
 by any in the country. The high school, which has 
 acquired an excellent reputation will occupy an 
 imposing brick building, costing S'250,000. The 
 grammar school, founded by Edward Hopkins 
 in 1657, and incorporated in 1798, and limited to 
 thirty-live pupils, forms the jn-eiiaratory class- 
 ical department of the high school. 
 
 A neat brick edifice in the western part of the 
 city was the headquarters of the Chinese Educa- 
 tional Commission, founded largely through the 
 exertions of Yung Wing, a graduate of Yale, and 
 formerly a member of the Chinese embassy at 
 Washington. The object of this commission was 
 the education of young men for positions under the 
 Chinese government. The candidates were selected 
 
158 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 in China by competitive examination, and upon 
 their arrival in tliis country, were placed in care- 
 fully-selected families, and entered the city schools. 
 Some of their number obtained the highest honors 
 in the public schools, in the face of severe com- 
 petition. 
 
 The Hartford Orplian Asylum, some years ago 
 removed to its spacious new building, a short dis- 
 tance west from the capitol. This building is of 
 brick, in the modern English style, and contains a 
 memorial dining-hall, elaliorately finished in oak. 
 About one mile south of the capitol are located the 
 admirably-adapted buildings of the Retreat for the 
 Insane, an institution which has had almost un- 
 paralleled success in the treatment of lunacy. 
 Near by is the Hartford Hospital, a model institu- 
 tion of the kind. 
 
 The Wadsworth Athenaeum building, on Main 
 street, contains tlie Watkinson Free Library of 
 Reference, having over 30,000 carefully selected 
 volumes; the Hartford Library, of nearly the 
 same number of volumes; the rich collections and 
 library of the Connecticut Historical Society, and 
 a valuable gallery of paintings and statuary. 
 
 There are thirty-six churches in the city, many 
 of them models of tasteful architecture. The 
 Church of the Good Shepherd, erected by Mrs. 
 Samuel Colt as a memorial of her deceased hus- 
 band and children, is regarded as one of the finest 
 ecclesiastical edifices in the country. The Roman 
 Catholic Cathedral, now being erected, and nearly 
 finished, will be an ornament to the city. The 
 Catholics liave several large schools, that connected 
 with the convent of Mt. St. Joseph having an 
 estalilished reputation as an educational institution 
 for youing ladies. 
 
 The Hartford Female Seminary acquired great 
 celebrity under Miss Catherine E. Beecher, wlio 
 was its principal for several years, and under its 
 present management retains much of its former 
 prestige. 
 
 Hartford is a centre of the insurance business of 
 the country. The assets of the various insurance 
 companies — fire, marine, life, accident, and steam- 
 boiler, are in the rough, §150,000,000. The capi- 
 tal, properly sjieaking, cannot be even roughly 
 approximated, because most of them are nmtuals, 
 with no capital at aU excejjt the accumulations 
 from business ; the stock companies are a small 
 minority, and their nominal capital bears little 
 relation to their business. There are thirteen banks 
 with a capital of .|11, 000,000; and also seven 
 savings Imnks and trust companies, with deposits 
 of $15,000,000. Sixty-four manufacturing com- 
 panies, representing a capital of .$20,000,000, have 
 their principal ofiBccs in this city, although many 
 of their works are located elsewhere. 
 
 The principal manufacturing establishment in 
 Hartford is the works of the Colt's Fire-arms 
 Manufacturing Company. This extensive factory 
 is situated on the river meadow, just south 
 of the mouth of Little River. The site was 
 subject to overfiow from the rivei', and Col. 
 Colt protected it by building an embankment or 
 dike, about two miles long, inclosing some one 
 hundred and twenty acres of land, at a cost of 
 $80,000. Tlie buildings are of Portland stoneand 
 brick, and the floor contains an era of nearly seven 
 acres. February 5, ISO-t, a large part of the works 
 
 was destroyed by fire, causing a loss of $3,000,000; 
 but they were immediately rebuilt. Portions of 
 the shops are now leased to different parties, 
 and a variety of articles are manufactured on 
 the ])remises, including the celebrated Catling 
 gun, the invention of Dr. R. E. Catling, a 
 resident of Hartford ; sewing-machines lawn- 
 mowers, gold and stock indicators, conduc- 
 tor's punches, etc. In addition to the manufacture 
 of Colt's improved firearms, the company are also 
 sole producers of Baxter's steam engines. Tlie 
 works have a capacity for the employment of sev- 
 eral hundred hands. 
 
 The leather-belting manufactory of P. Jewell & 
 Sons is one of the most extensive estaljlisliments of 
 the kind in the world, consuming weekly the hides 
 of a large herd of cattle. Smith, Bourn & Co. 
 are extensive manufacturers of harness, collars, sad- 
 dles, etc. The Pratt & Whitney Manufacturing 
 Company are manufacturers of machinery, fine 
 tools, etc. Near their establishment are the works 
 of the Weed Sewing Machine Company. The 
 Plympton Manufacturing Company, the United 
 States Stamped Envelope Works, which has the 
 contract for envelopes for the United States, test- 
 ing the utmost capacity of a large factory, requisi- 
 tions for several million envelopes being sometimes 
 received in one day. The Hartford Engineering Co., 
 the Billings & Spencer Co., the Hartford Machine 
 Screw Co., Batterson's New England Granite 
 Works. The Cheney Brothers' silk manufacturing 
 corajjany have a factory here, employing some 200 
 hands, in addition to their extensive works at 
 South JIancliester. Tlie publisliing of suljscrip- 
 tion Ijooks is an important Isranch of Hartford 
 industry, and several extensive printing establish- 
 ments are located here. That of the Case, Lock- 
 wood & Brainard Company is scarcely suri^assed in 
 the country. 
 
 Tlie main water supply of the city is from four 
 reservoirs in West Hartford, which are fed from 
 small streams and springs, having a total capacity of 
 1,200.000,000 gallons.' There is also a pumping- 
 engine on the river, which supplies the lower part 
 of the city in times of drouth. The city has a paid 
 fire department and a fire-alarm telegraph. Its 
 railroad facilities are ample, it being on the 
 through line from New York to Boston, and about 
 midway Isetween the two cities. The New York 
 and New England Railroad has been completed to 
 the Hudson River, giving Hartford a new route to 
 the West. By its connections at Millerton and 
 Canaan, the Connecticut Western line aifords a 
 convenient route to western Massachusetts and 
 AUiauy, while the Connecticut Valley brings the 
 seashore within easy reach. The Connecticut Cen- 
 tral furnishes a route to Springfield. Tlie New 
 York, New Haven and Hartford line has extensive 
 construction and repair shojjs at this point. Dur- 
 ing the season there is a daily line of steamers to 
 New York. 
 
 The Opera House is one of the most commodious 
 and best-appointed places of amusement in New 
 England, its seating capacity being equal to tliat of 
 the largest metropolitan theatres. There are also 
 several large halls, well adapted for lectures, con- 
 certs, etc. 
 
 There are many elegaint private residences in the 
 city. Armsmear, the home of Mrs. Samuel Colt, 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 159 
 
 is surroiiiulcd by extensive and beautiful grounds, 
 laid out with great taste, and ornamented with 
 statues and fountains. The conservatories are of 
 great extent. 
 
 Cedar Hill Cemetery, incorporated in 1865, lies 
 aljout three miles soutli of the capitol, and contains 
 268 acres. It is laid out upon the lawn system, 
 without fences, and is rapidly developing into a 
 beautiful "city of the dead." There are many 
 elegant and tasteful monuments in this cemetery, 
 the most noticeable being that of Col. Colt. 
 
 The population of Hartford in 1^80 was 42,551. 
 Assessed valuation, S4(j,!)'.»2,000. Probably a fair 
 estimate of the total wealtli of the city, invested 
 here or elsewhere, would l)e .$173,000,000. 
 
 Thomas Hooker, the first minister at Hartford, 
 and one of the most prominent men in the early 
 history of Connecticut, was born at Markfield, Eng., 
 
 existence as the preparatory classical department 
 of the high school. 
 
 George Wyllys, a native of Warwicksliire, Eng., 
 settled in Hartford in 1638, and was deputy -gov- 
 ernor and governor in 1641 and 1642. He died 
 Marcli 'J, 1645. His son Samuel, l)orn in 1633, 
 diedinlTO'J; graduated from Harvard in 1653, 
 aurl w.as a magistrate from 1654 to 1684. Hezekiah, 
 son of Samuel, was secretary of tlie Colony from 
 1713 to 1734, and was succeeded by his son George, 
 who graduated from Yale in 1729. He resigned 
 in 1705, and was in turn succeeded by his son 
 Samuel, who resigned in 1809, making ninety-eight 
 years during whicli the office of secretary had con- 
 tinued in this family. Samuel Wyllys was born 
 in Hartford, Jan. 15, 1739, and died there June 
 9, 1823. During the Revolutionary wai' he served 
 with marked ability, and attained the rauk of 
 
 WORKS OF THE HARTFORD MACHINE SCREW CO. 
 
 in 1586, and studied at Cambridge; was a popu- 
 lar preacher in London, but espoused the Puritan 
 doctrines, and was compelled to leave tlie country ; 
 went to Holland, and thence to Newtown, now 
 Cambridge, Mass. ; accomjjanied the first settlers 
 to Hartford, where he died July 7, 1647. In con- 
 junction with John Cotton, he wrote a book on 
 church discipline, and a number of his discourses 
 were published in England. A selection from his 
 works, with a memoir by the Rev. E. W. Hooker, 
 was published in Boston in 1849. 
 
 Edward Hopkins was born at Shrewsbury, Eng.. 
 in 1600; settled in Hartford in 1 639 ; was deputy- 
 governor or governor of the Colony from 1640 to 
 1654 ; returned to England, where he died in 165.7. 
 By his will he devised £1,000 for the estalili.slnnent 
 of a grammar school in Hartford, which is still in 
 
 colonel. He was subsequently appointed major- 
 general of militia. The Wyllys mansion, in front 
 of which stood the famous Charter Oak, was, until 
 quite recently, one of the landmarks of Hartford. 
 
 Jolin Talcott, one of the original settlers of Hart- 
 ford, was born in Entcland : died at Hartford, July 
 23, 1688. His son, JIaj. John Talcott, held various 
 positions of trust, and rendered distinguished ser- 
 vice in the various wars against tlie Indians. Joseph 
 Talcott, son of John, w:i8 governor of the Colony 
 from 1725 to 1741. 
 
 John Trumbull. LL.D.. was born in Watertown, 
 Conn., April 24, 1750, and graduated at Yale in 
 1767. In 1781 he located in Hartford, where, in 
 17H3, he published his celebrated epic ])oem of 
 " McFingal." He was a clear and pungent satirist, 
 and, in conjunction with Joel Barlow, Dr. Lemuel 
 
160 
 
 THE HISTOIUCAL, STATISTICAL AND IXDUSTRIAL 
 
 Hopkins and Col. Humphreys, wrote a series of 
 essays entitled " American Antiquities," 'u-liich at- 
 tracted great attention. He was State attorney for 
 Hartford from 17!S9 to 1705 ; a memlier of the leg- 
 islature in 1793 and IbOO ; judge of Superior and 
 Supreme courts from ISOl to 1819; removed to 
 Detroit, Mich., in 18i5, where he died May 10, 1831. 
 
 Jeremiah WadswortJi was born in Hartford in 
 1743. He was an intimate friend of Gen. Wash- 
 ington, and the first meeting between that officer 
 and Count Rochambeau took place in Wadsworth's 
 mansion. He was a memljer of the convention for 
 the ratification of the Constitution, and si.x years a 
 representative in Congress. He received honorary 
 deorees from Dartmouth and Yale colleges. He 
 died April 30, 1804. His son Daniel Wadsworth 
 was the founder of Wadsworth Athenteum, which 
 occupies the site of the family mansion. 
 
 Dr. Lemuel Hopkins — born in Waterbury, June 
 19, 17")0, a graduate of Yale and a physician of 
 high repute — was best known as a writer of poetry 
 and humorous prose. He was one of a celebrated 
 
 of that journal. Being opposed to the extension 
 of slavery, he ideutified himself with the Repub- 
 lican party at its organization, and in 1861 suc- 
 ceeded his townsman, Mr. Toucey, as secretary (jf 
 the navy, a position which he retained until 1809, 
 when he retired from jjublic life and returned to 
 Hartford, where he died Feb. 11, 1878. 
 
 Thomas H. Gallaudet, LL.D., was born in Phil- 
 adelphia, Dec. 10, 1787. He graduated at Yale in 
 1805, and, entering Andover Theological Seminary, 
 was licensed to ])reach in 1814. He became inter- 
 ested in the education of deaf-mutes, and on his 
 return from a visit to Europe in 1810, he was ac- 
 companied liy Laurent Clerc, a deaf-mute, who had 
 been a pupil of the Abbe Sicard, with whose aid 
 Dr. Gallaudet established the American Asj^lum at 
 Hartford, the parent institution of the kind in the 
 country. He remained in charge of the asylum until 
 1830, whenhewas appointed chaplain of theRetreat 
 for the Insane, which office he held until his death, 
 Sept. 9, 1851 . He was the author of several relig- 
 ious books for the young. Mr. Clerc retired from 
 
 WORKS OF THE WEED SEWING MACHINE CO., HARTFORD. 
 
 coterie of literary men known as the "Hartford 
 Wits." He died April 14, 1801. 
 
 Theodore D wight, born in Northampton, Mass., 
 Dec. 10, 1704, was a prolific writer on political 
 sul*jects. He was a representative in Congress in 
 1800 and 1807, and secretary of the Hartford Con- 
 vention. He died June 11. 1840. His son Theo- 
 dore, born March 3, 1790, killed l)y a railroad acci- 
 dent Oct. 10, 1800, was the author of a history of 
 Connecticut, a gazetteer of the United States, and 
 many other successful works. He was a finished 
 scholar, and a member of many learned societies. 
 
 Isaac Toucey, LL.D., born at Newtown, Conn., 
 Nov. 5, 1796. was for many years State attorney 
 for Hartford County ; a representative in Congress 
 from 1835 to 1839; governor of Connecticut in 
 1840 and 1847; attorney-general of the United 
 States, in 1848 and 1849; "United States senator 
 from 1852 to 1857, and secretary of the navy dur- 
 ing the administration of President Buchanan. 
 
 Gideon Welles, l)orn in Glastoul)ury, Conn., 
 July 1, 1809, like Mr. Toucey, was for many years 
 a leading democratic politician. In 1820 he be- 
 came one of the [jroprietors of the Hartford 
 ''Times," and assimied the editorial management 
 
 the asylum on a pension in 1858, and died July 18, 
 1809. 
 
 Horace Bushnell, D. D. , born in Litchfield, Conn. , 
 in 1802, was pastor of the North, now Park, Con- 
 gregational Church in Hartford from 1833 to 1859. 
 He was a preacher of gre.at power and eloquence, 
 and distinguished as an essayist, and was the author 
 of numerous popular moral and religious works. 
 He died Feb. 17, 1870. Three days before his 
 death the common council of the city jjassed a pre- 
 amble and resolution, giving to the inrljlic park the 
 name of Bushnell Park, in recognition of his earnest 
 efforts to secure this beautiful resort for the city. 
 
 Lydia H. (Huntley) Sigourney was liorn in Nor- 
 wich, Conn., Sept. 1, 1791. In 1814 she opened a 
 select school in Hartford, and in 1819 married 
 Cliarles Sigourney, a merchant of that city. She 
 early manifested great ability as a writer of both 
 poetry and prose on religious and moral sulj- 
 jects, and her name has become a household word 
 throughout the entire country. Slie died June 10, 
 1865. 
 
 Samuel Colt, inventor of revolving fire-arms, was 
 born in Hartford, July 19, 1S14. When fifteen 
 years old he ran away to sea, making a voyage to 
 
J!EV/E\V (IF THE STATE OF CONyKCTICVT. 
 
 161 
 
 the East Indies before the mast. Hu took out liis 
 first jjatent for revolvers in 18:i5. In lH:i7, the 
 Florida war liavinj; created a demand for revolvers, 
 Mr. Colt laid the foundation of the immense works 
 at Hartford, the capacity of wliich was gradually 
 increased until 1,000 finished weapons were pro- 
 duced each day. He was also the inventor of a 
 powerful sul)marine Ijattery. lie died Jan. 10, 
 1S(>2, leaving a very large fortune. 
 
 Thomas C. IJrownell, D.D., l)orn at Westford, 
 Mass., Oct. 19, 1779, graduated at Union College 
 in 1804; entered the ministry of tlie Episco|)al 
 Cluircli in 1810 ; was consecrated bisliop of Con- 
 necticut in 1819, and removed to Hartford. He was 
 instrumental in founding Trinity College in 1824, 
 and was its lirst president, resigning in 18:!1. He 
 was also prominent in connection witli literature. 
 He died Jan. 13, 18fM. 
 
 J. Hanunond Trunilifill, LL.D., born at Ston- 
 ington. Conn., Dec. -'0, 1801, and graduated from 
 Yale in 1808, is a distinguished [jhilologist, espe- 
 cially iu the aboriginal dialects of New England. 
 
 representative in Congress from 1872 to 1875, and 
 is now United States Senator. He was president of 
 tlic Centennial Commission in 187<>, and to his 
 exertions the great success of the E.xposition was 
 largely due. He was again elected to Congress in 
 1878. 
 
 Otliei' eminent names associated with Hartford 
 art' Tliomas Day (1777-185.5), a distingnislied 
 jurist, and president of the Connecticut Historical 
 Society; .Jolni M. Niles (1787-185(;), founder of 
 tlie "ilartford Times," jurist and author, and at 
 one time postmaster-general ; .Tames II. Ward 
 (180(>-18r)l), a naval officer; Horace Wells (1815- 
 184S), tlie discoverer of nitrous oxide as an 
 anesthetic; Thomas II. Seymour (1808-1868), a 
 lawyer by profession, meml)er of Congress, a gallant 
 officer in the Mexican war, governor of tlie State 
 and minister to Russia; William H. Franklin, a 
 major-general in the war of the K<'lieHion; and 
 INIarsliall .Tewell, formerly governor of the State, 
 minister to Uussia and |)ostmaster-general, who 
 died on February lOtli, 1888. 
 
 Prominent among the natives of Hartford, who 
 
 
 P. JEWELL St SONS' LEATHER BELTING FACTORY, HARTFORD. 
 
 He has pnlilished a work upon the Blue Laws 
 of Connecticut, and is a frequent contriliutor to our 
 best periodicals. His l)rotlier, H. Clay TrundMdl, 
 now editor of tlie '" Sunday School Times," was for 
 many years a resident of Hartford, and occupied tlie 
 position of New England secretary of the American 
 Sunday School Union. He won great distinction 
 as chaplain of the Tenth Connecticut Regiment dur- 
 ing the late war. 
 
 .loseph K. Hawley, born at Stewartsville. N. C 
 Oct. 31, ls-J(). a graduate of Hamilton College in 
 1847, commenced in 1850. the practice of law in 
 Hartford. In 1857, adopting the profession of a 
 jiiunialist, he became editor of the Hartford "Even- 
 ing I'ress," an organ of the KeiJuIOican party. An 
 outspoken and earnest o|5|)oncnt of slavery, at the 
 outbreak of the war iu 1801 he was one of the first 
 to volunteer. He rendered distinguished service, 
 winning, meanwhile, rapid promotion to the 
 different ranks of colonel, brigadier-general and 
 In'evet major-general of volunteers. Mr. Hawley 
 was governor of Connecticut in 1866, president of 
 the Republican couveutiou at Chicago in 1808, and 
 
 have attained distinguished positions, may be men- 
 tioned Generals Alfred H. Terry, Rol)ert O. Tyler 
 and Griffin A. Stedman ; Frederick E. Church, the 
 artist ; and Thomas S. Preston, Roman Catholic 
 prelate and writer. Slany well-known literary 
 people Iiave resided in Ilartford during a portion 
 of their lives. Among tliese may be noticed Dr. 
 M. F. Cogswell, S. G. Goodrich. Noah AVelister, 
 George D. Prentice, John G. Wliittier, Lewis G. 
 Clark, Catherine E. Beeclier. Rose Terry Cooke, 
 Robert Bonner, AVilliam H. Bradley, Mary A. II. 
 Dodd, Jonathan W. and Tryoii Edwards, Charles 
 A. Goodrich, E. C. Stedman. and Joseph Tiumbull. 
 Tiie directory of the city at the present time in- 
 cludes the names of Samuel L. Clemens (Mark 
 Tivain), Charles Dudley Warner, Harriet Beecher 
 Stowe and her husband. Professor C. E. Stowe, 
 who are all permanent residents. The Rev. Dr. 
 Joel Hawes, who was the pastor of the Centre Con- 
 gregational Church for nearly fifty years, is widclv 
 known through his published "Lectures to Young 
 Men," which has reached a circulation of more than 
 100,000 copies. 
 
HARTFORD'S INSURANCE INTERESTS. 
 
 The ^15tiia Insurance Company. — 
 
 The ^Etna is the largest fire insurance company 
 in the United States, ami is probalily greater in 
 point of capital and assets than any similar or- 
 ganization in the world. The annual statement, 
 pulilished on January 1st, 1883, shows an actu- 
 ally paid up capital of .S4,0UU,0U0, while its gross 
 ass'ets are stated at more than five millions in ex- 
 cess of that sum, or, to be exact, at §9,054,610.68. 
 The JEtna began business in 1819, and, accord- 
 ing to tradition, in a peculiar way. The only 
 company then doing insurance Inisiness in Hart- 
 ford had for secretary a gentleman whose rela- 
 tives resided in Wethersfield, and who was ac- 
 customed to take from Saturday noon to the 
 same hour on Monday to visit them, leaving the 
 office closed and would-be insurers to await his 
 return. The inconvenience of this state of 
 affairs provoked displeasure and discussion, re- 
 sulting in the determination to form another 
 company, whose doors should be open and whose 
 officers should be on duty during business hours. 
 Such was the inception of the ^Stna. The 
 reason for the selection of the apt title of the 
 company is buried among the unknown things 
 of the past, but, doul)tless, its sponsors had in 
 view " the eternal fitness of things, " for while it 
 has been steadily in eruption its foundation is as 
 solid now as ever. The .Etna was started Vjy sub- 
 scription, a small part of which was in cash, by far 
 the greater portion in notes. The makers of these 
 expected that the earnings of the company would 
 be great enougli to warrant dividends sufficient to 
 pay their lialances, and tliattliey would, tlierefore, 
 not be called upon to meet the liability by furtlior 
 advances of cash. In tliis they were disappointed, 
 for shortly after the organization of the company 
 the confiagration in Mobile occasioned such great 
 losses tint it became necessary to call on the re- 
 serve. This caused sucli ronsternation that many 
 of the stockholders got rid of tlieir stock at any 
 sacrifice, some of them going so far as to surrender 
 tlieir certificates to anybody who would assume tlie 
 oliligations of the notes. A few of the stock- 
 hoUfers retained their courage and their stock, and 
 by so doing enaijled the company to weather the 
 storm and laid the foundation of the large for- 
 tunes manv of them afterwards enioyed. Com- 
 mencing in 1812, with a capital of $1.')0,000, tlie 
 ,.*;tna advanced in 1832 to a capital of .$200,000; 
 in 1846 to $2.50,000; in 1849 to $300,000; in 1854 
 to ^500,000; in 18.57 to §1.000.000; in 1859 to 
 ,§1.500.000; in 1864 to §2,500,000, and in 1 S66 to 
 $3,000,000. In 1871 the Cliicago fire called on 
 the resources of the company to the extent of §3,- 
 782,848.10, and in one day the ca])ital was marked 
 down a million and a half, Init the stockholders 
 immediatelv subscribed the amount necessary' and 
 
 the capital was restored to tliree millions. The 
 following year was again marked Ijy disaster in tlie 
 shape of the great fire in Boston, which involved 
 tlie com])any in losses aggregating .§1,604.348.50, 
 compelling another reduction of the capital, this 
 time l)y one-third, or one million dollars. This 
 amount, like the other, was at once subscribed .and 
 the capital again restored. From 1872 until 1881 
 the capital of the comijftny lemained at three 
 millions, being increased in the latter year by the 
 addition of another million, continuing it the 
 largest of any Fire Insurance Company in the 
 United States. In the sixty-four years of the exist- 
 ence of the jEtna it has paid in losses the enor- 
 mous sum of §54,660,000, and yet, such has been 
 the admirable management of affairs that in 1883 
 it can boast of assets to the amount of nearly ten 
 millions, and a surjilus over its liabilities so great 
 as to be an alisolute guarantee against disaster even 
 of the magnitude of the great confiagrations 
 through which it has heretofore triumphantly 
 passed. 
 
 The first President of the eomiiauy and one of 
 its incorporators was Thomas K. Brace. His 
 Presidency continued uninterruptedly until 1857, 
 when he was succeeded by Edwin G. Ripley, he 
 serving until 1862. In that year Thomas A. 
 Alexander became President and in 1866 Liu-ius 
 J. Hendee, the present incumbent, was elected. 
 Mr. Hendee was elected Secretary of the com- 
 pany in 1861, holding the office until his election 
 to the Presidency, at which time, also, Mr. Jo- 
 tham Groodnow was chosen to the vacancy, and 
 Mr. William B. Clark, formerly Secretary of the 
 Phuenix Fire Insurance Company, was appointed 
 to the Assistant Secretaryship of the ^•Etna. 
 Both these gentlemen have retained their offices 
 continuously since and are the incumbents. 
 
 The present Directors of the' ^Etna are a body 
 of men wlnise names insjiire universal confidence 
 and who are representatives of a vast amount of 
 iudividttal wealth. They are as follows : Poland 
 Mather, Gustavus F. Davis, Drayton Hillyer, 
 Walter Keney, Charles H. Brainard, William F. 
 Tuttle, Lucius J. Hendee, Francis B. Cooley, 
 William E. Cone, Henry E. Russell, Nathaniel 
 Shipman, Asa S. Porter, Austin C. Dunham, 
 James A. Smith and Morgan Ci. Bulkeley. E. 
 J. Bassett is the General Agent and J. C. Hil- 
 liard, T. P. Stowell, W. C. Goodrich and James 
 F. Dudley. Special Agents. 
 
 The building owned and occupied by the 
 iEtna Insurance Company as well as by the 
 ./Etna Life Insurance Comi^any and the .Etna 
 National Bank, is situated on the easterly side of 
 Main street near the Wadsworth Athena^iim, oj)- 
 posite the City Hotel and in close contiguity to 
 the business centi-e of Hartford. It is of brown 
 
UKVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 163 
 
 free-stoiio aud is four stories in lieifjht. It is au 
 unpretentious hut solid struoture, and in the 
 latter respect a fitting home for the company. 
 
 The ^-Etna was one of the tirst coiupauies to 
 recognize the importance of extending its agen- 
 cies, and by an energetic use of its oj)i)ortunities 
 it liecame and has continued the leading agency 
 company of the United States. The history of 
 the yEtna Insurance Company coni])els admira- 
 tion for the nu'thods aud men that worked its 
 remarkable succe.ss. 
 
 The ('(mncoticut Mutual Tjil'o Iiisnr- 
 aiie<' ('oiii|»aii> . — The ('(iiuiccticut. Mutual Life 
 Jnsuraiic<' ('oiupMuy stands, with a single exception, 
 at the head of llic list of the life; companies of this 
 eountiT as regards assets, and is among the be.«t in 
 point of staliility. It is one of the five whose his- 
 tory IS coeval witli that of life insurance, and one 
 of the few that have demonstrated tlie tlieory of 
 "the survival of the fittest." It was in tiie year 
 lH4<!tliHt Dr. (Juy U. Phelps took the initiatory steps 
 towards tlie furmatiou of a nnitual life insurance 
 association, and it was in tlic same year that he, 
 witli a few friends, applied to the Legislature of 
 Counecticut for a cliarter for the comi)any that was 
 to l)e |)ui<-ly mutual in its character. In May of 
 that yeai' the cliarter was granted, and the docu- 
 ment was, perhaps, one of the most peculiar of its 
 kind that ever saw the light. No capital of any 
 kind was required, and no minimuni of applica 
 tions tixed as a condition for connnencing business. 
 No limits of territory ham|)ered the strides of the 
 infant corporation, and its liability was of the most 
 vague description. The company was authoii/.ed 
 to take i)romissory notes or otiier obligations for 
 part or whole of the premiums. In case the funds 
 in hand at any time were insufficient to jjay the 
 losses, these notes were to be assessed for the de- 
 ficiency, and if tlie assessment was not paid in sixty 
 days, the policy was forfeited and the comijany 
 could proceed to collect by law. Tlie company 
 might "receive notes or other securities for pre- 
 miums in advance from persons intending to re- 
 ceive its policies, for which such ])ersons may be 
 allowed a sum not exceeding six per cent, per an- 
 num. And said company may negotiate the same 
 for the purjjose of ])aying claims only." 
 
 As strange to tliose of oui' da}' wei'e the provis- 
 ions concerning the distribution of the jirotits. 
 Each mernljer was to be yearly charged with his 
 proportion of the losses and exjjen.ses, according to 
 tlie |)remiums paid, and credited witli his share of 
 the |)reiiiium3 earned, less losses, expenses and 
 profits from investment. Tlie difference was to be 
 credited to the mi'mber, but to be held lial)le for 
 future losses, until the net prolits amounted to two 
 hundred thousand dollars, after wliich any excess 
 was to lie applieil to the redemption of the certifi- 
 cates issued. 
 
 Ten years later the charter was amended so as to 
 allow the directors to adjust and pay the dividends 
 at their discretion aud power was granted to issue 
 non-participating policies. Care was taken that the 
 effect of external influences should be as small as 
 possiljle, and centralization of ])ower was provided 
 against by a clause limiting the term of office to 
 four successive years. Edson Fessendeu, E. P. 
 Pratt and Guy R. Phelps, or any two of them, were 
 
 to call the first meeting. After the trifling diffi- 
 culty of obtaining a charter had lieen disposed of, 
 the real lahor of the infant corporation began. It 
 was found to be impossible to induce persons to 
 insure their lives in a company witlnoiit any tangi- 
 ble capital or assets or financial responsihility, and 
 to remove this disaliility and gain the confidence of 
 the community was the tir.st step necessary to suc- 
 cess. In order to accomplish this desirable end, it 
 was resolved to solic'it from tlie prominent and 
 wealthy citizens of Hartford a guarantee fund of 
 fift}- tliousands dollars for the protection of policy- 
 holders until the liusiness and income of the com- 
 pany should warrant a dependence on its own 
 resources. Tills it was found difticult to do, but 
 after earnest and protracted effort, the late Thomas 
 K. Bruce, then President of the ^I'-tiia Fire Insur- 
 ance Company was induced to lead the subscrip- 
 tion, his example being (piickly followed by other 
 leading citizens until in a short time the re(|uired 
 sum was guaranteed and the company started on 
 its prosperous career. 
 
 The company organized with Mr. Eliphalet A. 
 Bulkeley, as President, and Dr. Phelps, as Secre- 
 tary. The latter made an extensive tour of Europe 
 for the puipose of studying the different moiles of 
 life insurance, and on his return applied the results 
 of his investigations to the conduct of the com- 
 pany, with gratifying success. Mr. Bulkeley 
 remained as President of the company until .Jan- 
 uary, iy4.S, when he was succeeded by Jlr. James 
 Goodwin who held the office until ISliO, when he 
 resigned, remaining out of office for three years, 
 and being re-elected in 1S09, on the death of Dr. 
 Phelps, who had filled the ofiice in the mean time. 
 
 In three years from the organization of the com- 
 pany its membership numbered over six thousand 
 and two years later its assets reached a million 
 dollars. So extraordinary was the success of the 
 com])any that in the succeeding year this sum was 
 douljled, and it took the rank it has since main- 
 tained among the leading life insurance companies 
 of the world. For many years the Connecticut 
 Mutual was the prominent champion of the credit 
 system, and by its rapid growth, contributed large- 
 ly to the extensive adoption of that method among 
 the younger companies, and it v\'as among the first 
 to break in upon the time-honored cu.stom of the 
 British com])aniesui declaring reversionary bonuses, 
 aud substitute therefor the method of annual divi- 
 dends applicalilc to the payment of premiums. 
 
 Another of the salient features in the conduct of 
 the compauys business, and one which provoked 
 favorable comment and discussion, was the invest- 
 ment of its funds In Western securities, from which 
 a larger return of interest could be earned than in 
 those nearer home. This excess was more than 
 four per cent, aliove the rate assumed in its calcu- 
 lations, enabling the company to cancel to a cor- 
 responding extent the credit obligations of its 
 members. 
 
 In twenty years from the incorporation of the 
 company, in 1805, tlie accumulated fund amounted 
 to nearly ten millions of dollars; it had paid to 
 policy holders three millions in dividends and four 
 millions in losses, and this unexampled rate of in- 
 crease has kept its steady pace up to the ijresent, 
 the annual statement published January 1, 1883, 
 showing gross assets to the amount of nearly fifty- 
 
104 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AN^D INDUSTRIAL 
 
 tw(i million dollars, with lialiilities about five 
 million dollars less. 
 
 In lS3i) the company began the erection of the 
 building now occupied by its office and other in- 
 surance and financial institutions, and in the fol- 
 lowing year it was completed and utilized. This 
 is one of the finest business edifices in New England 
 and will stand for centuries a monument to the 
 energy and foresight of the founders of tlie Con- 
 necticut Mutual. 
 
 In 1800, at the time Dr. Phelps was electeci to 
 the Presidency, Mr. Woodbridge S. Olmstead was 
 chosen Secretary. In 1871. Mr. Olmstead was ap- 
 pointed Vice-President and Treasurer, and ~Sh\ 
 Jacolj L. Greene, now President of the company, 
 was elected to the vacancy. 
 
 In March, 1878, Mr. Goodwin died, and Mr. 
 Greene w-as selected to fill the Presidency, a post 
 he has since admhiistered with nuirlced ability. 
 
 The present ofiicers of the company are : Jacob 
 L. Greene, President; Jolm M. Taylor, Secretary; 
 William G. Alibot, Assistant Secretary ; Daniel li. 
 Wells, Actuary; Elisha Risley, Superintendent of 
 Agencies. 
 
 "of these gentlemen it can be said that they are 
 among tlie most prominent and able insurance men 
 in the' country, and of their company that it is 
 what it claims to be — thoroughly reliable. 
 
 Tho ^Htna Life Insiiraiice Coinpaiiy. 
 
 — In tlie year 1820 the JEtua Insurance Company of 
 Hartford" obtained from the Connecticut Legisla- 
 ture an amendment to its charter authorizing an 
 increase of its capital stock to the sum of $150,- 
 000, for the purpose of creating an " Annuity 
 Fund," and authorizing it to issue annuities and 
 insurance upon lives. The fund set aside was to 
 be liable for no other debts or hazards of the Jitna 
 Insurance Comi^any. 
 
 In the year 1850 it commenced business, and 
 certain directors were delegated to manage the 
 affairs of the " Annuity Fund," and Eliphalet A. 
 Bulkcley, Vice-President of the ^tna Insurance 
 Company, was selected as the Chairman of tlie Man- 
 aging Directors of the " Annuity Fund," and Jolin 
 W. Seymour was chosen Actuary. 
 
 But very little business was transacted by the 
 "Annuity Fund" Department until the year 1853, 
 when the General Assembly granted an amendment 
 to the charter, incorporating the shareholders of 
 the " Annuity Fund " as a separate and distinct 
 organization, under the name of the ^Etua Life 
 Insurance Company. The separate organization 
 was completed in July of that year by an election 
 of the following directors : 
 
 E. A. Bulkeley, Austin Dunham, H. Z. Pratt, 
 L. C. Ives, M. Howard, John Warburton, R. 
 Mather, S. L. Loomis, J. W. Seymour, W. H. 
 D. Cal lender. The following officers were elected : 
 President, Hon. E. A. Bulkeley; Secretary, J. W. 
 Seymour; Consulting Physician, H. A. Grant, 
 M.D. ; Examining Physician, G. W. Russell, 
 M.D. 
 
 In 1855 Samuel Colt was chosen Secretary. In 
 1856 J. W. Seymour was elected Vice-President. 
 In 1857 John Warburton was chosen Vice-Presi- 
 dent in place of Mr. Seymour. In 1858 T. t). 
 Enders was elected Secretary in place of Mr. (!oit. 
 In 1860 S. L. Loomis was elected Vice-President to 
 
 fill the vacancy caused by the death of John War- 
 burton. In 1863 Austin Dunham succeeded to the 
 Vice-Presidency upon the deatli of Mr. Loomis. 
 In 1867 H. W. St. John, the company's present 
 Actuary, was appointed to tliat position. lu 187i, 
 following the death of the companv's first Presi- 
 dent— Eliphalet A. Bulkeley— T. O." Enders, the 
 Secretary since 1858, was elected to fill the vacancy 
 caused by the death of Judge Bulkeley; and J. L. 
 English was elected to succeed Mr. Enders as Sec- 
 retary. In 1877 W. H. Bulkeley was elected Vice- 
 President to fill the vacancy caused by the death of 
 Austin Dunham. In 1879, T. O. Enders having 
 declined a re-election as President, Morgan J. 
 Bulkeley, the present President, was elected his 
 successor. W. H. Bulkeley having retired from the 
 position of Vice-President, which had not before 
 been an active executive office, J. C. Webster, then 
 Superintendent of Agencies, was chosen Vice- 
 President, and is the present incumbent. 
 
 To the year 1861 all contracts for insurance, 
 written by the ^tna Life, were upon t!ie non-par- 
 ticipating or proprietary plan. During that year 
 the company commenced the insurance of partici- 
 pating policies ; and since that date it has con- 
 tinued to issue policies under both systems. During 
 the first seven years after the estaUisliment of the 
 Participating Department, the company issued 
 policies upon the then popular method known as 
 the premium note plan. In 1868 it adopted plans 
 of insurance which required the payment of the 
 full premiums in cash. In the year 1870 it aban- 
 doned wholly the insurance of premium note poli- 
 cies. Under the cash system its business has been 
 conducted to the present time. In 1878 the capital 
 stock of the *Etna Life was increased to .$750,000, 
 which amount has been fully paid up in cash. 
 
 January 1, 1883, the J^tua's assets were $28,102,- 
 886.79. Its surplus above its liabilities, calculated 
 upon the most rigid standard, viz., that of four per 
 cent., was $4,4:18,123.68. Upon the liasis of four 
 and one-half per cent., the standard of New York 
 and most other States, its surplus was estimated at 
 $6,0(10.000. 
 
 Hon. E. A. Bulkeley, the first President of the 
 ^tna Life and father of the present iucumlient. 
 was one of the incorporators, and the first President 
 of the Connecticut 5lutual Life Insurance Company 
 ofHartford. To T. O. Enders, tlie successor to Judge 
 Bulkeley and the ^Etna's second president, is due 
 great credit for the remarkable growth and the 
 present financial standing of the ^Utna Life. Com- 
 mencing with it as its secretary, in the year 1858, 
 he continued as its active official until the year 
 1879, when he declined a re-election as president. 
 
 The present directors of the ^Etna Life are: T. 
 O. Enders, Gurdon W. Russell, Leveret Brainerd. 
 A. E. Hillver, AV. H. Bulkeley, James Campbell, 
 M. G. Bulkeley, S. G. Dunham. 
 
 Hon. Morgan G. Bulkeley, the present Presi- 
 dent of the company, was born in East Haddani, 
 Conn., December 26, 1837. Early in life he en- 
 gaged in mercantile business in Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 In 1872 he returned to Hartfoid and organized the 
 United States Trust Company (now the United 
 States Bank), and for a considerable time was its 
 president. In 1880 he was elected Mayor of Hart- 
 ford, receiving the largest majority ever given a 
 candidate for that office. At the expiration of his 
 
Its VIEW "/■' Till-: siwri-: (if Connecticut. 
 
 165 
 
 torm lip was rc-ck'cted. lie is a ilifi'ctor in the 
 Willimantio Linen Comjianv, in the Hartford Silk 
 ('onipany, tlie United States Bank, and tlie .y^tna 
 File Insnrance Company. He was elected a di- 
 leetor of tlie JEtua Life in 1872, and its president 
 in July, ISTO. 
 
 J. ('. Welister, Vire-President, was lioin in Kins- 
 tield. Me., May 24, is:i!). He coniinenccd with the 
 .5i;tna Life in the spring of ISfJt, as its local atrent 
 in Concord, N. II. Siihsequently lie was made its 
 State Agent, and in April, 1878, was ajiixiinted 
 Superintendent of Asrencies. which position he 
 occui)ied until elected Vice-President in .Tuly, IS7!t. 
 He is one of the directors of the Hartford Trust 
 Company. 
 
 J. L. iCnjrlish the Serretary was born in Wood- 
 stock, Vt., October 1, 1843. He conimenced with 
 the conipanv as olerk in the Home Office in the 
 year !S()7. Was elected secretary in the year 18T2, 
 and has occii]iied the ])Osition since. 
 
 II AV. St. .John, the Actuary, was born in New- 
 port, li. I.. April 4. 1834. He completed his edu- 
 cation in the Scientitic Department of Yale College, 
 comnienced with the ^Etna Life as its Actuarial 
 Adviser in the ye»r 18<>7, and has continued with it 
 in that capacity ever since. 
 
 Guidon \V. Uussell, M.D., Consulting Physician, 
 was born in Hartford. Conn., April 10, 181.5. He 
 was graduated at Trinity College in 1834, and the 
 ^Medical Institute of Yale College in IS37. He has 
 been in jjraetice in Hartford continuously since. 
 Ujion the retirement of Dr. Grant, in the year 18.54, 
 Dr. Russell took charge of the Medical Department 
 of the -Etna Life and lias since continued as the 
 company's Adviser. 
 
 The Hartford Fire Iiisin-aii«'<' Com- 
 pany. — This Company, the oldest in Hartford 
 and fourth in the country in capital, was incor- 
 porated in 1810. although history tells us that 
 tire risk.s were written in the name of the Hart- 
 ford Insurance Company as long ago as 1794. 
 It is not claimed, however, that the " Hartford " 
 as at jiroseut constituted had an existence prior 
 to the date of its incorporation in 1810, and 
 hence its history goes back only to that time. 
 The original capital was ■'?1.jO,000, and as was 
 the custom in those days, the greater part of it 
 was in notes subject, of eoiir.se, to collection for 
 the jjayment of losses in ease the small per- 
 centage of p.aid-up capital should be iusufBcieut 
 to meet demands. 
 
 The first President of the Hartford was Gen- 
 eral Nathaniel Terrv, who was succeeded in 
 183.5 by Eliphalet Terry, of the firm of E. k K. 
 Terr.v, then a leading house here. The com- 
 pany had not been succeeding very well. Energy 
 and advertising were not so common then as 
 they have shown themselves to be since, and it 
 was the custom, if a large loss was met, to drop 
 the agency and retire from business in the 
 locality, instead of following the jtresent and 
 better jdali of ])aying the claim with all the 
 prom])tness which a careful investigation will 
 warrant and making fame from the transaction 
 and ]n'ofit from the loss. At the same time that 
 Mr. Terry was chosen President an entire change 
 was made in the working officials of the com- 
 
 pany, with a view of infusing new life and 
 liringing its affairs out of the lethargic state io 
 which they had so long remained. -Mr. James 
 G. Bollos, then a dry goods merchant and many 
 years later President of the North American 
 (Company, was choseu Secretary and ^Ir. C. C. 
 Lyman, a lumber merchant was made Assistant 
 Secretary. The latter gentleman held his office 
 for fort.v-three years, declining all jn-omotion 
 aud retiring in 1878. The first si.\ months of 
 the new management in 183.5, were very success- 
 ful and a di\idend was about to lie declared 
 when the great New York fire of that year oc- 
 curred. Tins deferred the dividend, Iiut gave 
 the business of the com]iany a fresh and lively 
 impetus. Secretary Bolles and E. D. Morgan, 
 later Cxovernor of New York, recently deceased, 
 who was then a director, went down to that city, 
 ojieued an office amid the ruins and did a very 
 brisk business at good rates. The losses were 
 all paid inside the .stipulated sixty days and 
 the reputation and credit of the company was 
 at once established on the firm basis it lias since 
 maintained. It was in that year that the company 
 began spreading out its agencies, and it rcachc^d as 
 far west as Cleveland, \)liio. In 1846 the St. 
 Johns, Newfoundland, and Nantucket tires made 
 large inroads on the resources of the company, but 
 all losses were jjromptly ])aid at the time, as 
 indeed they have ever been since. In 18.54 the 
 ca]ntal of tlie Hartford was increased to $300.- 
 000; in 1857, to $500,000, and in 1804, to 
 SI. 000. 000. At this latter figure it remained until 
 1871, when the great losses sustained at theChicago 
 tire compelled a reduction of one half. This state 
 of affairs was of very brief duration, however, and 
 the deficiency of $500,000 was at once subscriljed by 
 tlie stockholders and the capital restored to the old 
 figure. The losses sustained by the Hartford in 
 the Chicago fire amounted to .$1,068,225.32, nearly 
 twice the amount of itsca|)ital, and the promptness 
 with which the misfortune was met and the neces- 
 sary funds subscribed, speaks volumes for the 
 energy, foresight and honesty of the gentlemeu 
 composing tlic association. In 1877 the capital 
 was still further increased by the addition of 
 $250,000, and the annual statement jiublished on 
 .January 1st, 1883, shows gross assets to the amount 
 of 64,337,280.51). with a surplus as to ))olicy- 
 holders of S2,Gt)8, 240.77, and a not surplus of 
 •51,358,240.77. Following Mr. Terry in the Presi- 
 dency, in 1849, came Ilezekiah Huntington, with 
 whom were also Samuel and Frank Huntington in 
 the direction of the company at the same time. 
 Mr. Timothy C. AUyn succeeded Jlr. Huntington 
 in 1864, and he, in 1867, was succeeded l)y Mr. 
 George L. Chase, the present incumbent. Among 
 the prominent insurance names that have lieen con- 
 nected witli the company may be mentioned A. F. 
 AVilmarth of the Home of New York ; C. B. 
 Bowers, afterwards President of the City Fire; 
 George M. Coit, now of New York ; J. 1). Browne, 
 afterwards President of the Connecticut Fire, 
 who were secretaries. Mr. D. W. C'. Skelton, 
 now Secretary of the Phcenix Fire, and Gen- 
 eral L. A. Dickinson, for a time local agent of the 
 -Etna, were also graduates from the office of the 
 Haitford. The present President, Mr. Geo. L. 
 Chase, is one of the oldest underwriters in the 
 
166 
 
 THE niSTOBICAL, fiTATIHTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 country, liavina; commenced about tlie year 1847 
 with a Mutual Company in Massacliusetts. After- 
 ward removing to tlie West, lie was connected witli 
 the New England Insurance (,'ompany. Subse- 
 quently he formed an arrangement with the Hart- 
 ford, where he remained for a numl>er of years 
 prior to being called to the Presidency of the com- 
 pany. The Hartford, under his management, has 
 been eminently successful and prosperous. The 
 present Secretary of the company, Mr. (J. B. Whit- 
 ing, is an underwriter of wide e.vperience, and was 
 for some years secretary of the National Board. 
 After leaving tliat position he was, for al)out ten 
 years, connected with the Home, of New York, and 
 was sul>sequently with the Fire and Marine, of 
 Springfield, Mass. Mr. P. C. Royce is the Assist- 
 ant Secretary, and Ijrings to his duties a thorough 
 knowledge of the insurance business, gained in a 
 long experience with various companies. The 
 directors for iy8;3 are as follows : Geo. L. Chase, 
 Charles Boswell, Henry Kency, Calvin Day, C. C. 
 Lyman, E. B. Watkinson, Jonathan B. Bunce, 
 James J. Goodwin, Jacob L. Greene. All of these 
 gentlemen are otherwise and jirominently idenlilied 
 witli the Ijusiness interests of Hartford, and their 
 names are a guarantee of the soundness of any in- 
 stitution with which tlicy are connected. Tlie 
 Hartford owns a l)eautiful Quincy granite building 
 on the corner of Pearl and TiuinlniU streets, cen- 
 trally located and an ornament to tlie city, an illus- 
 tration of which will be found on page 93. It is 
 a general insurance centre, containing the offices of 
 the Connecticut Fire and Continental Life Insur- 
 ance Companies. 
 
 The Hartford dates its existence from the incep- 
 tion of Fire Insurance in this country, and can 
 truthfully claim to occupy a position at the top. 
 
 TlicPlKi'iiix (Fire) Insurance Company 
 
 (See illustration, page 80). 
 — This standard company was incorijorated in 
 1854, the first informal meeting taking place in a 
 workroom in the rear of the store of the late Lyman 
 Stoekbridge, No. 364 Main street, and the formal 
 organization in the rear office of the late Wm. II. 
 Iralay, in the building known as Union Hall, then 
 standing on the present site of the building of the 
 Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, cor- 
 ner of Main and Pearl streets. This room was 
 used as the office of the company until December, 
 1854, when it was removed to No. 27.5 Main street, 
 remaining there until December, 1862, and remov- 
 ing thence to Hill's Block, No. 333 Main street. In 
 August, 1872, the company laid the foundation of 
 the elegant and spacious building now occupied 
 (an illustration of which will be found elsewhere in 
 this volume), and in November of the following 
 year the business was transferred to it and perma- 
 nently located. The building is distinguished for 
 the severe simplicity of its architecture and the 
 solidity of its construction and furnishing, and is, 
 perhaps, in those respects, typical of the character 
 of the organization to which it owes its existence. 
 Everything th^t a thorough knowledge of the bus- 
 iness and a keen foresight as to the ijossibilities and 
 probabilities of its growtli could suggest was em- 
 ployed in planning and building the edifice, and it 
 stands now, as it will a hundred years hence, a 
 monument to the energy and probity of the men 
 
 who gave to the world the "Phoenix." The cost 
 of laud, building, furniture, etc., amounted to 
 somewhere in tliene ghborhood of $125,000, an in- 
 vestment the wisdom of which has been thorough- 
 ly demonstrated by the rapid and steady increase in 
 tlie value of the jjroperty. 
 
 On the 21st of June, 1854, the subscription to 
 the capital stock was opened, and $100,000 were 
 immediately forthcoming. On that day the com- 
 pany was organized and the following-named gen- 
 tlemen were elected directors: Chester Adams, .John 
 A. Butler, ElishaT. Smith, Edwin T. Pease, Ralph 
 Cheney, Erastus Smith, William Faxon, James C. 
 Walkeley, Joseph Merriman, Natlian M. Water- 
 man, Samuel B. Beresford, Lymtin Stoekbridge, 
 and Nathaniel H. Morgan, the latter gentleman 
 being chosen President, and Mr. Henry Kellogg, 
 the present incumljent of that office, lieiug elected 
 Secretary. 
 
 Five days later the subscriptions were re- 
 opened and the capital stock was increased to 
 $200,000, with one hundred and three separate 
 subscriptions. About ten per cent, of this stock 
 was paid in cash, the remainder being secured by 
 stock notes, indorsed, guaranteed and jjiotected to 
 the full satisfaction of the directors and the secur- 
 ity of the policy-holders. 
 
 The first policy ever written by the " Phcenix " 
 was issued on June 29th, 1854, and was in favor of 
 Mr. Eliliu Geer, the well-known ininter and pub- 
 lisher at Nos. 10 and 12 State street, and covered 
 his furniture, wearing apparel and library. On 
 June 16th, 1859, the capital stock was again in- 
 creased, this time to $400,000, and on April 7th, 
 1804, it was still further increased to $()()( 1,000. 
 At this figure it remained until December 1st, 1871, 
 when, at a special meeting of the stockholders and 
 in consequence of tlie great losses at the Chicago 
 fire, il was voted to reduce the capital stock to 
 $300,000, and at the same meeting the subscri|)tion 
 books were re-opened, and, such was the confidence 
 of the stockholders in the management of the com- 
 pany, the entire deficiency was inmiediately sub- 
 scribed and the capital restored to the old sum. 
 This action, coming so promjitly at such a dis- 
 astrous time, did wonders for the reputation of the 
 Plue.iix. and in a moment placed it in the position 
 it now so firmly occupies as one of the tssentially 
 reliable insurance organizations of the country. 
 
 Tlie next increase of capital stock occurred in 
 July, 1876, when $400,000 were added, making a 
 grand total of $1,000,000, and still further 'en- 
 hancing the reputation and Viusiness of the com- 
 pany. For five years the figures representing a 
 million of dollars stood unchanged as re|)rtsenting 
 the capital stock, but at the expiration of that 
 period, in July, 1881, the rapid growtli of the 
 volume of insurance carried by the company in- 
 duced yet another increase. Tliis time it was not 
 considered sufficient to add to the capital by the 
 hundred thousand dollars, but at one stroke it was 
 increased to $2,000,000, at which figure it remains 
 to-day. Up to February 25th, 1856, the business 
 of the company had been transacted on an actual 
 ciinh capital of ten, twenty and thirty jier cent, of 
 tlie real capital, the latter two figures being repre- 
 sented by accrued dividends credited on the stock 
 notes, only ten per cent, of the amount having been 
 actually paid in, although, as the result proved. 
 
ItEVlEW OF THE STATE OF CONNKt'TICVT. 
 
 167 
 
 tlio uotes were as good as the cash itself. At tliis 
 time, and in consequence of inimical and ai^gressive 
 legislation in seveial States, lequiiini; that the capi- 
 tal stock of coiiipanic'S doing Inisiness witliin tlieir 
 borders slioidd lie actnally |)aid up in cash, the 
 Boaid of Directors demanded from the stockliolders 
 payment of the remaining seventy per cent, on 
 tlieir stock, and ti.ved the limit for such |)aymeut 
 on March 28th. Before that date every dollar was 
 paid, and the capital stock of the PhoMiix liecame 
 what it has since remained, absolutely cash. Not 
 alone has the capital stock of the Phienix increased 
 in an almost marvelous degree, but the other assets 
 have kept time until tlie latest annual statement 
 (January 1st, 188;!,) gives the entire assets, inclusive 
 of the capital stock, at $-l,44(i.208.31. 
 
 The month of October, 1S71, marked the only 
 thing that ever looked like a crisis in the afl'airs 
 of thi.s Company. In that mfinth the great con- 
 flagration in Chicago, a.s well as the lesser calam- 
 ities of the forest tires in Wisconsin and Michi- 
 gan, involved the Comjiany in au aggregate loss 
 of 8987, -395.90, or a little more than one hun- 
 dred and sixty-four ])er cent, of its capital stock, 
 the great impairment of which it liecame neces- 
 sary to meet by siibseriptions of actual cash. 
 How well and ])romptly this was done has here- 
 tofore been noticed. 
 
 The Phcenix Insurance Company is remark- 
 able for the safe and conservative methods of its 
 business and for the fact that it relies on legit- 
 imate insurance at reasonable, yet remunerative 
 rates. It acts on the wise iirinciple that the as- 
 sured can only be so when they themselves pay 
 a safe premium, and that it is far better to be 
 sure than liasty. Hence cheap insurance cannot 
 l)e found with it, and hence sensible 2>eople are 
 with its patrons. 
 
 The present officers of the Phcenix are : Presi- 
 dent, Mr. Henry Kellogg ; Vice-President, Mr. 
 Asa W. Jillson ; Secretary, Mr. De^yitt C. Skel- 
 ton ; Assistant Secretary, Mr. George H. Bur- 
 dick. Of these gentlemen it is unnecessary to 
 say anything save that "their works do follow 
 them." 
 
 The Travelers' Iiisnranee Coinimiiy. — 
 
 To Mr. .lames G. Barterson, tlie well-knuwn con- 
 tractor, builder, and monumental sculptor, tlie 
 l)eople of tliis country arc indel.ited tor the intro- 
 duction and practiciil winking of general accident 
 insurance. While in Eum|ie he familiarized him- 
 self with the workings of accident insurance, and 
 upon liis return organized the Travelers' Insurance 
 Cknnpany, with a paid-up capital of .'if.'iOO, 000, 
 which, in 187."), was increased to igdOO.OOO. A 
 charter was procured on tli(^ ITtli of .Tune, lK(i;!, and 
 business was begun in April of the next year. The 
 first written policy, for S.5,<K)(l, was issued to Mr. 
 Batterson, tlie President of the company. Mr. G. 
 F. Davis was elected Vice-President, and to him be- 
 longs the credit of the construction of tlu', company, 
 as it now stands, jjromincnt, unique and successful, 
 after nineteen years of operation. The company 
 was incorporated with power to insure '-persons 
 against the accidental loss of life or pc'rsonal injury 
 sn.^taincd while traveling by railroad, steamboat, 
 or other mode of conveyance." Sub.scquently the 
 charter waS amended by including authority to 
 
 make " all and every insurance connected with ac- 
 cidental loss of life or personal injury sustained by 
 accident of every description." The organization 
 of this company awakened a general interest in 
 casualty insurance of all kinds. There is no coun- 
 try in the world where the people travel more than 
 in America, and as our civilization rajjidly devel- 
 ops with the wonderful increase of population, 
 there are new combinations and an advancing 
 complexity of relations which calls for a new in- 
 demnity in the form of a general casualty insur- 
 ance. Tint Americans are a rapid, reckless peojile, 
 largely at the mercy of corporaticuis, and more 
 liable to accidents of all smtsthan any other. The 
 new system of insurance comes not a day too soon. 
 The success of the Traveleis' was assured fixmi the 
 stait. Two years later no less than eleven other 
 companies started as conip<-titors, Ijut the Travelers' 
 Iiad secured the cstablislietl trade, and very soon it 
 was without a rival, as all the others abandoned 
 the field. The original busine.ss of the Travelers' 
 was limited to accident insurance. Along witli the 
 general accident policies, which inchided weekly 
 compensation in case of injury, short-term tickets 
 were issued for the special benefit of railroad 
 travelers, and sold at the principal ticket- 
 ofiices throughout the country. In eighteen 
 months from the time of beginning business, 
 over '.^7, 000 policies were in force, giving an 
 annual income of half a million dollars, and insur- 
 ing .^8.'),'>!17,.")00. In 1860 a life department was 
 addeil with the most encouraging results. Early 
 in tlie same year it was decided to form a distinct 
 corporation for the prosecution of the railroad 
 ticket business. Ex|)erience had shown that this 
 was so entirely a distinct branch of the business as 
 to require a uniform system throughout tlie country. 
 The KailroadPassenger Assurance! Co., of Hartford, 
 was therefore organized, with a capital of 8^00,000, 
 and Mr. Batterson was made the president of the 
 new enterprise. In a short time the new company 
 rivaled its chief progenitor in the measure of its 
 success. Afterwards, however, its business -was 
 again consolidated with that of the Travelers', and 
 it ceased lo have an inde]>endent existence, the 
 Ticket Department of the Travelers' taking its place. 
 This company enjoyed the advantage of the faet 
 that the lienefits of its protection was continually 
 Ijrought before the attention of the public. The 
 disasteis taking place in all jjarts of the country, 
 when of any magnitude, seldom failed to furnish 
 a member of this conqiany in the list of sufTerere. 
 Thus, for the railway disaster at New Hamliurgh, 
 this company paid out .'JSO.OOO ; for Anjjola the 
 same sum; to the victims of the Metis disaster, 
 $i:!,000: for tlie Aslitaliula disaster, !i;;»,000; for 
 the Newhall House, |17,0()0; with large sums to 
 single individuals, in all parts of the country, who 
 met with accidents. These are Init a few examples, 
 in the course of nineteen years, out of l.oOO death 
 losses paid, to which are to be added 87,000 claims 
 for disabling injury. As compared with similar 
 insurance comiianies.in other countries, the Travel- 
 ers' appears to the greatest advantage. In twenty 
 years the oldest and largest company in England 
 had insured liut 100,000 penple, while in five years 
 the Travelers' had insunrd l.jO.lKlO persons, and 
 pad losses of nearly a million dollars, ranging 
 fr m $1 to .§10.000 each. 
 
168 
 
 THE nrsroRiCAL, statistical and industrial 
 
 On the first of January, 1883, the records of 
 the Travelers' showed that one i^erson in every 
 ten of its accident i^jolic-y-hokler has been paid 
 Tinder a claim for death or injury by accident. 
 On its books were the names of nearly 85,000 of 
 these recipients of cash benefits, the amounts 
 making an aggregate of over $5,400,000. The 
 company's tatement on that date showed assets 
 bf {6,067,394.40. The total liabilities amounted 
 to 14,992,095.20, leaving a surplus as regards 
 policy holders of ,§1,675,299.20. 103, 121 policies 
 ■were "written in the accident deijartment alone 
 during the year 1882, a gain of 5,557 jjolicies 
 over 1881, and an increase in premium over the 
 same year of §134,562.79. In the life depart- 
 ment, "too, 13,443 policies were in force, of which 
 2,042 liad been written during the year, all on 
 the non-participating cash plan. Down to the 
 jsresent time the number of accident jiolicies 
 written is about 850,000, and of life jiolicies in 
 force tliere are about 13,500. The number of 
 accident claims ijaid in 1882 was 15,503, amount- 
 ing to §750,572.36. The total losses paid liy both 
 departments since the foundation of the Travel- 
 ers' are about .^8,000,000. The officers of the 
 Travelers' are James G. Batterson, President ; 
 Rodney Dennis, Secretary ; John E. Morris, 
 Assistant Secretary ; George Ellis, Actuary ; 
 Edward V. Preston, Superintendent of Agen- 
 cies ; J. B. Lewis, M. D., Surgeon and Adjuster. 
 The Board of Directors includes some of the 
 foremost names in Connecticut, the late Marshall 
 Jewell having been one almost from the start. 
 
 The Scottish Union and National In- 
 surance Company, and Tlie Lion Fire 
 Insurance Company of LoikIoii. — M. Ben- 
 nett, Jr., Manager ; James H. Brewster, Assist- 
 ant Manager. — The Scottish Union and National 
 Insurance Jompany, of which Mr. Bennett is 
 the United States Manager, has been in opera- 
 tion nearly sixty years and is one of the strong- 
 est of foreign companies. It lias a subscrilied 
 capital of more than twenty-one millions of dol- 
 lars, a portion being paid up and all being in 
 such a shape as to be liable for the claims of 
 poUoy holders. The sum immediately available 
 for the payment of losses amounts to over four- 
 teen millions, wliile the entire assets are far in 
 excess of that sum, being .stated as §33,041,045, 
 inclusive of the capital stock. Since its organ- 
 ization it has received premiums amounting to 
 nearly §17,000,000, paid in losses more than §9,- 
 000,000, and, in di\'idends to its stockliolders, 
 between §5,000,000 and §6,000,000, besides is- 
 suing new stock to the amount of §275,000. Its 
 stock sells at §400, per share on a par value of 
 §100. Among the one hundred and sixty-six 
 home and foreign companies reporting to the 
 New York Insurance Department, there are Imt 
 seven which have so large a paid-up capital as 
 the Scottish Union and National. The com- 
 panv, in Febrnary, 1883, had invested in the 
 United States the sum of §1,031,210.46, and 
 could show a gain in the net assets in America, 
 for the preceding year, of §212.087.30. 
 
 The Lion Insurance Company, although not 
 as great a corjioration as the Scottish, is held in 
 equal esteem by insurers and bears as good a 
 
 reijutation as any company doing Ijusiness in the 
 United States. Its subscribed capital is §5,000,- 
 000, of which §1,250,000 are paid up. It has in- 
 vested in America •§748. 760. 03, and shows a gain 
 in its net assets in this countrv, for the year 
 1882, of §105,243.16. This com'pany is alsd un- 
 der the management of M. Bennett, Jr., assisted 
 by Jas. H. Brewster, and numbers among its 
 Trustees for the United States, Julius CatUn, 
 Jr. , of New York, Francis B. Cooley of Hartford, 
 and Kodney Dennis also of Hartford and Secre- 
 tary of tlie Travelers'. 
 
 Mr. Bennett, the Manager of these two com- 
 panies, is a native of Bristol, R. I., and forty-two 
 years of age. lie graduated at Brown University, 
 Providence, R. 1., in the class of '60, as a civil en- 
 gineer, the university conferring upon him, in 
 September, ] 8G0, the degree of A. M. He was an 
 officer of the Connecticut Fire Insurance Company 
 for about twenty years, the last eight of which he 
 filled the jiresidency, during tliat time bringing 
 that company from No. 56 to No. 10 in point of 
 net assets in the list of eighty-six American com- 
 ])anies doing business in New York. On April 28, 
 1880, Mr. Bennett was elected president of the 
 National Board of Fire Underwriters, an office he 
 holds up to the ))resent writing. In October of the 
 same year, lie severed his connection with the Con- 
 necticut, and established the United States Agency 
 of the companies lie now rei)resents. A great dial 
 is said for the executive and liusiness ability of Mr. 
 Bennett, when it is stated that the liusiness he man- 
 ages now requires the services of more than thirty 
 clerks, as against a total force of only seven, two 
 years ago. Mr. Bennett is also piominent in local 
 insurance matters, and is regarded as an authority, 
 particularly by the insurance journals, to a number 
 of which he is a valued and graceful contributor. 
 
 Mr. James H. Brewster, assistant to Mr. Bennett 
 in the management of these companies, is a native 
 of Coventry, Conn., born in 1843. He was bred to 
 the insurance business, having been connected with 
 the Connecticut Fire for seventeen years, a great 
 part of whicli he was assistant secretary. His con- 
 nection with that company was .severed .simulta- 
 neously with that of Mr. Bennett, and his appoint- 
 ment to liis present jiosition was made at the same 
 time. He also is regarded as an authority on in- 
 surauce matters, and is esteemed as a thorough- 
 going busini^ss man and a geni.-d gentleman. 
 
 Of the Scottish Union and National and Tlie 
 Lion Insurance Companies and their managers it 
 can be truly said that they stand in the front rank. 
 
 The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspec- 
 tion and Insurance Company. — This com- 
 pany was incorjjorated at the last session of the 
 General Assembly in 1866, the first directors being 
 T. C. AUyn, Henry Kellogg, R. W. H. Jarvis, F. 
 W. Cheney, S. H. White, j" A. Butler, E. N. Kel- 
 logg, C M. Beach, J. B. Bunce, E. D. Hubbaid. 
 E. T. Smith and Daniel Phillips, of Hartford; R. 
 Battel!, of Norfolk, Conn., and George Crompton 
 and H. H. Hayden. of Worcester, Mass. Mi'. 
 Enoch C. Roberts was elected President, and Mr. 
 H. H. Hayden, Secretary, the date of their 
 election being November 10th. 1860. Very little 
 business was done in the first year, and in 
 October, 1867, Mr. Roberts resigned the presi- 
 
REVIHW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 169 
 
 (lency, and Mr. J. M. Alien, the present inc uni- 
 bent, was elected in his stead. Mr. Allen, who 
 was at that time the Supervising; General Ap:ent 
 <if tlie Security Insurance Company of New York, 
 brought to tlie administration of the affairs of the 
 new enterprise a tliorough knowledge of insurance 
 in all its liranches, and an energy and far-sighted- 
 ness that have gone far toward the success his com- 
 pany now enjoys. 
 
 The ineejition of this enter|)rise grew out of the 
 fritquent explosions of boilers throuiihout the coun- 
 try, and tlie uncertainty of the si'eurity guaranteed 
 \>y ins])ections by nnuiicipal and State iiliieers. 
 niar.y of whom were appointed, not for their me- 
 chanical skill and knowledge, Init through merely 
 political influence andas a reward for party services. 
 It was thouglit that a cor])oraticm which assumed 
 a liability in connection with its work, thus having 
 a pecuniary interest in each boiler inspected, would 
 make a more tliorougli and searching examination, 
 and, at tlie same time, inquire into the causes of 
 iioiler c.vplosions, and the means of preventing 
 such terrible accidents. The ctonipany entered 
 upon its work with the determination to fully ac- 
 complish the object foreseen and desired by its 
 projectors. All l>oilers under its care are carefully 
 inspected annually, and quarterly visits of inspec- 
 tion are made besides. Steam gauges are tested, 
 safety valves adjusted and weighted, boiler connec- 
 tions carefully examined, and information given 
 relative to setting and manag(!meut; ail with a 
 view to economy in the use of fuel, and safety to 
 life and property. 
 
 Since the accession of !Mr. Allen to the Presi- 
 dency, the business of the ccnupany has steadily 
 and rapidly increased, until, on .January 1, l>iM:i, it 
 had in its care and insured about 17,1)00 boilers 
 loi'atcd in jiiost of the manufacturing districts of 
 th:; United States. The Imsiness of the company 
 ■was originally to inspect boiler.s. and if satisfac- 
 tory, to insure the owner against loss by explosion. 
 Tliis his grown with time so that at the present it 
 not only inspects and guarantees boilers against 
 dam.ige by e.vplosiim, but furnishes the a.ssured with 
 advice and information relative to the construction 
 of new boilers, their setting and mauagement ; fur- 
 nishes speeitiealions for boilers, settings, chimneys, 
 l>oiler-houses, etc., all of which are the outcome 
 of long experience and research, and are advised 
 with a consistent regard for the safety and economy 
 of the insured and a careful outlook against risk 
 of loss by the company. So far, indeed, does the 
 protecting care of this organization extend, that 
 even tlie water used in various sections of the 
 country is carefully analyzed in a laboratory con- 
 structed for that purpose, and the deductions so 
 obtained are transmitted to the insured, together 
 with advice as to how to treat the water, liased on 
 these conclusions. In addition to all this, the 
 company issues a monthly jiaper, called "The 
 Locomotive," in which is much information rela- 
 tive to the management of steam boilers ; monthly 
 reports of the inspectors; list of explosions, so far 
 .as they can be obtained, and other valuable infor- 
 mation. This paper is sent to the ])olicy-liolders 
 free of charge. This is the pioneer company of its 
 kind, and as experience is one of the essential 
 factors of safety and success, it may be safely said 
 
 to l)e the leading company of the kind in the 
 world. 
 
 Since Mr. Ilayden, Ihrre h.-ive been two secre- 
 taries, his immediate successor being Mr. Tlieo. II. 
 Babcock, now business manager for the company 
 in New York State, and whose otliee is at No. 285 
 Broadway, New York City. Mr. Babcock was 
 succeeded by Mr. .1. B. Pierce, formerly Secretary 
 of the North American Fire Insurance Com|)any of 
 Hartford, who has tilled the office conrinuously 
 since, and is the present iueuinbent. The capital of 
 the company is $2.50,000, and its officers and 
 directors are as follows: President, J. M. Allen; 
 Vice-President, W. B. Franklin ; Secretary, J. B. 
 Pierce. Directors — I. M. Allen, President ; Jjicius 
 .1. Heudce, President .Ktna Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany; Prank W. Cheney, of C'heney Bros., Silk 
 Manufacturers, Hartford and New York; Cliarles 
 M. Brach, of Beach «.t (Company; Daniel Philli])S, 
 of Adams Express Conijiiiny ; Geo. M. Bartholo- 
 mew, President Holyoke Water Power Conqjany ; 
 Richard W. II. .larvis. preridcnt Colt's Patent Fire 
 Arms Manufacturing Company ; Thomas O. Enders, 
 late Piesident -Etna Life Iiis'urance Comjjany ; 
 Leverett Brainard, of The Case, Lockwood tk 
 Brainard Company; Gen. Wm. B. Franklin, Vice- 
 President Colt's Patent Fire Arms Maniifaeturing 
 Company; Geo. Crompton. Cromptoii Loom Works, 
 Worcester, Mass. ; Thomas Talbot, Ex-Governor of 
 Massachusetts, Lowell ; Newton Clase, of The (^ase, 
 Lockwood & Brainard Conipanv: Nelson Hol- 
 lister, of Slate Bank, Hartford: Ch.i.s. T. Parry, of 
 Bddwin Locomotive Works. Philadelphia; II. C. 
 Robinson, Attorney, Hartford, Conn. These names 
 guarantee the entire solidity of the company. 
 
 Tlu' Hartford C'oiinly Mutual Fire 
 Iiisuraiici' I'oiiipaii.v. — For ovir half n cen- 
 tury the Hartford County ^Mutual Fire Insurance 
 CJompauy has lieeu familiar to the people of 
 Connecticut, where it is justly regarded with 
 pride as oue of the stable and honestly admin- 
 istered institutions of the -State. It was incor- 
 porated in I8:il, and lias never had occasion to 
 make an assessment on the insured. It is a 
 purely mutual company, and the nuiidier of 
 policies in force amounts to 14,297. Its business 
 is conlined to the safe and conservative State of 
 Connecticut, and as no manufacturing or busi- 
 ness risks, are taken, it is eminently safe as an 
 insurance company. Its jjolicies cover damages 
 by lighting, and it makes a s2Jecialty of iusiu'ing 
 dwellings ami farm property. The amount at 
 risk now insured in this company is •'S2:i,037,- 
 077.48, while the total amount of los.ses paid 
 since its organization is ^478,164.64. The ])res- 
 ent cash assets of the comiiany are §2'J0,69l).61. 
 The guarantee fund is all invested in good State, 
 municipal and railroad stocks. Most of the [joli- 
 cies are written for three years. The otiiee is at 
 No. 321 Union street The officers are as fol- 
 lows : William E. Sugden, President and Treas- 
 urer ; James L. Howard, Vice-President ; Wil- 
 liam A. Erving, Secretary ; Directoj-s, Julius 
 Oatlin, James L. Howard, Marcu.s DePorest, 
 Elisha Jolin.son, Watson Dewey, William E. 
 Sugden, George Sexton, WiUiam A. Erving, 
 Thomas Sisson, James Lockwood. 
 
170 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 The Coiinootiont General Life Insur- 
 ance Conipaiij . -Tliis company was oiuanized 
 in 1865, upon tlie petition of Edwin D. Tiffany, 
 wliii was joined l)y Messrs. Henry C. Deminii'. -lolm 
 C. Palmer, Jonathan B. Buuce, George S. Gilman, 
 Eljenezer N. Kellogg, John A. Butler, Heniy J 
 Johnson and George D. Jewett as original stock- 
 holders and incorporators. Tlie charter of the 
 company, passed at the May session of tlie General 
 Assemlily in ISO.j, provided for a capital stock of 
 not less than $500,000, to Ije increased at the 
 pleasure of the company to $1,000,000. In the May 
 session of 1873 permission was granted the com- 
 pany to reduce its capital stock to not less tlian 
 $12.5,000, and early in the following year the 
 Directors availed themselves of the permi.ssiou and 
 reduced the capital to $2.50,000, and in IS.SO it was 
 again reduced to $1.50,000. The liusiness done Ijy 
 this company is api)arently conducted on a safe and 
 conservative basis, tlie latest annual statement, pub- 
 lished .January 1st, 18.S3, giving tlie gross assets at 
 $1,390,440.77, and the lialjilities about tliree hun- 
 dred thousand dollais less tlian tliat sum. The 
 executive officers -are Thomas W. Kussell, Presi- 
 dent, and Frederick V. Hudson, Secretary. Both 
 gentlemen, as well as the directors of the company, 
 stand higliintlie insurance world, and command 
 the confideijce of the community. 
 
 Tlie Charter Oak Life In.suranee Com- 
 pany.— This company was incorporated in May, 
 1850, and commenced liusiness October 1, of the 
 same year, with a capital of $200,000. 
 
 The first President was Hon. Gideon Welles, who 
 was, during the war. Secretary of the Navy. The 
 first Secretary was Mr. Samuel Coit. Since the time 
 of Mr. "Welles tiie lollowing-named gentlemen have 
 held the office of president of this company in the 
 order of their succession: Alfred Gill, .J. C. Walk- 
 ley, E. R. Wiggiu, Marshall Jewell, G. M. Bar- 
 tholomew. 
 
 The present officers are G. M. Bartholomew, Pres- 
 ident ; Charles E. Willard, Secretary. 
 
 Directors— G. M. Bartholomew, J. M. Allen, E. 
 J. Bassett, W. E. Baker, Elisha Carpentei-, C. S. 
 Davidson, Wm. Faxon, J. Goodnow, Geo. E. 
 Hatch, S. R. McNai-y, C. G. Jlunyan, D. W. 0. 
 Skilton, .Joseph Breed, W. A. M. Wainwright, I). 
 L. Bartlett, Wm. Franklin, T. A. Logan, S. AV. 
 Robbius, I. A. Shep[)ard, Clapp Spooner, and W. 
 L. S(juire, well-known residents of Hartford, 
 Baltimore, New Haven, Cmcinuati, Philadelphia, 
 and Bridgeport. 
 
 This company owns and occupies one of the finest 
 insurance buildings in America, situated on the 
 main thoroughfare of the city of Hartford. It is of 
 granite; built in 1809; is six stories in height and 
 94 X 172 feet in area. 
 
 The annual statement, published on December ;J1. 
 1882, shows assets amounting to $(1,049,303.73, and 
 a total liability of $5,577,039.05, thus leaving 
 a surplus in favor of tlie policyholders of .§472,- 
 324.68. The statement also shows that since tUe 
 reorganization of the company, a period of four 
 and one-half years, there has been paid to policy- 
 holders the sum of $4,691,568.25. 
 
 The Plm^nix 3lHtnal Life Insuranof 
 Company. — This company was incorporated in 
 1851. Its offices are located in the Connecticut 
 Mutual Life Insurance Company's Building, cor- 
 ,ner of Main and Pearl streets. The first policy wa..> 
 issued September 11, 1851, since which time they 
 number 105,101. The total amount of premiums 
 received up to January 1, 1883, was $31,931,805.35, 
 while the total payments for deatii claims and en- 
 dowments were $10,987, 328.02. The total for div- 
 idends, surrenders, etc., was $10,783,675.05, and 
 the amount paid policy holders, $21,770,903.07. 
 The surplus at i\ per cent. (New York standard) 
 is over .$1,300,000. and the gross assets over 
 $10,500,000. The original corporators were Bar- 
 zilla Hudson, Benjamin E. Hale, James B. Hosmer, 
 Thomas S. Williams, Francis Gillette, Francis 
 Parsons and Edson Fessenden, and the original 
 name was The American Temperance Life Insurance 
 Company. 
 
 In the May session of the Legislature, 1801, the 
 name of the company was changed to the Phoenix 
 Mutual Life Insurance Company, which change 
 took effect in .July of that year. 
 
 The names of the present officers are : .President, 
 Aaron C. Goodman ; Vice President, Jonathan B. 
 Bunce; Secretary, John M. Holcombe ; Consulting 
 Physician, A. W. Barrows, M. I). The Board of 
 Direstors are Edson Fessenden, George W. Moore, 
 Newton Case, Aaron C. Goodman, .Jonathan B. 
 Bunce, Charles S. Goodwin, Drayton Hillyer, 
 James Nichols, John C. Parsons and John M. Hol- 
 combe, all well-known gentlemen connected with 
 the industrial antl financial world of Hartford. 
 
 National Fire In.snranee Company.— 
 
 The National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford 
 l-)egan business in November, 1871, having been in- 
 corporated in May, 1809. The capital stock cif this 
 company, all cash, is one million of dollars ; the 
 funds leserved to meet all liabilities amount to 
 $269,155, while the net surplus over capital and 
 all liabilities is $464,125. The assets of tliiscom- 
 jjany, in bonds and stocks, have a par value of 
 $327,325, while the market value is $1,083,815. 
 The cash controlled by this company on the 1st of 
 January, 1883, amounted to $163,749, mostly on 
 deposit in Hartford banks. The total assets 
 amount to $1,733,281. Mr. Jlark Howard is the 
 President and ]\[r. James Nichols the Secretary. 
 Any one who will study these figures must become 
 convinced that the National Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany does lousiness on a safe basis, and possesses 
 ample funds to meet all probable losses. Its funds 
 are safely invested in United States and city bonds, 
 and in railway and bank shares. It has now been 
 so long in business and has conducted its affairs 
 with such good judgment, that it has won the 
 entire confidence of the community. 
 
 The State Mntnal Fire Insurance Com- 
 pan.V. — This mutual fire insurance company was in- 
 corporated in 186". The original incorporators and 
 officers were: Ralph Gillett, President; F. A. 
 Brown, Caleb Clapp, Albert Keney, F. K. Fox, 
 S. T. Wolcott, Newton Carter: J. Cross, -Jr., 
 Secretary. 0£ this number, Blessrs. Brown, Clapp, 
 Keney and Carter, have since died, while the same 
 
/,'/•; I7A' If (IF Tin-: statk of Connecticut. 
 
 171 
 
 li up 
 
 officers of the comiiany have coutimied ;is su( 
 to the present time. 
 
 The present directors are Ralph GiUett, Willis 
 Thrall, Auer Sperry, Roswell W. Brown, William 
 W. House, E. L. Cook and Isaac Cross, .ir. The 
 company takes risks of tlic safer class only, and 
 strictly on the mutual jilan. Damage liy lightning 
 is paid when the Imilding is not l)urncd. The 
 coni|)any has been in operatit)n sixteen years and 
 has issued and renewed over 1S,000 ])olicies. All 
 losses and expenses are paid to date. The company 
 have added largely to its cash surplus yearly since 
 organization, and have nearly $100,000 assets for 
 the security of the policy liolders. 
 
 The < M-iciit Fire Iiisnranee Coiiipany. — 
 
 lu the matter of capital the Orient Fire Insur- 
 ance Company rauk.s with the first fifteeu or six- 
 teen in tln' country. There are more than two 
 hundred companies doing business iu the United 
 States with less capital, hence this is one of the 
 large concerns. The Orient has a ca.sli capital 
 of one million dollars, all paid up, and a.ssets of 
 Si, 3115, -10-1. liS. The Orient was organized in 
 January, LsT'i. with a paid-np capital of half a 
 million of dollars. The City Fire Insurance 
 t'oniiiaiiy, wiiich had but a quarter of a million 
 of dollars capital, and was nnable to meet the 
 losses causetl by the Chicago tire, took the char- 
 ter of the Orient, and thus secured its first hold 
 upon bu.siuess through the agencies formerly 
 used by the City Company. Pearly in the exist- 
 ence of the Orient Company the Bostim fire 
 caused a loss of 8170,000. This blow was met 
 by reducing the original capital of half a million 
 dollars to .•?:35O,000. Up to 1881 the total losses 
 paid by this Comiiany amounted to over a mil- 
 lion and a half of dollars. Now, with a prosper- 
 ous busin(\ss and total ca.sli assets of $1,395,- 
 ■iOi. 18, this Company is able to meet all losses 
 that it may encounter. The Company has its 
 offices iu the Hartford Insurance Company's 
 Imilding, and is doing au exten.sive busines.s. 
 The offices are : President, S. C. Pre.ston ; Sec- 
 retary, Geo. W. Lester ; Vice-President, Newton 
 Case ; Directors, David Gallup, Newton Case, 
 G. M. Bartholomew, Wm. Boardman. Daniel 
 Phillips, Fred. R. Fester. Selden C. Preston. 
 Leverett Brainard, Chas. J. Cole, Wm. H. Bulke- 
 ley, Cieo. S. Lincoln, James CampViell. 
 
 Hartford Lito and Annuity In.suraiu-o 
 
 C<>iu|»aiiy.—Tiie Hartford Life and Annuity In- 
 surance Company, organized in .January, !SNU, lias 
 gained a wi(h;-spread popularity, and has done a 
 large Imsiness at a very .slight cost to members. 
 This company claims that the old line system of in- 
 surance is out of the reach of the large class who 
 most need life insurance |irotection, since it is a 
 luxury ]K'ople in moderate circumstances cannot 
 afford to enjcjy. This company introduced the 
 safety fund system, which is distinct in its features 
 from all other assessment i)lans. This fund, on 
 the tir.st of January, 18S3, deposited in Security 
 Company, amounted to $i:!0,ns:5. It is held in 
 trust, and invested in U. S. Government bonds, the 
 income of which is to go to the members, while 
 the entire fund is pledged for the full ])aynient 
 
 of their claims. Each year has witnessed large 
 additions to the actual number of certificiites 
 in force in this safety fund. The idea of ihe 
 fund is simply an assessment insurance, a plan 
 wliich is now indorsed t.y some of the best actuaries 
 and writers on life insurance. It is co-operative 
 insurance, about tlie only form of co-operation 
 which has l>econie popular in this country. If a 
 man of forty years of age wishes to get insured, 
 say for $10,000, according to the safety luiid .sys- 
 tem, he pays an admission fee of $40, and tlie fee 
 for th(! medical examination ; also annual renew- 
 able expenses of $;iO. For tlie safety fund deposit 
 a member will liave to pay once §10, for evcrv 
 $1,000 certificate, or SlOO for a certificate of 
 $10,000. There is also a table of graduated assess- 
 mentratios for death losses for every $1,000, wliich 
 runs from (>.'> cents at twenty-one years 'if age, 
 to $2.08 for sixty years of age, " or $1.12 at 
 forty years of age. An investment upon this 
 system is much more economical than after the old 
 plan, as it is claimed, every investigator can de- 
 monstrate for himself. The Life and Annuity 
 Insurance Company now has assets amounting to 
 $1,114,304. while its total lialiilities are but 
 $805,01!!, yielding a gross surplus on ijoliey-holder.s' 
 account of $1508, 042. The total death claims paid 
 under tlie safety fund system amount to $31 1,000. 
 The officers are : President, F. R. Foster; Vice- 
 President, II. A. Wliitmnn; Secretary, Stephen 
 Ball; Medical Examiner, Dr. I. W. Lyon; Super- 
 intendent of Agencies, H. P. Duclos. Some of 
 the leading mercliants and manufacturers of Hart- 
 ford and vicinity are in the board of directors. 
 
 Mutual Boiii'fit Life Company. —Tlio 
 
 Mutual Benefit Life Company, incorporated iu 
 1800, insures at absolute cost; has no vast accumu- 
 lation of members" money; makes every man his 
 own l)anker; pays no big stock and cash dividends 
 to stockholders, and has tiie common interest of 
 the company and memljers at heart. The total 
 assets of this company on the 1st of January, 1883, 
 were $122,040. while the liabilities were but 
 $24,052, leaving a surplus for the protection of 
 members of $98,804. Tlie amount paid for death 
 and accident claims in 1SS2 was $72,123. The 
 [iresident is A. R. Cioodrich; Vice-President, J. H. 
 Welch ; Secretary, De Witt J. Peck The follow- 
 ing gentlemen are directors : Hon. A. R. Good- 
 rich, Treasurer State of Connecticut; Hon. Geo. G. 
 Sill, Ex-IJeut. -Governor State of CJonnecticut ; John 
 II. Welch, M. D., Med. Examiner; Seymour Bun- 
 nell, Contract<ir Colt's Armory ; Hon. Carlos Smith, 
 Ex-State Senator New Haven ; Hon. .Jeffrey O. 
 Phelps, Capitalist, Siinsl)ury ; Hon. Charles W. 
 Barnum, of Barnum, Richardson it Co. , Lime Rock; 
 C. H. Russell, Merchant ; G. D. Goodrich, Drug- 
 gist. 
 
 Tlic ('(tntluental Life Insurance Co., 
 
 of Hartford, Conn, has a record of nearly twenty 
 years of successful business. Its nineteenth annual 
 statement, dated . January 1, 1883, shows its sur|)lu3 
 as $4.53,783.57. During the year 1882 the increase 
 in number of policies was 43 per cent. ; increase in 
 amount of new business 50 per cent. ; increase in 
 number of policies in force IKi; increase in 
 amount of insurar.ce in force, $311,189: ratio of 
 
172 
 
 TIIK HTSTOTtlCAL, STATrsriCAL A^'D IXDUSTHIAL 
 
 assets to liabilities, 133 per cent. Tlie following 
 named gentlemen are its officers and directors : 
 •James S. Parsons, AVm. M. Hudson, J. S. Welles, 
 Lyman B. Jewell, A. S. Winchester, Robert E. 
 Beecher, Thomas Ramsdell, Ansel Ainold, J. 
 Griffin Martin. James S. Parsons, President; 
 Robert E. Beeclier, Secretary. 
 
 The Connecticut Fire Inswrance Com- 
 pany of Hartford, Conn., was incorporated in 
 1850 with a perpetual charter. Its office is in 
 the fine granite structure of the Hartford Fire 
 Insurance Comijany. The company are soon to 
 
 Inrild a home of their own, which will be one of 
 the striking buildings in Hartford. The cash 
 capital is $1,000,000, and the cash assets on Jan- 
 uary 1, 18S3, were §1,781,626.50. The list of 
 officers and directors embrace some of the most 
 reliable business men in Connecticut. Thev are 
 as follows : J. D. Browne, President ; Charles R. 
 Burt, Secretary ; L. W. Clarke, Assistant Secre- 
 tary. Directors : Julius Catlin, Henry T. Sperry, 
 Henry C. Robinson, Alfi-ed E. Burr, John R. 
 Redfield, Rodnev Dennis, Julius Catlin, Jr., 
 William J. Wood, Franklin G. Whitmore, T. W. 
 Ru.ssell, J. D. Browne, D. R. Howe, Robert 
 AUyn. 
 
 Mqp^^ 
 
 MERCANTILE AND MANUFACTURING. 
 
 The Colt's Patent Fire Arms 3Ianu- 
 factnring' Company. — History has failed to 
 record the name of the original inventor of fire- 
 arms, yet evidence appears conclusive that the 
 idea was first conceived from an accidental ex- 
 periment of Berthold Schwartz, a monk at May- 
 euce, who discovered in about the year 1320, 
 that when confined and set on fire, gunpowder 
 had an immense expansive force, liv which 
 means heavy bodies could be projielled a given 
 distance with great rajiidity. 
 
 Without following the history and develop- 
 ment of this idea in detail from the time of 
 Edward III. of England, who reigned in 1327, 
 down through succeeding centuries, we will come 
 at once to the discu.ssion of the Colt's Patent 
 Fir^ Arms Manufacturing Company of this city, 
 which was founded liy Colonel Samuel Colt in 
 1852. See illustration on page 91. 
 
 The history of this company is similar to that 
 of most great enterprises, and is built on a 
 series of failures which served as stepping stones 
 to a great success. 
 
 Colonel Colt's first business enterprise was 
 the Patent Arms Company in 1836, at Patei-son, 
 >f. J., which expended capital to the amount of 
 $300,000 and was forced to suspend operations 
 in 1842. His second was at Whitney ville. Conn., 
 where he completed his first conti'act to furnish 
 arms for the United States Government and 
 
 shortly after he established the nucleus of his 
 nii-n manufactory, now the Colt's Patent Fire 
 Arms Manufacturing Company, at Hartford, the 
 business of which has been from that day to 
 this, .a constant success and which has resulted 
 in the comijletion of the most perfect establish- 
 ment for the manufacture of fire-arms that exists 
 in this or any other country. Tliis grand scheme, 
 so brilliantly planned and so successfully car- 
 ried out is a towering evidence of the vast con- 
 ceptions of their author and his extraordinary 
 executive abilities in perfecting them. 
 
 Tlie grounds purchnsed on whicli to erect the 
 liuildings ccmtained aliout 3.50 acres, and the Imild- 
 ings occupy aboiu 500 "X 500 feet of space, tlie 
 average height being tlirec stories. The company 
 as now organized lias a capital of $1,000,000 witli 
 lil)erty to increase it to SI, 500,000. 
 
 The following aretlie present officers : President, 
 R. W. H. Jarvis; Vice-Presi<lent, Gen. \V. B. 
 Franklin; Secretary and Treasurer, Hugli Harbi- 
 son ; Superintendent, Horace Lord ; Engineer, E. 
 L. Murphy. 
 
 Since the war, when the facilities of the works 
 were taxed to their utmost in manufacturing arms 
 for the Government, parts of the w<irks have l)eeu 
 leased to other parties, manufacturing companies 
 and others, the company reserving the eastern 
 armory w'liich is 500 x GO feet in size and four 
 stories in height, with a connecting building 300 
 
y.7;i77;ii' of the stati-j of coyyEcricur. 
 
 173 
 
 fet't long and three stories liigli, for their own im- 
 mediate business, where 700 men are employed in 
 the manufacture of double l)arreled hreeeli-loading 
 shot guns, of all calibers, brecch-loading revolving 
 pistols, Gatling and otlier machine guns. Baxter 
 steam engines, disc engines, Gally's Universal 
 printing presses, electric macliiues, rapid Tele- 
 graph machines, hand drills, etc., etc. A part of 
 the works cmljraces an iron foundry -where first- 
 class castings arc produced. Mr. Richard W. H. 
 Jarvis, the jjresident of this company is a brother of 
 Mrs. ISamuel Colt, and was lioru iu Portland, Conn., 
 aljout lifty-five years ago. lie is a graduate of 
 Trinity, and previous to his ])rcsidency of this com- 
 pany was a lawyer in Xew York City. 
 
 General William 15. Franklin, tlie Vice-President, 
 is a native of York, Pa., and tifty-uine years of age. 
 lie is a graduate of West Point, and up to lfS(U 
 was an Engineer officer, lie figured conspicuously 
 in the war of the Kel)ellion as a Brigadier and 
 Major General, during whicli tinu; he was in the 
 command of the Si.vth ami Nineteenth Corps. At 
 the close of the \var he became iilentitied with this 
 com|)any and has been a resident of Ibiitford since. 
 He has Ijeeu .\.djutaut-Geueral of Connecticut and 
 otherwise actively interested in the military, social, 
 political and financial allairs of his adopted State. 
 Mr. Hugh Harbison, tlie Secretary and Treasurer, is 
 a native of Hartford, about fifty years of age. He 
 is a well-known and long-established citizen, and 
 has been interested in mechanical pursuits for many 
 years. Mr. Horace Lord, the Superintendent, is a 
 native of Massaeliusetts, and about sixty years of age. 
 Of Mr. E. L. Murphy we have uo record save 
 that he is one of the most .skillful engineers and 
 master machinists in America. 
 
 In tliis connection a brief sketch of the founder 
 of tliis company. Col. Samuel Colt, would perhaps 
 be appropriate. He was born iu Hartford, .July 19, 
 1814. He accjuiied the rudiments of an English 
 education, and at ten years of age was transferred 
 to the factory of his father (wlio was a manufac- 
 turer of wool, cotton, and silk goods, of which last 
 article he established the first factory in New Eng- 
 land). He finished his education at Amherst, Mass. 
 His curiosity was deeply aroused to see distant 
 lands, and upon the impulse of the moment, he ran 
 away to .rfa, slii|iping before the mast for Calcutta. 
 Returning deligliteil witli his experience, he con- 
 sented to a sliort apprenticeship again in the manu- 
 factory of his father, where lie learned the leading 
 principles of chemistiy, a science of whieli he was 
 very fond, and which he turned to good account 
 soon after as a public lecfurer for two years, travel- 
 ing ill tile United States and Canada. Thougli at 
 that time but a youth of seventeen or eighteen years 
 of age he made a profit of from .$5 to $50 per night, 
 to say notliing about the knowledge he gained of 
 men and tlie country. 
 
 All of these profits, l)eyond those reqiiired for the 
 supply of his daily wants, were sedulously devoted 
 by the youthful adventurer to the prosecution of 
 that great invention which has since extended liis 
 renown throughout the civilized world. His life 
 was wholly devoted to the invention, perfection, 
 and manufacture of fire-arms, in which his career 
 was unexampled. He died in the early part of 
 1863, leaving a large fortune and a business, the 
 first of its class in the world. 
 
 .To.st'pli <1. LaiK' (successor to J. W. Danforth 
 iV (jo. I, Imjiorter and \Vholesali> Dealer in Grocer- 
 ies and Ijiipiors, Hi, 224 and 22(1 .State street. — 
 One of the largest and most enter jjrising wholesale 
 grocerv and liquor houses in this State is that of 
 Jos. Ct. Lane, atNos. 222, 224and 220 State street. 
 It was originally established iu theyear 1834'by J. 
 W. Uanfiu'th it Co., Mr. Lane succeeding to the 
 business in August, 1875. Thi! commodious 
 liriek building occupied liy Mr. Lane is stored 
 from basement to attic with one of the largest 
 stocks carried by tlie business firms of Hartford. 
 While there is a, full line of groceries and grocers' 
 sundries the great bulk of the stock, as well as 
 of the business of the house, is in liquors, in 
 which trade Jlr. Lane covers an extensive terri- 
 tory, employing a large force of resident and 
 traveling salesmen, as well as a luiiuber of clerks, 
 porters and other assistants. IJesides being the 
 agent for Robert Smiths' Pliiladelphia India 
 Pale Ale, Blr. Lane makes a specialty of the 
 manufacture of Farwell's (_)ld-fashioned Cherry 
 Bounce, Cherry Brandy and Cherry Rum, 
 a list of beverages that has attained to great 
 ]^opularity throughout New England and the 
 other parts of the country to wliii'h his ti'ade 
 extends. Mr. Lane was born in Plymouth, Lu- 
 zerne county, Penn.sylvania, in 1845, and received 
 his education in the schools of Indiana, in whicli 
 State his early life was passed. He arrived in 
 Hartford in February, 1862, and has resided here 
 ever since, winning for himself a high jjosition 
 iu the Ijusiness world and a cordial recognition 
 of his pleasing social qualities. 
 
 Wciik & Brookway, Merchant Tailors, 
 Dealers in Ready-Made Clothing and Gent's Fur- 
 nishing Goods, 132 State Street. — The custom or 
 merchant tailors of every city are justly entitled to 
 c,onsiderati(ni and recognition as among the imiJor- 
 tant branches of commercial industry. 
 
 Their work leaver its imiuess on our every-day 
 life and goes far towards influencing our fellow- 
 mortals in making up opinions in reference to one 
 another. Shakespeare saiil of dress: "Costly thy 
 habit as thy purse can buy, but not expressed in 
 fancy ; rich, not gaudy ; for the apparel oft pro- 
 claims the man." 
 
 Among the oldest and representative merchant 
 taihirs is the house of Messr--. Wenk it Brockway, 
 situated at No. 132 State street. 
 
 Fifty-eight years ago the business was establislied 
 l)y Mr. Robert Buell, who was the fashionable tailor 
 for our grandfathers, in their youthful days. 
 
 Succeeding him came the firm of IJuell & Clark, 
 in 1M.50. In 1806 Mr. Clark was fortunate in mak- 
 ing an alliance with Mr. .1. H. Win. Wenk, who 
 had won his way to the front rank as a cutter, and 
 tlie firm was called Franklin t'lark & Co., which 
 continued until 1S7S. when Mr. Clark retired, and 
 a former clerk, Mr. U. II. Brockway, joined witli 
 Mr. Wenk, making the firm, as it stands to-day, 
 Wenk it Brockway. 
 
 The store occupied is 20 x 50 feet, and is fitted 
 with every modern convenience for the prosecution 
 of the business. 
 
 Sj^acious show windows afford amjile room for 
 the display of rare suitings and choice importa- 
 tions as well as samjiles of their jiroduetions, in 
 
3 74 
 
 rilE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 the shai^e of business and dress suits, overcoats, 
 trovisers, etc. The stock of chiths, cassimeres 
 and suitings is one of tlie best in the State, a 
 large pro|iortioii being of their own importation ; 
 the trade for which they cater requiring the best 
 in quality and style. A comparatively small 
 stock of the better grades of ready made clothing 
 is kept for the convenience of old customers as 
 well as new. An important adjunct is the Gents' 
 Furnishing Goods Department, a factor in the 
 business of the house. In the formation of this 
 firm circumstances seemed to have favored it. 
 Mr. J. N. Wm. Wenk had for many years en- 
 joyed a first class reputation as a merchant tailor, 
 both as a cutter and a business man, and broirght 
 these factors in the formation of the new firm in 
 1878. He is a native of Germany and came to 
 Hartford aliout thirty-two years ago, since which 
 time he has been daily adding to his reputation. 
 
 Mr. Ulysses H. Brockway is a native of Lyme, 
 Conn., and the business manager and financier 
 of the house, bringing to it the experience of 
 nine years with the firm who pi'eceded this. His 
 extended acquaintance and correct business 
 methods have contributed not a little to their 
 well-known success. 
 
 His first experience in the stern duties of life 
 was as a boy on a farm, in his native town, where 
 he was afterwards educated at the village high 
 school, coming to Hartford in 1867, and was 
 clerk for the firm which preceded him, never 
 changing his business or employers. Both gen- 
 tlemen rank high among the experienced mer- 
 chant tailors in Hartford. 
 
 William Spencer, Livery Stable, 70 State 
 Street. — Among the livery establishments of Hart- 
 ford, that of William Spencer deserves especial 
 mention in this work as being one of the largest 
 and in every way a representative of the best class 
 of such establisliments licre. 
 
 His stables are located at No. 70 State street, in 
 the rear of Exchange Bank, and near the United 
 States Hotel. Tliey are complete iu every ])articu- 
 lar, and are arranged in a manner tliat affords the 
 greatest convenience in every department. 
 
 The business was estal)lished tliirty-nine years 
 ago in this city, since wliicli time lie has enjoyed 
 an uninterrupted and solid reputation. 
 
 During these thirty-nine years he has only 
 changed his location three times, being at one 
 place twenty-three years, and removing to his pres- 
 ent location in 1878. 
 
 For ;i long time he was proprietor of the United 
 States Hotel stal)les. 
 
 Riding or driving, single or double teams, can 
 always be secured here, and a specialty is made of 
 furnishing carriages for weddings, parties, balls, 
 drives, funerals, etc., twenty -five horses being kept 
 for those purposes. 
 
 Mr. Spencer is a native of East Hartford, Conn., 
 and was born in 1818. 
 
 Prompt and reliable, he long ago established 
 himself in the confidence of the public, and is 
 highly respected and esteemed as a courteous gen- 
 tleman and honorable citizen. 
 
 Confectionery, Tobacco, Cigars, etc.. No. 82 State 
 Street — This business was estalilished about twenty 
 years ago Ijy S. W. Gregory-, who built the build- 
 ing known as Gregory's Building, a portion of 
 which is occupied liy the firm. The house of 
 Watrous & lliggins succeeded to the business in 
 1880, their immediate predecessors being Smith & 
 Emmons. The store is 35x80 feet in size and is 
 stocked with a full assortment of fine fruits, nuts, 
 confectionery, cigars, tobacco, etc. The trade is 
 principally local and among the Ijetter classes and 
 has grown from a small beginning until it ranks 
 among the largest in the city. Mr. Watrous is a 
 native of Hartford and is about forty years of age. 
 He has 'oeeu identified with the business and other 
 interests of his native city for many years and 
 enjoys the universal esteem of his fellow citizens. 
 Mr. Higgins was born in Glastonbury. C(-inn., in 
 1823. During the war he enlisted in the Twenty- 
 seventh Connecticut Infantry, a nine months' regi- 
 ment, and was so liadly wounded at the battle of 
 Fredericksljurg as to incapacitate him for further 
 service. Like his partner he enjoys the entire re- 
 spect of the business and social community. 
 
 This house has the reputation of being among 
 the best in its line in the State. 
 
 Watron.s «& Higgins (Chas. F. Watrous and 
 Chas. Higgins), Foreign and Domestic Fruits, Nuts, 
 
 W. H. Bralnar<l, Trunks, Bags, Ladies' 
 Satchels, etc., No. lol Main Street. — Tliis business 
 was established in 1804, at its present location, by 
 Mr. W. H. Braiuard, who has iieen a practical 
 trunk maker from boyhood. He manufactures 
 trunks, bags, and ladies' satchels, and makes a 
 specialty of making sample trunks for commercial 
 travelers and others to ordei'. Several skilled 
 workmen are employed by him in the jiroseeution 
 of his business. Mr. Braiuard was born at Port- 
 laud, Conn., in 1838, and came to Hartford iu 
 1845. He received an excellent education in the 
 public schools of his native State. 
 
 He is an active worker, and cnter|)rising and 
 thoroughgoing business man and one of the most 
 sociable men in Hartford. By diligence, industry, 
 and perseverance lie has earned a first-class con- 
 nection and built up a profitable and reliable busi- 
 ness. 
 
 C. E. Bishop «& t'o.. Manufacturers of Lad- 
 ders, etc., corner Capen and Main streets. — The 
 name of Bishop is largely identified with the manu- 
 facturing of ladders for fire departments, painters, 
 masons, carpenters, fai'meis, and others. 
 
 Connecticut. Massachusetts, and Rhode Island 
 are represented in the manufacture of this specialty 
 by four l>rothers. In addition to ladders they also 
 manufacture basket-seat chairs, wood eave troughs, 
 step-ladders, Whiteners' horses, boys' clipper sleds, 
 snow shovels, clothes horses, and revolving clothes- 
 drying machines ; particular attention lieing |)aid to 
 the manufacture of painters' stage ladders, ladder 
 hooks, etc. 
 
 The bu.siness history of these brothers extends back 
 to 18.)7, when C. E. Bishop, who is now located in 
 tliis city, started with his brother, Hiram R. Bishop, 
 the manufacture of ladders iu Charlestown, Mass. 
 In 1861, C. E. Bishop sold out his interest to his 
 brother and removed to Providence, R. I. where a 
 large and prosperous business in the manufacture 
 of ladders was built up, which was sold out to 
 
h'h'riEM or THE srATi-: of (•(ixyEcricrr. 
 
 1T5 
 
 another lirother, Henry C. Hisliop, the same hcinj;: 
 now oonducted undei- the name of A. M. & L. E. 
 I!isli(i|> in that city. In IsTi^fr. (!. E. Bishop came 
 to llartl'orcl. where the reputation of tlie Bishop 
 hulders, cluiirs, etc., had preceded liini, and wliere 
 lie found but little trouble in l)uildin2; up a Inisi- 
 ncss, the lar^rst of its kind in the State, if not in 
 New Entrliind. 
 
 His estalilislinient covers a large area, includin<; 
 several liuildings. Most of liis l)usiness is ccni- 
 ducted in the States of (lonnccticut, Massachusetts, 
 and New York, where eight teams are kept con- 
 stantly running over regular routes. 
 
 His productions have Ijcen exported to California, 
 Cape of Good Ho))e, and Florida, but a near-by 
 trade is mostly solicite<l. 
 
 One of his greatest specialties is the portable ex- 
 tension fire-escape ladder for fire departments. 
 For fire-escapes there is notliing in use to equal 
 them. One to extend fifty feet can be raised and 
 lowered l)y one man of ordinary strength, and can 
 be extended to any distance required witliin its 
 capacity, whicli is witliin one hundred feet (in two 
 sections). 
 
 His diairs have au envialile reputation, ])articu- 
 larly for liotels and otiice use. 
 
 ;\[r. Bisliop rejoices in the possession of an ele- 
 gant dwelling, recently erected near his manufactory, 
 in wliich he resides, and wliere he dispenses that 
 hospitality so ])roverbial with the BisIiop family. 
 
 The l"iiit<'«l States StainiMMl Envoloi»<> 
 Works, No. 1 Soutli Ann Street. — It may be of in- 
 terest to the great public to know thatall tlie stamped 
 envelojies and newspaper wrappers used by the 
 United States Government are made in Hartford 
 liy the United States Stam]ied Envelope Works, 
 Mr. M. S. Chapman, Superintendent. The proprie- 
 tors of tliese works are the ]'limi)ton Manufacturing 
 {\>mpany of Hartford, and the Morgan Envelope 
 Company of Springfield, Mass. The establishinent 
 eml)races a brick building, 4.")xl 10 feet in size, and 
 four stories in height, with l)asement, together with 
 an L .^iOxoO feet, same height. In addition to stamped 
 envelopes and newspaper wrap|)ers, are made all the 
 official envelopes used in tlie Postal Department of 
 the Uniteci States. The number of people employed 
 is one liundrcd and fifty, and the cai)acity is 
 1,300,(100 envelopes and wrappers jjer day; the 
 production at present lieing aliout 1)00,000. 
 
 The works were estaljlislied here in 1874, since 
 which time the increase in production has been 
 ab(nit ciglit per cent, yearly. 
 
 The iiroducts are sliippeil direct to the post-ofiices 
 l)y orders from the officials at Washington. The 
 process of manufacture is quite interesting. 
 
 The Billinys and Spencer Company, 
 
 Madiinists and Machinery Manufacturers, Law- 
 rence cor. Broad streets.- The liillijigsand Spencer 
 Company of Hartford, Conn., tlie jjioneers of droj) 
 forgings, as a regular and successful business, was 
 organized in 18G9. and in .Inly, l.sTa, received from 
 the Legislature of the Stiite of Connecticut, a 
 t*pecial charter of ineor])oration, conferring very 
 favorable privileges, the capital stock being 
 $1.')0,000, with liberty to increase the same to 
 $300,000. 
 
 In March, ISTT, the nimpauy reduced its capital 
 stock to ijl -,'.■), (100. 
 
 Its manufactory is located between Lawrence and 
 Broad stre(^t.s, in the western ))art of the City of 
 Hartford, and near the geographical centre of the 
 city, occupying a front of ;il:ifeet on Lawrence 
 street, and I T!) feet on Broad street. 
 
 Its main factory is three stories high, covering 
 au area of 40 by ];!0 feet, with engine and boiler 
 rooms. The forge shop is 8 '.3 by 100 feet. There 
 arc also several smaller buildings connected with 
 the business of the company on the ])remises. 
 
 As a specialty, the drop forging business is fol- 
 lowed by very few concerns in th(! world, and there 
 are none in the United States making in any com- 
 parison the amouut and variety made by this com- 
 pany. 
 
 The manufactory is supplied with machinery 
 and tools of improved make and description. In 
 tlie forge sliop are twenty-five drop hammers, ten 
 jiresses, one atmospheric and four tilt haminers. 
 The machine shop is furnished with lathes, ])laners, 
 upright drill-machines, die-.sinkiug machines, and 
 a variety of special machines for use in manufactur- 
 ing the several kinds of tools produced by the 
 coin])aiiy. 
 
 .\ full description of tlie almost endless variety 
 of drop forgings, cannot be given in this limited 
 space. Upwards of 2,000 different articles for 
 parts of guns, pistols, sewing machines, special 
 machinery, machinists' tools, .sewing-machine shut- 
 tles, are among the drop forgings. A large variety 
 of goods are also \n\t upon tlie market in a finished 
 state by the company, among which may be men- 
 tioned th(! following, viz.: Billings' p;iteiit screw 
 ])lates and dies, tap and reamer wrenches, lathe 
 dogs in twelve sizes from I to 4 inches. Billings' 
 adjustable ))ocket wrench, Barwick wrenches, screw 
 drivers from best tool steel, thread cutting tools, 
 Billings' inii>rovcd double-action ratchet drill with 
 sockets for using Morse taper shank twist drills, or 
 the old-fashioned square shank drills, five sizes 
 Packer ratchet drills, about forty varieties of sew- 
 ing-machine shuttles for the different makes of 
 sewing machines in this country and Europe, com- 
 bination pliers. Billings' jjatent breech-loading sin- 
 gle-barrel shot gun, Spencer's jjatent reca])])er and 
 uncapper for shot-gun shells. Billings' jjatent drop- 
 forged and cold-jjressed sewing machine shuttles, 
 and all descriptions of steel and iron drop forgings 
 for adjustable machine, chuck and track wrenches, 
 machine handles, thumb screws, tliumli nuts, hexa- 
 gon and .square head bolts, chuck i>inions and jaws. 
 Spanner wrenches, carriage spring heads, chuck 
 rings, coal breaker teeth, picker teeth, threshing 
 machine teeth, locomotive spring link-keys, saw 
 sets and swedges, nut crackers, bit-brace jaws, 
 valve stems, button hole cutters, vise jaws, tap 
 wrenches, beater arms, ]jarts of guns, pistols, sew- 
 ing machines and machinery generally. 
 
 The oflicers of the company arc : President, Chas. 
 E. Hillings; Treasurer, Lucien H. Holt; Sc^cretary, 
 Eben II. Stockcr. The company eini)loy 100 men, 
 and its entire buildings are heated by steam and 
 lighted by gas. Medals were awarded to this com- 
 IJany at the Vienna and Centennial Exliiliitions for 
 variety and excellence of productions, and quite an 
 export trade in shuttle forgings is transacted with 
 England, Germany and other foreign countries. 
 
176 
 
 THE imsTORICAL, .STATISTICAL AXD INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Mr. Charlis E. Billings, tlie President and Su])er- 
 intendent, is a native of Wcthoistield, Vermont ; 
 born in 1835. He learned tlie trade of a machinist 
 with tlio old Robbius & Lawrence Co., of Windsor, 
 Vermont, and came to Hartford in 18G7 to reside 
 permanently. During tlie war he was here tempo- 
 rarily as a contractor in Colt's Armory and in llion, 
 N. Y., where lie had a forging contract at the Rem- 
 ington Armory. On his return to Hartford in 
 18ti~hewas Superintendent for the Weed Sewing 
 Macliine Company for three years, directly after- 
 wards con\mencicg tlie foundation of this business. 
 He is a director in the Berryman Steam Heater 
 Company, and is one of the representative manu- 
 facturers of this city. 
 
 At Rocky Hill, Conn., he manufactures, on his 
 own account, patent belt clamps, belt awls, niaciiiu- 
 ists' clamjis, and surface gauges. He is the exclu- 
 sive manufacturer of Gardner it Millers' jiatent 
 belt clamp, and has made new and improved pat- 
 terns of them. Tliis apparatus has proved itself 
 indispensable to every establishment using belts six 
 inches wide and upwards, and will soon pay its 
 cost iu saving of time in lacing belts quicker and 
 better than any other way, and avoids any necessity 
 or excuse for injuring a wide belt by putting it 
 upon the pulleys after it is sewed. 
 
 Mr. Lucien H. Holt, the Treasurer, was Ijorn in 
 Wellington, Conn., in 1830. and has been a resident 
 of Hartford since Ijoyliood. He was at one time a 
 well-known flour dealer here. In early life he 
 learned the trade of a jeweler, and for seven years 
 has been a representative of tliis company. 
 
 Mr. Eben H. Stocker, the Secretary, is a native 
 of Ilartland, Vermont; born in 1846, and has 
 been in Hartford ten years, at first in a mercantile 
 line, and later as secretary of tins comijauy. 
 
 The Billings & Spencer Company liave an intei- 
 national reputation for superiority and variety of 
 productions, and is one of the first-class manu- 
 facturing estaljlishments of which Hartford and 
 Connecticut are justly pnmd. 
 
 Tlie Pratt & AVliitiiey Co., Manufac- 
 turers of Machinery of Superior Quality. — This 
 company, whose productions are the wonder and 
 admiration of all skilled mechanics, and whose 
 reputation is as great in Eurojje as in America, 
 was organized in July, 1869, and has a capital of 
 S500,000. 
 
 The officers are — President, Francis A. Pratt ; 
 Secretary, R. F. Blodgett; Treasurer, Wm. A. 
 Healy ; Superintendent, Amos Wliitney. 
 
 As inaDufacturers of machinists' tools, gun and 
 sewing machine making machinery, forging 
 macliinery, machinery for threading liolts. tapping 
 nuts, etc. , etc., they stand pre-eminently at the head. 
 The history of this establishment, like most others 
 of similar magnitude, represents slow and steady 
 growtli, and more or less discouragements ; but 
 the factors in it were such thatiio oljstacles seriously 
 impeded its progress or prevented its ultimate 
 success. 
 
 It was about twenty-three years ago that Messrs. 
 F. A. Pratt, Amos Wliitney, and Slouroe Stamiard 
 began together the manufacture of maehiui.-its' 
 tools, etc., in a small way in this city. Marked 
 lousiness ability, mechanical skill, energy and 
 ambition were tlie motive jJowers in the enterprise. 
 
 Tlieir motto was quality, and tlieir ambition per- 
 fection. From year to year the business grew and 
 flourished. With reputation came increased busi- 
 ness that necessitated more caijital and more 
 facilities. In 1869 the present company was 
 formed, with a ca)jital of igSSOjOtlO. which has since 
 been increased to ?f.500,000. 
 
 The works are on the north liank of Park River, 
 a branch of the Connecticut, about ten minutes' 
 walk from the Union Passenger Dei.iot, and can l^e 
 seen from the cars of the New York, New Haven 
 and Hartford and the New York and New England 
 Railroads. A Ijranch track connects with the main 
 lines of these roads. The building is built of 
 brick, with brown-stone trimmings, is 325 x 45 feet 
 in size, and four stories in lieight, containing 
 40,500 square feet of floor area. 
 
 A building 146 X 42 feet, three stories liigh, and 
 containing 18,000 square feet of floor area, is used 
 mainly for heavy machine work. The forging shop 
 is 175x42 feet, and the main foundry building 
 120 X 60 feet, with numerous wings. 
 
 The entire establishment covers, in all, about 
 two acres. There are ten fires in the forging 
 shop, a 1,200-pound steam hammer, a 60-pound 
 atmospheric hammer, three drop hammers, a 
 cushioned tilt hammer, two trimming presses 
 and a patent power shear. 
 
 The fouiidr/ has a jiickling and cleaning 
 house, 48x40 feet, three large annealing ovens, 
 for softening small castings, a room for core 
 making, with ovens of large cajiacity. There is 
 also a crane of fifteen tons lifting power, and 
 another of ten tons for lighter work, two 
 McKeuzie cupolas, known as Nos. 2 and 4 of this 
 celebrated make, and a large McKeuzie blower. 
 The machine shop has 250 lathes, seventy 
 planers, thirty drilling machines, thirty milling 
 machines, 6 screw machines, 6 gear and rack 
 cutters, and 3 large boring mills. 
 
 As a whole this vast equipment is valued at 
 about one half million of dollars. Automatic 
 sj^rinklers, with powerful pumps, should the or- 
 dinary city supply of water fail, are a protection 
 against fire. AH the rooms are heated by steam 
 and lighted by gas or electricity. Western Union 
 and Mutual Union Telegraph offices are jjart of 
 the company's facilities for transacting business, 
 and the number of employees is 660. 
 
 Mr. Francis A. Pratt, the President, is a native 
 of Vermont. He has been identified with Hart- 
 ford for about thirty years, during which time he 
 has represented his ward in the City Government 
 as alderman and member of the City Council. 
 He is a director iu the Pratt k Cady Co., and 
 otherwise interested in the mechanical industries 
 of his adopted city. Several successful ma- 
 chinists and machinery manufacttirers owe their 
 mechanical .success to him and his comiJany. 
 
 A uoted manufacturer in Belgium wishing to 
 give his son a thorough education in the manu- 
 facture of tine machinery, sent him to this coun- 
 try in the fall of 1882 to make an exhaustive in- 
 vestigation into the better class of establishments 
 iu America to that end. After visiting several 
 manufactories he decided in favor of the Pratt Ar 
 Wliitney Co., where he is now preimring himself 
 to superintend the 700 workmen employed iu 
 his father's establishment. 
 
REVIEW OF THE .STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 177 
 
 Mr. William A. Ilealy, the Treasurer, is a native 
 of Wiudliaiu County, Conn., and about sixty years 
 of age. lie learned the trade of a shoemaker and 
 went west to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was inter- 
 ested in the Syracuse Salt and Coal Co. He lias 
 been a resident of Hartford aljout fifteen years. He 
 is a director in tlie .Vmeriean National Bank, tlie 
 Dime Savings Hank, Washliurn Car Wheel Co., 
 Hartford Steam Heating Co., Billings it Spencer 
 Co., and other manufacturing companies in liis 
 adopted city. 
 
 Jlr. Koswell F. Blodgett, the Secretary, is a native 
 of Hartford, Conn., and forty years of age. He 
 was educated at that excellent educational institu- 
 tion, tlie Hartford High School, and has been with 
 this company since 18(jti. He is President of tlie 
 Blodgett it'Clapp Co., located at No. 51 Market 
 street, in this city. 
 
 J[r. Amos Wliitney, the Superintendent, is one of 
 tlie gentlemen from whom the company takes its 
 name, and, as above mentioned, is one of its pro- 
 jectors. He was born at Biddeford. Maine, and is 
 about fifty years of age. He has been a resident of 
 Hartford thirty or more years, and the position he 
 holds is a sufficient indication of his skill as a mas- 
 ter machinist. Like the other officers of this com- 
 pany, he is a ])art of the earnest, active, successful 
 business world of the Capital City, and largely in- 
 terested in its institutions. 
 
 Mr. Monroe Stannaid, the Superintendent of the 
 department t>f special machinery, with Messrs. 
 Pratt tt Whitney, was one of tlie original owners 
 of these works. He was born in New Slarlboro, 
 Mass., and is fifty-seven years of age. Tlie reputa- 
 tion of tlie company's tools for exactness and con- 
 venience and elegance is due in no small degree to 
 the inventive genius of Mr. Stannard. 
 
 Jlr. Edward G. Parkhurst, the Assistant Superin- 
 tendent of the works, is, like Mr. Healy, a native of 
 Windham County,Conn., and fifty-two years of age. 
 He has been a resident of Hartford for over twenty 
 years. His fellow citizens have elected him to 
 represent them from the Second Ward as a member 
 uf both branches in the city government, honors 
 which were thrust upon him rather than sought for, 
 as he is essentially a liusiness man of rare executive 
 ability. 
 
 The Pratt i Whitney Co. acknowledge no su- 
 perior in the manufacture of machinery. Their 
 productions, without particularizing, go to all parts 
 of tlie civilized world ; and if the sojourner in 
 Hartford should leave its establishment out of his 
 route, he can tell one but little about manufac- 
 tures of superior machinery. 
 
 X. P. Hous'li & Co., (Successors to H. J. 
 Johnson), Wholesale Dealers in Provisions, Nos. 
 95 to 105 Allyn Street.— The firm of N. P. Hough 
 A: Co. succeeded in September, 1880, to one of 
 the oldest and largest provision businesses in 
 New England. Their immediate jiredeeessor 
 was Mr. H. J. Johnson, the .succes.sor of the 
 house of Moore A: Johnson, which house had 
 followed that of Porter k, Moore, who established 
 the business aViout thii'ty years ago on Com- 
 merce street. In the extensive warehouses oc- 
 cupied by this firm are stored immense (juauti- 
 ties of hams, bacon, pork, dried beef, lard, 
 cheese, fish, etc., from which large shij^ments 
 
 are made daily to aU parts of New England and 
 to portions of the Middle States. Tliis liou.se 
 makes a specialty of Johnson's celebrated hams 
 and breakfast bacon, a line of goods that has 
 won a high reimtation for excellence and even- 
 ness of (juality. ~ The packing for the firm is 
 done in Chicago, where it can Ije done to greater 
 advantage than at this place, and employs a 
 large force of men. 
 
 Mr. Hough is a reijresentative New Englander, 
 having been born in Essex, in this State about 
 thirty -.seven years ago. Since his settlement in 
 Hartford, about eighteen years since, and up to 
 the pres(>iit, he has steadily won his way as a 
 business man and in the respect of his fellow- 
 citizens, first, as assistant cashier of th& 
 Phienix National Bank, a iiosition he occupied 
 for a long time, and latterly at the head of his 
 2)reseut business. 
 
 C K. Hubbard, Watches, Clocks, Jewelry, 
 
 etc.. No. 1-50 Asylum Street — .\mong the oldest 
 and liest known establishments of this kind in the 
 State of Connecticut, is that of Mr. Hubbard, cen- 
 trally and eligibly located in tlu' Allyn House 
 l)lock on Asylum street. Mr. Hubbard has a well- 
 earned reiiutation for the excellence of his wares 
 and the fidelity with which work intrusted to him 
 is iierformed. Hence, his business is (irosperous 
 and steadily increasing. Mr. Hubbard was born 
 in Saulsbury, Conn., in the year 1832, and has lived 
 in Hartford since the establishment of his present 
 business in 1850. His trade in watches, clocks, 
 etc., is only limited by the confines of the State, 
 while his repairing work has its specimens in all 
 parts of the country. In 1840 Mr. Hubbard 
 removed from his native place to Ashley Falls, 
 Mass., where he remained for some years, going 
 thence to Falls Village, in which jjliice he was in 
 business for nine years prior to settling in Hartford. 
 In early life Jlr. Hulibard was apprenticed to and 
 learned the trade from his father, but he abandoned 
 its pursuit for the more congenial occupation he is 
 at present engaged in. In person atd manners, 
 Mr. Hubbard is calculated to jilease, and a louf- 
 continued business career, distinguished by urbanity 
 and fair-dealing, has won for him a fair measure 
 of success. Mr. Hubbard is regarded as one of the 
 representative men of Hartford. 
 
 I>\vislit, Sklimer & Co, (Drayton Hillyer, 
 Henry C. Dwight and Wm. C. Sldnner), Wool. 
 No. 1 07 AUyn Street. '- — This firm are the succe -isor.s 
 to the business of the Andely known wool firms, 
 Hillyer Ar Bunce and H. C. Dwight & Co. , under 
 which latter title it was known from 1879 to 
 May 1, 1882, when Mr. Skinner was admitted 
 and the present designation adopted. The busi- 
 ness of the firm is general dealing in wool, and 
 in that resj^ect it stands among the largest houses 
 in New England, while it can, undoubtedly, be 
 classed as among the leading houses in Connec- 
 ticut, its transactions amomrting to over a mil- 
 lion dollars annually. The .specialty of this 
 firm is scoured wools of all grades, the prepara- 
 tion of which is effected at the Anchor Scouring 
 Mills at Windsor Locks, an establishment owned 
 and run by the firm, and giving steady emjiloy- 
 ment to forty of the sixty men in their service. 
 
178 
 
 THE HISTOUTCAL. .STATISTICAL AKIJ IXDVSTHIAL 
 
 In this particular tlie operations of the firm are 
 far in excess of those of any of their competi- 
 tors. A peculiar process of extracting burrs 
 from wool is the pro^jerty of the firm and is used 
 only in their mill. The ramiflcatious of the 
 trade of Dwight, Skinner A: Co. are only limited 
 by the numlier of woolen mills in the "United 
 States, to all of wliich they are constantly ship- 
 ping their scoured wools. 
 
 Captain Dwight, of the firm, is a native of Massa- 
 chiisetts, forty-one years of age. and has passed 
 most of his business life in Hartford. During 
 the war of the Rebellion Captain Dwight served 
 his country as Captain in the Twenty-seventh 
 Massachusetts Volunteers and won an enviable 
 record. Since his advent in Hartford he has 
 been selected by his fellow citizens to represent 
 them in the City Council and Board of Alder- 
 men, ser%'ing in both bodies for several terms. 
 He is a director in the American National Bank 
 and the Mechanics' Savings Bank, and holds the 
 important position of Street Commissioner, the 
 duties of which are discharged "ndth great satis- 
 faction to the people. 
 
 Mr. Hillyer, the senior partner of the firm, is 
 a native of Connecticut, about sixty-five years of 
 age, and has been in business in Hartford for 
 more than forty years. He has been for many 
 years a director in the ^Etna Insurance Co. , and 
 is also a director in the Hartford National Bank. 
 
 Mr. Skinner, the junior and the youngest 
 member of the firm, was born in New York State, 
 and is twenty-eight years of age. Prior to his 
 joining this house as partner he was connected 
 with the well-known house of Keneys k Roberts, 
 where he acquired the knowledge of luisiness 
 and the correct methods of trade for which he is 
 generally esteemed. 
 
 This firm, collectively and individually, ranks 
 high among the very foremost in Connecticut. 
 
 N. Palmer & Co. (F. C. Clark), Manufac- 
 turers of Oak-tanned Leather Belting and Dealers in 
 Belt Leather, Manufacturers' Supplies, etc., No. 302 
 Asylum Street. — This business, one of the largest of 
 its kind in New England, was established in 18.59 
 by Messrs. N. Palmer, George Asiiiuwall and J. 
 Ward Fuller. In 1809 Mr. Palmer died and the 
 business was conducted liy the remaining partners 
 until 187.5, when Mr. Fuller retired from the firm. 
 In 1878 Mr. Clark entered the firm, and on the 
 death of Mr. Aspinwall, in 1880, he assumed the 
 sole proprietorship, retaining the old firm name of 
 N. Palmer ik Co. The manufacture of leather- 
 belting and other articles, as well as the trade in 
 manufacturers' supplies, is carried on in a large 
 salesroom and workshop, occupying almost an 
 entire floor of the spacious building at No. 302 
 Asylum street, and gives employment to a force of 
 about a dozen workmen, besides the necessar}^ 
 clerks and salesmen. The business is the out- 
 growth of a very small beginning, and amounts at 
 this time to a figure in the neighborhood of .S()0,000 
 a year, distributed as regards locality all over the 
 New England States and sections of New York, 
 and,, to a less extent, throughout the country. In 
 addition to the manufacture of belting and the 
 sale of manufacturers' supplies, the house supplies 
 the entire country with a patent lubricating axle 
 
 washer, said to be the best thing of its kind ever 
 invented. It is manufactured from leather which 
 undergoes a treatment by a chemical solution that 
 renders it impermeable to moisture and non-sensi- 
 tive to the action of heat or a dry atmos])here, 
 while it acts as a lubricant to the axle. It also 
 acts as a deadener of sound, and as it retains its 
 virtues through all seasons, it is never superseded 
 until actually worn out. Besides this the house 
 makes a specialty of polishing-lcather, for polish- 
 ing steel, and is the sole agent in Connecticut for 
 the American Jacket Fire Hose, made of a knitted 
 fabric and lined with rubber, an article in extensive 
 U5e and great favor with Fire Departments, manu- 
 facturers, and others. Mr. Clark was born in 
 1849, in Windsor, Conn., and has resided in Hart- 
 ford since 186(3. He is a type of the New Eng- 
 lander who rises by his own exertions from a 
 huniljle beginning to a foremost place in the busi- 
 ness world. At the age of thirteen years he com- 
 menced his life's work in a cotton mill, going 
 thence to a woolen mill, and subsequently to the 
 grocery and provision business, finding in these 
 varied employments the business experience neces- 
 sary for the successful conduct of theestal)lishment 
 of which he is now the pro])rietor and direcloi'. 
 
 A busy life has left him but little time to enjoy 
 the pursuit or gain of office, yet in one particular 
 lie has been prominent. For fourteen years he has 
 been actively connected with the State military 
 forces, and has enjoyed the honor of being elected 
 a lieutenant in tiie crack corps known as the Gov- 
 ernor's Foot Guard. 
 
 Mr. Clark stands high among the well-reputed 
 business men of Connecticut, as well as in Hart- 
 ford's best society. 
 
 S. N. Hart, Carriage Manufacturer, Nos. 39, 
 41 and 43 Alljany Avenue. — The City of Hartford, 
 probably, has a larger proportion of wealthy peo- 
 ple within its limits than any city of the United 
 States, and hence, the industries which go to sup- 
 ply the wants and luxuries of that class are ijecu- 
 liarly prominent and numerous. In no jjlace in 
 the world is the custom of keeping private car- 
 riages so general, nor can there be found elsewhere 
 such a jirevailiug excellence in style and manufac- 
 ture. In the best work of carriage-making, re- 
 markable for elegance of finish and originality of 
 design, combined with lightness, strength and dura- 
 bility, Mr. S. N. Hart is the most noted manufac- 
 turer in Hartford. The business was originally 
 established in January, 1833, on Church street, by 
 Balch vt Hart, Mr. Hart succeeding to the entire 
 business some years later. Tlie building on Al- 
 bany avenue, at present occupied by Mr. Hart, is 
 three stories in height, with a frontage of 84 feet 
 and a depth of 160 feet, accommodating the four 
 departments of the business, in which there are 
 employed from twenty-five to thirty workmen, 
 whose weekly pay-roll aggregates about $400. Mr. 
 Hart builds all kinds of family carriages, sulkeys, 
 coaches, wagons, trucks, rockaways, phaetons, bug- 
 gies, etc., and enjoy'S the reputation of turning out 
 some of the finest work ever seen in New England 
 or elsewhere. The stock carried in this establish- 
 ment averages in value about 820.000, while the 
 annual business amounts to five times that 
 sum. It is a generally conceded fact that Mr. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 179 
 
 Halt stamls at tlio head of his line of business in 
 Hartford and, in fact, in the entire State. 
 
 Mr. Hart is a native of Xew Britain, and came 
 to Hartford at tlie age of seventeen ; he is about 
 seventy-three years of age, and is justly regarded 
 iis one of Connecticut's solid and relial>le business 
 men, a respected citizen and a just and lil)eral em- 
 ployer. 
 
 D. A. Spear, Florist and Seedsman, No. 2i2 
 Asylum Street. — Mr. Spear established himself 
 as a florist and i)lnnt grower on WetluTstii'ld 
 avenue in 1861, continuing there until 1S07, 
 when he relinquished the l)usiness of growing 
 and entered the store business at his j)reseut 
 quarters, his goods being largely supjilied from 
 the prominent nurseries in the vicinity of Hart- 
 ford. Mr. Spear's si)ai-ious store is stocked with 
 a large assortment of birds, tishes, cages, fancy 
 baskets, plants, floral de.signs, etc., while a large 
 greenhouse in the rear produces and shelters a 
 great variety of the rarer plants, exotic flower.s, 
 ferns, etc. ]SIr. Spear is among the original 
 florists in Hartford, and his trade has extended 
 among the better classes to so great an extent 
 that his yearly sales can be counted far up among 
 the tens of thousands. In the matter of artistic 
 floral decorations for weddings, parties, etc., ^Ir. 
 Spi-ar does a large business, and, in that particu- 
 lar, is regarded as at the hea<l of the trade. IMr. 
 Sjjear was born in Canada, just across the line 
 from Vermont, in the year 1848. He has resided 
 in Hartford since IStil, and has won a business 
 and social standing of the first order. 
 
 P. H, Dunn. — Manufacturer and Dealer in 
 Monuments, Headstones, etc.. No. 104 Albany 
 Ave. — The rapidly increasing business of Mr. H. 
 Dunn is a pleasing evidence that strict attention 
 to business and invariable fair dealing, will 
 bring its own reward. Mr. Dunn established 
 him.self in his present location in 1877, and since 
 that time his business has so largely increased 
 that his force of workmen is constantly em- 
 ployed in getting out the tine work for which 
 he has become justly noted. Mr. Dunn is a 
 native of Connecticut, having been born in 
 Middletown on December 22, 1852. Among the 
 .specialties of Mr. Dunn'.s factory are monu- 
 ments, head.stones, and marble, granite and 
 brown stone fences. The cemeteries in Hart- 
 ford and vicinity bear numerous evidences of 
 his skill, while many of the palatial residences 
 hin-e and elsewhere are .surrounded by the beau- 
 tiful evidences of his handiwork. Mr. Dunn is 
 himself a practical and skilled workman, having 
 learned his trade at the works of J. G. Batterson. 
 
 For so young a man, Mr. Dunn commands a 
 large business, and its rapid aud steady growth 
 jiromises to place him in the fi'ont rank of his 
 trade long before he shall have attained middle 
 age. 
 
 present volume of al)out $100,000 a year. Mr. 
 Edwin W. Sage succeeded to a partnersliip in the 
 firm in 1871, the otlier interest l)cing represented by 
 tlic estate of his father. Wliile this hou.sc does a 
 large and growing l)Usiness in the purchase and 
 sale of liitU'S, tallow, etc., its specialty is " wool 
 pulling," a process liy which sheep skins are de- 
 nuded of tlieir wool and that coiiuncKlity, as well 
 as tli<' skin itself, made ready for market. In this 
 particular tlu' firm docs tlie largest liusiness of the 
 kind, tlieirs being the only wool-i)ulling estaljlish- 
 nient in Hartford or its immediate vicinity. 
 
 Mr. Sage was born in East Hartford in ls5I, and 
 has lived in the city since he was two years of age, 
 growing to merit the esteem of l)usiness men and 
 the cordial liking of an extensive circle of acquaint- 
 ances and friends. Iii 18S0 he was elected a 
 councilman from the Seventh Ward, and during 
 his term of service demonstrated his capacity and 
 integrity to the complete satisfaction of his con- 
 stituents. 
 
 K. W. Sag'p & Co., Wool Pullers, Dealers in 
 Hides. Tallow, Calf and Wool Skins, Nos. 04 aud GO 
 Albany Avenue. — Tliis business was started alwut 
 18.50, by Elislia E. Sage, fatlier of the present 
 proprietor, since deceased, and has grown from 
 insignificant proportions until it has reached its 
 
 P. Jewell & Son.s, Manufacturers of Leather 
 Belting, coiner of Hicks and Truml)ull Streets. — 
 Tlie oldest, largest, and best-known manufactory 
 of leather belting in America is tliat of P. .lewell 
 it Sons, corner of Hicks and Truml)ull streets. 
 The house was founded by Mr. Pliny Jewell in 1849. 
 The Yankee idea of conveying power Ijy leather 
 belts was of slow growth, liut in time it was 
 generally approved, both in tliis country and Europe. 
 The use of leather Ix-lts ra|)idly increased, and the 
 business of manufacturing them grew in proportion. 
 In a short time the elder Jlr. Jewell had admitted 
 his four sons — JIarshall, Pliny, Charles IL, and 
 Lyman B. — into partnership, with the tirm name of 
 P. Jewell & Sons, which has remained ever since. 
 The factory is an imposing Ijrick building, 185x44 
 feet, live stories high, with an L tlircc stories high. 
 Here the belts are manufactured from the leather in 
 the rough, which comes direct from a large tannery 
 in Michigan, with a capacity of tanning .50,000 
 hides a year. These belts are now found in general 
 use throughout the United States, and large quanti- 
 ties are exported to Europe. See illustration, page 
 101. 
 
 The Jewell Ijrothers were Ijorn at Winchester, 
 N. H., aud the family liad been tanners for five 
 generations. Tlie boys were taught the art of 
 tanning by their father, and therefore had the best 
 preparation for making a success in the new liusi- 
 ness. Tlie family traces back to Thomas Jewell, 
 who lived in Boston as early as 10:il). Pliny Jewell, 
 the founder of the house, died in 1 800, at tlie age 
 of seventy-two. His son, Pliny, was born Septem- 
 ber 1, 1828, and was educated in "the little red 
 school " house of those days. He is a director in 
 several banks and insurance companies in Hartford. 
 Marshall Jewell, the second son, was born October 
 20, 182.5, and died February 10, 188)5, aged fifty- 
 seven years and four months. He received a com- 
 mon school education, and at the age of eighteen 
 years had mastered tlie trade of tanning. In 1847 
 he learned telegraphy, and had charge of offices, 
 and was superintendent of lines, until 1850, when 
 he went into partnership with his father. From 
 1852 to 1857 ho traveled throughout the country, 
 extending the business of the house. He visited the 
 Old World in 1859, '60, '05, "00 and '07, including 
 
180 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Europe, Asia, Africa, the Holy Land, and the Paris 
 Exposition. In 1868 he began his political career, 
 and was three times made Governor of Connecticut. 
 In 1873 he was appointed United States Minister 
 to Russia. He negotiated the trade-mark treaty 
 with Russia and discovered the process of making 
 the scented Russian leather. Since that time Rus- 
 sian leather has been made in America equal to 
 any. On tlie 1st of September, 1874, he Ijecame 
 Postmaster-General in tlie cabinet of President 
 Grant, retiring July 14, 1876. He negotiated the 
 postal treaty with Canada. In 1880 he became 
 chairman of the Repuljlican National Committee, 
 and did much good and efficient work iov the 
 party, of which he was an enthusiastic member. 
 The business connections of the late Governor 
 Jewell were very extensive, and ])roved him to be 
 a prompt, energetic, far-seeing man. He was one 
 of the original directors of the Phoenix Fire Insur- 
 ance Company, director of the Travelers' Insurance 
 Company, director of tlie Hartford Bank ; presi- 
 dent of tlie Charter Oak Life Insurance Company, 
 a director in the Weed Sewing Machine Company, 
 Peerless Wire Mattress Company, Connecticut School 
 of Design, etc., president of the United States 
 Telephone Company, a member of tiie Union 
 League and University Clubs, New York City ; a 
 Knight Temjilar, an honorary M. A. of Yale Col- 
 lege ; owner of the new belt road around Denver, 
 Colorado, a partnei in the large dry-goods house 
 of Charles Root & Co., Detroit, and interested in a 
 large number of manufacturing and railroad pro- 
 jects throughout the country. 
 
 He was given to historical research, and was an 
 officer in the New England Historieo-Genealogical 
 Society. His residence on Farmington avenue, 
 Hartford, has become historic for its hospitality. 
 The untimely death of Governor Jewell, in the 
 prime of life, was widely lamented. 
 
 Lyman B. Jewell, tlie third brother, was born in 
 1837, August 29th. Charles A. Jewell was born 
 March 29, 1841, and educated at the Hartford 
 public schools. The three surviving brothers now 
 carry on the busine.ss of manufacturing lielts, and 
 are also interested in the Jewell Pin Company, 
 , which manufactures brass and adamantine pins. 
 This companv was incorporated in 1881, with a 
 capital of $(i6, 000, and tlie late Marshall Jewell 
 was the President. Mr. Charles A. Jewell is the 
 Treasurer, and Mr. Charles L. Mcintosh tlie Secre- 
 tary. The factory stands in the rear of the belting- 
 works, and consists of two buildings, each eighty 
 by twenty-five feet, two stories high. Thirty- 
 seven hands are employed, producing annually 
 1,500, of 180 packages in a case. 
 
 Mr. Charles L. Mcintosh was born in Columbia, 
 Connecticut, and is thirty-two years of age. H? 
 has resided in Hartford aljout thirteen years and 
 was formerly the Ijookkeejier anil private secretary 
 of Governor Jewell. Mr. F. B. Wesson, the super- 
 intendent of the pin factory, was born in Hartl'oid 
 in 1850. He was educated in the public schools, 
 and was formerly in the dry-goods business. 
 
 laneous hardware, guns, cutlery, optical goods and 
 si>orting articles to be found in Hartford is con- 
 tained in the establishment of which this sketch 
 treats. Mr. Schneider, who is a practical gun 
 and locksmith, does a large .share of the rei^air- 
 ing business of the city and an extensive trade 
 among those sportsmen who desire fine and re- 
 liable guns and other articles for their use. In 
 the sjiecialty of oiitieal goods, this store has few 
 equals and no superiors in Hartford or the sur- 
 rounding country. Mr. Scliueider began his 
 business career in 1870 at No. 16 Mulberry 
 street, with practically no capital, and has pro- 
 gressed so favorably that he now carries a large 
 and valuable stock, all of which is clear of debt. 
 The business extends to all parts of the State, 
 the store being in close j^roximity to the railroad 
 dei>ot, and, therefore, commanding a large share 
 of the country trade. The present location has 
 been oecujjied since 1879, and has jjroven itself 
 in every way a satisfactory one. 
 
 Mr. Schneider was born in Saxe Goburg, Ger- 
 many, in 1830, and arrived in America in 1852, 
 making his home in Hartford, where he has re- 
 mained ever since, and where he has attained to 
 a thoroughly good standing in business and jiri- 
 vate life. 
 
 Paul F. Sflineider, Gun and Locksmith, 
 Dealer in Guns, Pistols and Sporting Goods, 
 Pishing Tackle, Cutlery, Locks, Keys, and Op- 
 tical Goods of every description, No. 222 Asylum 
 Street.— One of the best selected stocks of miscel- 
 
 T. K. Shaiiiioii & Co., (successors to Shan- 
 non it Marwiek), Drugs, etc.. No. 143 Trumbull 
 Street. — Among the absolute necessitie.s to the 
 well being of a city or town, there is nothing of 
 more importance than a well-regulated and 
 largely-stocked drug store, where the physician 
 and i>atieiit can send their ijrescriptions in the 
 absolute certainty of having them jji-operly com- 
 pounded, and where money can be expended for 
 the various articles that go to make up the 
 adjuncts to the business, with a satisfying sense 
 that a quid pro quo is rendered. Among such 
 houses that of T. R. Shannon ct Co. stands pre- 
 eminent. Established aliout twenty years ago 
 by Dr. J. P. B. Butler, the business was suc- 
 ceeded to in 1873 liy Mr. Albert Pitkin, and in 
 1878 by Messrs. Shannon it Marwiek, the latter 
 withdrawing from the firm on July 15, 1882. 
 The business, small at first, has been extended 
 by the energy, enterprise and fair dealing of its 
 various conductors, aided by a thorough, ju-ac- 
 tical knowledge of the details of all its branches, 
 until now it stands among the foremost in point 
 of volume and in the very front rank as regards 
 character. 
 
 Mr. Thomas R. Shannon, the present head of 
 the house, was born in Louden, New Hamjjshire, 
 on May 10, 1853, and lived in Portland, Maine, 
 the greater portion of his adult life. He is a 
 graduate of the College of Pharmacy of Massa- 
 chusetts, at Boston. As a business man his 
 standing is high, while his social qualites are 
 such as to make his circle of friends a very large 
 one. 
 
 W. L. & H. E. Pitkiu, Manufacturers of 
 Sterling Silverware, No. 174 Pearl Street. — At No. 
 174 Pearl street is the new and handsome building 
 used Ijy Messrs. W. L. & H. E. Pitkin, manufac- 
 turers of sterling silverware and platers of plated 
 ware. For fifteen years past this firm has occupied 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 181 
 
 one of the Jewell biiiklini;?, but increasing l)usi- 
 nosa compelled them to remove into larger quarters, 
 which removal occurreil on the 1st of January, 
 18s:i. The Inisiness was estaUislied in IMoS, (m 
 the site of the old Yale liuilding. and succeeded 
 to a business left liy Mr. (). 1). Seymour, who has 
 retired, and ^Ir. 11. J. Sawyer, who is deceased. 
 Mr. Seymour was tlie successor of the well-known 
 William Kogcis' Co. He afterwards became the 
 Collector of Hartford. 
 
 Mr. W. L. Pitkin was1)orn in East Hartford, in 
 1830, and learned the trade of silvcrsn.ith of Walter 
 Pitkin, in the same town. At one time lie went 
 upon the road selling goods, and found he could 
 command enough trade to keep his establishment 
 running. He now employs ten hands, keeps two 
 men on the road, and nianuf.ictures from §30,000 
 to $40,000 worth of goods a year, Ijesides plating 
 100 dozen knives and forks a day. The si)ecialty 
 of the house is flat ware, in solid silver, and tliis 
 lias such a reimtation tliat it is sought for tlirongh- 
 out the country. Mr. Pitkin is a member of tem- 
 perance organizations, a Congregationalist. etc.. but 
 being wholly devoted to liusiness. lias never sought 
 office. His brother, H. E. Pitkin, Ijorn in 1832, is 
 his partner. This firm makes a cleaning and 
 polisliing powder, known as Silver Detersive, which 
 holds tlie ware clean for a long while after it has 
 l)een applied. 
 
 James CaiiipbeU & Co. — Manufacturers 
 of Harness Trimmings, Nos. 39 and 41 Trumlnill 
 Street. — One of tlie numerous manufacturing estab- 
 lishments in Hartford, whose productions go to make 
 up a variety, is that of Messis. James Campbell & 
 Co., situated at No.s. 3!) and 4 1 Trumbull street. The 
 business was established in 183fi by Mr. Edwin 
 Bolles, in tne rear of the "Times" office, on Main 
 street, and was removed to its present location 
 about thirty-five years ago. In April, 1879, Mr. 
 James Campbell, under the firm name of James 
 Campbell ifc Co., succeeded to tlie business. The 
 works comprise three rooms, the largest S.'jxT.j feet 
 in size, where from twenty-five to forty people are 
 employed in the manufacture of finely finished 
 rosettes, ornaments, saddle nails in silver, nickel 
 and gold, and harness trimmings generally. The 
 productions are sold by agents in all parts of the 
 country, principally in the western states, extending 
 to California and ( )regon, where they have an envia- 
 ble reputation. 
 
 Mr. James Cam|)liell is a native of Hartford, born 
 in ls4(l, and was a workman in this establishment 
 for twenty years ])revious to his becoming pro- 
 prietor. Tlie productions of this house rank high 
 in the trade, and for ornamentation and finish are 
 not excelled 
 
 Farris Music Store, Wholesale and Retail 
 Dealers in Music and Musical Instruments, No. 178 
 Asylum Street, AUyn Hou.se Block. — The oldest 
 and one of the moat thoroughly stocked music 
 stores in the State of Connecticut is the one whose 
 designation forms the title line of tliis sketch. The 
 business was started in 18.51 by Mr. .John Farris, 
 who still retains his place at the helm, and con- 
 ducts the steadily increasing trade of the liouse. 
 While one of the branches of the business is the 
 sale of pianos and organs, in which the justly cele- 
 
 brated J. P. Hale ])iano is the staple, it is subor- 
 dinated lo the trade in t\u'. smaller instruments, 
 such as violins, guitars, banjos. Kand instruments, 
 flutes, accordeons, strings, bridyes, and, in fact, all 
 the instrument.s, accessories, and tools needed by 
 musicians, as well as sheet music in great variety, 
 song books, etc. The two spacious show windows 
 of tliis establishment present a variety of musical 
 goods not to be found elsewhere in this State, and 
 to be found in few pl.-ices in the entire country. 
 Mr. Farris feels a pardonable pride in his large 
 and carefully selected stock of old and rare violins, 
 and claims that in his specialty, the mauufactun! of 
 banjos, lie excels the world, a claim which is borne 
 out to a considerable extent by the numerous in- 
 dorsements fiom professionals and others in his 
 possession. 
 
 .Mr. Farris is a native American, having been born 
 in Ciiventry, R. I., in 1826, removing thence to 
 Hartford on January 1, 1850. 
 
 In addition to his music business, Sir. Farris is 
 interested, as treasurer and manager, in the Hart- 
 ford 15<iltless and Noiseless Thill Coupling Com- 
 pany, manufacturers of a deservedly celebrated 
 device, the character of which is indicated by its 
 name. Besides these, he is the patentee and owner 
 of Farris patent safct)' stra|)s and button for use 
 on carriages in connection with the coupling. Mr. 
 Farris bears a high reputation among business meii, 
 and in social life is regarded as an acquisition to 
 any circle. 
 
 William Tooliy. — Auctioneer and Manager 
 of Real Estate Sales, No. 182 Asylum Street— The 
 subject of this sketch, although not a native of 
 this country, may from his long residence here 
 and his thorough identilieatiou with the interests 
 of this city and State, be justly reg.arded as a 
 representative American. In 1861, Mr. Toohy 
 .starteil his present business and has continued 
 with uiivarviug success until he can ]ioiut with 
 pride to the fact that in the twenty years of his 
 business career more thau five millions of dol- 
 lars' worth of property have jmssed from seller 
 to purchaser through his hands, with perfect 
 satisfaction to the interested parties and a rea- 
 sonable profit to himself. Mr. Toohy's large 
 wareroom is filled with an immense stock of 
 furniture and house-furnishing goods, from 
 among which the liargaiu-seeking housewives of 
 Hartford and vicinity are continually making 
 .selections, deliglitful alike to the eye and to the 
 scanty purse. It is not too much to say that in 
 the business of .selling real estate at auction, 
 Mr. Toohy has practically a monojioly, his bus- 
 iness in that line e.xteudiug not <:mly througiiout 
 Hartford and its environs, but all over the State 
 of Connecticut. 
 
 In i^erson, Mr. Toohy is what a man should 
 be who depends for succe.ss in bnsine.ss on jjer- 
 sonal contact with the public. Of an imjiosing 
 and magnetio presence and with tliat peculiar 
 gift of eloquence so essential to his peculiar 
 calling, backed by indomitable energy and un- 
 questioned integrity, he has placed himself in 
 front of the front rank and has won for himself 
 the uudoulited right to be called the first auc- 
 tioneer of the State. Mr. Toohy's family con- 
 nections are more thau ordinarily good, one of 
 
182 
 
 THE inSTOniCAL, STATISTICAL AXD IKDUSTIilAL 
 
 his brothers, a leading lawyer in San Francisco, 
 having been lately chosen a Judge of the 
 Superior Court in that city. 
 
 C. T, Marston & Co., Lumber Dealers, 
 Ko. 54 Jlorgan Street. — .\mong the oldest cstalj- 
 lislied lumber dealers of New England may safely 
 be classed the firm of C. T. Marslou &Co., tlie 
 business of wliicli dates back for fifty years or more, 
 when it was estaljlished in a modest way by Mr. 
 Stephen Marston, the father of the i)resent proprie- 
 tor. In ISSO the son succeeded to the business at 
 the death of the father. A large and varied stock 
 of all kinds of lumVier and timber is to be found in 
 the extensive yards, and hundreds of houses in 
 Hartford have been built hj lumber shijiped l)y 
 this house. Two yards covering an area of eiglit 
 acres are necessary to store the lumber in stock and 
 the business done amounts to upwards of .SSOO.OUO 
 per year. 
 
 Mr. Charles T. Marston is a native of Enst 
 Hartford, born in 1842. He has represented his 
 native town as State representative in the legisla- 
 ture with lionor to himself and liis constituents. 
 Mr. Marstou's large business is managed in most of 
 its details by Mr. C. A. Atkins .Jr., who has Ijeeu 
 connected witli Mr. Marston since 1869, having 
 tlioroughly mastered all tlie minutiai of the busi- 
 ness. "Mr. Atkins has risen step by step to the 
 position he now occupies as manager and buyer for 
 the house, by the exercise of those qualities of hon- 
 esty and shrewdness for whicli the better class of 
 New England's sons are noted. He was born in 
 Munsfiekl. Conn., in IS.Ji, but has resided in Hart- 
 ford for a large part o£ his life. He is looked upon 
 as a rising man and one who is siu'e to make his 
 mark. 
 
 Associated with Mr. C. A. Atkins Jr., in the 
 carrying on the business and attending to the num- 
 erous details in the yard is Mr J. R. Atkins, a 
 brotlier of much promise who, although here but a 
 few years, lias already won the entire confidence of 
 the trade, and is a valuable assistant in the manage- 
 ment of the firm's affairs. He is a native of Maus- 
 fiekl, Conn., where he received his education. 
 
 The Hartford Coiiraiit. — Tlie oldest news- 
 paper of continuous pulilication in the United 
 States is "Tlie Courant," of Hartford. It was 
 established by Tliomas Green, and the first numlier 
 appeared October 29, 1704. From that day to this 
 there has been no break in its tiles, a complete set of 
 wliicli is preserved in the fire-proof room in the new 
 and handsome office on State street. This paper 
 is older than tlie United States, and gives a history 
 of the country from its birth. When the Stamp 
 act came, this paper was filled with k-tters from the 
 people in opposition to British oppression. Friau 
 that day on it has been a representative medium 
 for expressing the wishes of the pulilic. It has dis- 
 cussed war with England ; the declaration ; the 
 Confederation ; the Constitution ; and tlie amend- 
 ments ; particijiated in every Presidential election, 
 and taken an interest in every important event in 
 the history of the Nation and the State. For 
 generations it has been a welcome visitor in the 
 houses of Connecticut, and has widely circulated 
 
 througliout the country. The growth of families 
 and industries can be traced in its columns. The 
 City of Hartford has become what it is since the 
 first number was issued. At that date Indians 
 occupied most of New England, and the Mississippi 
 Valley was hardly known. Such a journal can 
 boast a history, a patronage, and the confidence of 
 the community, as rare as it is valuable. Some of 
 the incidents of its career are especially interesting. 
 At the close of the year 177.5, it being impossible 
 to obtain jjaper, the jiroprietors built for themselves 
 a paper mill, and called upon their lady friends to 
 be "very careful of their rags." This was the 
 beginning of the paper manufacture of East Hart- 
 ford and Burnside. Letters from Ethan Allen and 
 Israel Putnam have appeared in its columns. The 
 paper lias changed ownership fourteen times. It 
 belonged to the Goodwin family from 1778 to 183G. 
 From 1770 to 1778, Mrs. Watson, the widow of 
 Ebenezer Watson, conducted the paper, probably 
 the first woman in America who ever engaged in 
 this business. In the fall of 1837, Mr. .Jolin L. 
 Bjsvvell established the " Hartford Daily Courant " 
 in connection witli the old "Connecticut Courant." 
 In 1850 Mr. Win. Faxon, who learned the printer's 
 trade as an apprentice in the office, became a 
 partner with Mr. Boswell. He afterwards became 
 the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In 1867 the 
 paper passed into the hands of Hawley, (Toodrich & 
 Co. , tlie present owners. Among those who once 
 were type-setters in the office, are Robert Bonner, 
 of the "New York Ledger,'' and Alfred E. Burr, 
 editor of the "Hartford Times." In 1856 a paper 
 called the "Evening Press," was established, that 
 thocity might have a republican journal. Ayear later 
 Mr. JoseiJh R. Hawley, a young lawyer, became 
 one of the proin-ietors. In 1860 Mr. Charles 
 Dudley Warner became assistant editor. On re- 
 ceipt of the news of the tiring upon Sumter Mr. 
 Hawley enlisted, being the first volunteer frcjm 
 the State. In 18C7 the " Press " was consolidated 
 with the " Courant, " and ceased to exist. The 
 present members of the firm, each equal part- 
 ners, are Gen. Joseiah R. Hawley, WiUiam H. 
 Goodrich, Charles Dudley Warner and Stejihen 
 A. Hubbard. Gen. Hawley, when not engaged 
 in pulilio duties, is the editor-in-chief. In his 
 absence those duties devolve upon Mr. Warner. 
 Mr. Hubbard is the managing editor. The 
 " Courant " now occui^ies a large and handsome 
 building, which was finished in 1880. It is as 
 handsome as any uewspaijer office in New Eng- 
 land, outside of Boston. It stands on the north 
 side of State street, facing the old State-house 
 square and the new Government buildings. The 
 house is five stories high, 117 feet by 47, modern 
 gothic in style, and executed in red brick and 
 mortar, relieved by bands of diajjer In-ick, 
 moulded brick belt courses, and deep window 
 openings spanned by hard brick arches. The 
 incription "1764, Connecticut Courant, 1880," 
 in terra cotta is built in the brick-work over the 
 windows on the second story. The engraving 
 of the establishment on page 87 wiU give a 
 better idea of its outside appearance than 
 any letter-press description. The interior of the 
 budding is a comiilete newspaper and printing 
 establishment, from the engine and Hoe's double 
 cylinder press in the basement to the comi^osing- 
 
ItEVIEW OF THE .<TATE OF CoyNECTICUT. 
 
 183 
 
 room on tlie fifth floor. The business iiml vi\\- 
 fcu-ial rooms are elegantly fitted ui). and the 
 establishment is provided with telephones and 
 telegraphs, eonneetiug it with every part of the 
 entire world. The ■' C'oiirant '' building stands 
 on historic ground. At the old number of G6 
 State street, where the new stnioture stMids, no 
 less than twenty-eight newspajjers and magazines 
 have been published during the jjast 115 years. 
 This sjjot has )>een a centre for the radiation of 
 information, and is the place where the Rejiub- 
 lican jjarty of Connecticut was rocked in its 
 cradle. Anti-slavery and temjierance have been 
 preached from this jilace for many years, and at 
 this center i)ure literature has found its inspira- 
 tion. The insurance l)usiness of Favtford, now the 
 tirst and foremost in America, began on thi.s 
 si)ot February 8, 1794, tlie date of the first policy 
 issued. From 1831 to 1835 the Post OiKce was 
 in the .same building with the " Courant, " and 
 Gov. C)liver Ellsworth had his office on the .same 
 .site. Of the success, fame, stability, jirosijerous 
 growth, and able editorial management of the 
 ■' Courant, " it is almost unnecessary to sjjeak. 
 Tlie first issue was a small sheet, fourteen by 
 eight inches, the present "Courant" is a sheet 
 thirty by foi'ty-six inches, folding in the middle, 
 and containing as much matter as a common- 
 sized book of -1(10 j)ages. It is a live, well edited 
 newspaper, of such age and wealth that it can 
 aiford to discuss all subjects impartially, with 
 dignity and conservatism. It has gained wisdom 
 and vigor from age and ex]ierieuce, and as its 
 editors are men who have had an extensive 2ii'ae- 
 tical exjierieuce of life, on the field, in politics, 
 in business, in the world of letters and society, 
 they know what they are writing about, and, 
 therefore, command the eoufldeuce and suppoi't 
 of the 2Hiblic. 
 
 Gen. .Joicjih R. Ilawlcy, the managing editor, 
 was bi)in in Xorth Carolina in isi(5. He was edu- 
 cated at tlie Hartford grammar scliool, at Cazeno- 
 via, X. Y., and at Hamilton College, where ho 
 graduated in 1><4T. He began the practice of law 
 in 1850. and in his office organized the Republican 
 party. In ISiil, as soon as the news came of the 
 tiring on Sumter, he enlisted for three months and 
 went to the war as captain in the First Connecticut. 
 He re-enlisted, and was made Lieutenant-Colonel of 
 the Seventh Connecticut, under coniinand of Gen- 
 eral Alfred 11. Terry. He was at Charleston, 
 Pulaski, Morris Island, Fort Wagner, .lames Island, 
 Pocataligo and Chester, also at Richmond and 
 Petersburg. He became a Colonel in X^G'i. a 
 Brigadier-General in 18(i4, and a Major-General in 
 186.5. In 1 86G he was elected Governor of Connec- 
 ticut. In 1 868 he presided over the Chicago Re- 
 pul)lican Convention. In 1872 he was elected to 
 Congress, and reelected the next year. He passed 
 1^76 in Philadelphia as Pfesident of the Centen- 
 nial Commission. In 1879 he was again sent to 
 Congress, and is flow a member of the Senate. 
 
 Mr. Charles Dudley Warner was born in Pitts- 
 field, Mass., and graduated at Hamilton College in 
 1851. After graduating lie wrote for the maga- 
 zines, and published the ■■ Book of Elo(|Uence."' 
 Having studied law with Daniel S. Dickinson, of 
 Binghamton. he practiced for three years in Chi- 
 cago. In 1860 he was called to Hartford as assist- 
 
 .int editor of the "Press," and has remained ever 
 since. He is the author of " iMy Summer in a 
 Garden," " Saunterings,'' " Back Log Studies," "In 
 the Levant," " Mummies .and Moslems," "BeiDg a 
 Boy." "In the Wildeiness." and other work.s. 
 
 Mr. Steplien A. Hubbard had been a printer in 
 Amherst, Mass., and in \ew York. He became 
 connectect with tlie " Press " in 1801. In lS53he 
 estalilished the Winsted, Ct., " Herald," and was 
 associated with E. C. Stedman, the jioet. Mr. 
 Hubbard became one of the owners of the "Cou- 
 rant " when the "Press" ceased to exist. 
 
 Mr. Will. H. Goodrich is the business manager of 
 the " Courant," and lias been connected with it 
 since 1851 as compositor, foreman, iniblisher, own- 
 er and manager. 
 
 N. G. West, Druggist and Apothecary, No. 815 
 Main Street. — Mr. West is a native of Bristol, R. I., 
 born in 1843, and previous to his residence in Hart- 
 ford a member of the firm of Buffington it West. 
 He cstalilished himself here in 1875, and for a time 
 was at No. 7!i5 Main street, after which he removed 
 to his ))resent central location. 
 
 Jlr. West was in the array as clerk in the Post Com- 
 missary Department, stationed most of the time at 
 Warrenf on. Va. He was obliged to resign altera long 
 and arduous term of service, on account of sickness 
 occasioned by his constant attention to duty. Mr. 
 West's residence in this city during the past seven 
 years has familiarized the people with him so favor- 
 ably that he was elected a member of the city 
 government as Councilman from the seventh ward 
 in the spring of 1882, on the Democratic ticket. 
 
 As a reliable compounder of phj-sicians' prescrip- 
 tions and as a large retail dealer iu pure, fresh 
 drugs, medicines, physicians' appliances, toilet 
 articles, |)erfumery, soaps, etc., Mr. West stands 
 second to none, as his success in business largely 
 testifies. 
 
 Fredoriok EHswortli, Wholesale Dealer in 
 
 Flour. Cotton Seed Meal, etc.. No. 44 Market Street.— 
 The wholesale flour-house of Mr. Frederick Ells- 
 worth, which is located at No. 44 Market street, 
 was estalilished manv years ago by Mr. W. K. Holt, 
 who died iu 1880. 
 
 In 1870. the firm of Holt, Ellsworth & Co., suc- 
 ceeded Mr. Holt, and in 1870, the business was 
 assumed by Mr. Ellsworth alone, who conducts a 
 large trade, extending throughout the State and 
 adjoining country. 
 
 The stock coni)irises, flour, cotton seed meal, lin- 
 seed meal, and fertilizers, a specialty being made 
 of Oliver's chilled plow, for which he is an agent. 
 
 Mr. Ellsworth is a native of East Windsor, Conn., 
 where he was born in 1833. He was educated in 
 the public schools, and came to Haitford in 1869. 
 He was a Commissioner in the Provost Marshal's 
 Department during the war, where he discharged 
 the duties of that office with fidelity and al)ility. 
 He is a live business man. genial, easy to approach 
 and affable in conversation, facts which have 
 done much in winning the success which is so 
 generally accorded him. 
 
 K. P. Juclsoii, Proprietor Charter Oak Butter 
 Store, Bakery and Meat Market, No. 466 Main Street. 
 —The well-known store named in honor of the his- 
 
184 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 tovical charter oak, was estat)lished by Mr. A . 
 Judson, the father of Mr. R. P. .Judson, iu ^876. 
 The stock consists of fresh made and superior 
 bread, plain and fancy cakes, pies, ))iscuits, rolls 
 and the celebrated New England doughnuts. In 
 the butter and cheese department are the finest 
 grades of Initter and cheese, selected from the best 
 dairies of this and New York State. The meat 
 market has a large assortment of meats, game and 
 poultry. The store is neat and attractive in appear- 
 ance, convenient in its appointments, and well 
 adapted for the large business conducted. The 
 baking department is provided with everything 
 necessary for the business, and special attention is 
 given to supplying weddings and parties with 
 everything necessary to their pleasure, in the best 
 manner. 
 
 Mr. R. P. Judson is a native of Bethlehem, 
 Conn., born in 1860, and for some years previous 
 to 1876 was a well-known l)usiness man in New 
 Haven. Since his settlement in this city he has 
 succeeded in Iniilding up a profitable business, 
 amounting to 850, 000 yearly. He is a progressive 
 and wid'!-awake business mau, a resolute believer 
 in quick sales and small profits, and controls a 
 first-class trade, which is daily increasing. 
 
 .Tohii S. Russell, Grocer, No. 646 Main 
 gti-eet. — It is a matter of history that more than 
 half a century ago one of the centrally-located 
 business stands iu the then viUage-like city of 
 Hartford was the general store of Chester 
 Adams, the site of the present store of Mr. John 
 S. Russell, the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Geueration after generation has "bartered" 
 at this stand ; the traditional green doors, and 
 the ancient cellar porch have given away to more 
 modern couvenieneies ; but the reputation of 
 the place inherited from son to son stUl holds 
 good. 
 
 The successor to Chester Adams was James M. 
 Adams, who continued from the year 1863 to 
 1869, when Hiram W. Adams conducted the 
 business for one year, selling out to Byron P. 
 Soper, who occupied the stand for two years — 
 1870-1. On the expiration of the year 1871 Mr. 
 Hiram W. Adams again assumed the res2}onsi- 
 bilities of the business, who again sold out to 
 Bvron P. Sojier. Jlessrs. RusseU. <fe Barnes suc- 
 ceeded Mr. Soper. 
 
 The present proprietor was connected with it 
 as Russell k Barnes iu 1878, who so continued 
 till Nov. 1st, 1882, when he assumed the busi- 
 ness, purchasing it of his partner. The present 
 amount of stock carried is varied, and the vol- 
 ume of liusiness done large. Mr. Russell is a 
 native of Cromwell, Conn., from which place he 
 came to Hartford some rears since. He is an 
 enteri^risiug liusiness man and deserves the large 
 patronage which this desirable location has 
 always commanded since the days of Mr. Adams, 
 and to which the afl'alile manner and native po- 
 liteness of Mr. Russell has largely contributed. 
 
 fter he emerges from the tunnel, the imposing 
 buildings of this cumi^auy. which- was incorpo- 
 rated in 1879 with a capital of §15.000, half of 
 which is paid into the treasury. The officers are 
 J. A. Miller, President ; Julius Huebler, Secre- 
 tary ; Charles Herold, Treasurer. This business 
 was established over twenty years since , with lim- 
 ited capital and under adverse circumstances by 
 the present treasurer of the comjiany, 3Ir. Chas. 
 Herold, after whom the company is named. 
 The grounds cover about three acres. There 
 are three buildiugs, one of them a very impos- 
 ing one. The specialty of this company is the 
 brewing of extra flue lager beer for bottling, a 
 reputation for which extend.s throughout New 
 England and the adjoining States. Since the 
 establishment of this brewery by Jlr. Herold, 
 the prejudice of the community against beer 
 drinking is not so marked, and as a legitimate 
 result, and owing to the excellence of the beer 
 of this company, the business of bottling has 
 increased many fold, as is attested by the enor- 
 mous increase in the production of this com- 
 pany to eight thousand barrels yearly. 
 
 Mr. J. A. MiUer, the President, is a native of 
 Prussia, and was caijtain of the Germa.nia 
 Guards in -this city. 
 
 Mr. JuHus Huebler, Secretary, is a native of 
 Saxony and a 2)romiuent business man here. 
 Mr. Charles Herold, the Treasurer and ruling 
 spirit of this company was born in Coburg. 
 Being a practical and exi^prienced man, and 
 having a high standard for their productions, 
 the result is an enviable notoriety, extending far 
 beyond the trade of Hartford. 
 
 Tlie Herold t'apitol Brewing' Co., 
 Brewers of Extra Fine Lager Beer, Nos. 54 to 66 
 Bellevue St. — The railway traveler from Hart- 
 ford to Springiield will notice on the left, soon 
 
 Jacobs & Forbes, Importers and Jobbers in 
 Crockery, China, Glass, Silver, Tin and Wooden- 
 ware, No. 412 Main Street. — This firm is an illustra- 
 tion of "a union of hearts and a union of hands" 
 from boyhood. It was formed in 1870, and estab- 
 lished at No. GOO Main street, and enlarged, it taking 
 in 608 to 014, and moving to their present location, 
 41 '3 Main street, in 1881. Their store is centrally 
 located in tlie midst of the rush and l)U';tle of the 
 retail trade, on the princi|)al liusiness thorouglifare 
 of tlie city. The stock consists of a large variety 
 of plain and ornamental crockery, cliina and glass- 
 ware, solid silver and plated ware, tin and wooden- 
 ware. The record of the firm and how it was 
 formed, the good feeling always existing from 
 boyhood between the members, shows liow two 
 friends, having confidence in each otlier's honusty 
 and al)ility, unconsciously unite their forces and, 
 like this prosperous firm, never sever them. The 
 two were boys together and worked at the same 
 lienoh as apprentices to the gun trade in Colt's 
 armory. 
 
 Mr. Henry M. Jacobs is a native of Columbia. 
 Conn., born in 1843, eijucated at an academy, and 
 came to Hartford in 1860. In addition to being a 
 memlier of this firm, he finds timt to attend to tlie 
 liusiness of a contractor as member of the firm, of 
 Howe tt .Jacobs, at Colt's armory. He served his 
 country by being detailed to work on guns at the 
 armory, instead of using them at tlie front. 
 
 Ellery S. Forbes was born at East Hartford in 
 1840, was educated at the East Hartfoi-d Academy 
 and at the then well-known and popular school of 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 185 
 
 Mr. Sol. PlK'lps. He 'ias always resided in and 
 l)oen ideiitifii'd with his native town and enjoys tlie 
 confidence and respect of the entire connminitv, a.s 
 has been shown in his election to represent them in 
 the Slate Legislature during; the. session of IHSD-Hl. 
 Botli gentlemen are well-known, artive, efticient 
 and successful business men, of unusual social and 
 business qualifications. 
 
 E. M. Diokinsoii, Dealer in Leaf Tobacco, 
 No. 230 State Street. — Chief amonf; the industries 
 for wliich Hartford is noted is the dealing in leaf 
 toljacco. 
 
 The stranger will observe, on a walk through the 
 business center, tlie number of houses dealing in 
 tliis important production. 
 
 Among tlie yoUM^er and most enterprising deal- 
 ers is Mr. Kliada M. Dickinson, whose office is at 
 No. 2:S0 State street, where he has been established 
 since 1^^7~. 
 
 Mr. Dickinson's advent in this trade was as agent 
 for -Mr. ('. Taylor, with whom he learned and mas- 
 tered its details, after which he entered it on his 
 own account. He was born in Marllioro, Conn., in 
 18-')4, and educated at the Providence Conference 
 Semiuary, K ist Greenwich. R. I. 
 
 Although a com])arativelir young man in the to- 
 bacco trade of Hertford, be is one of the most pro- 
 gressive. He is highly esteemed and is recognized 
 as a most excellent citizen. 
 
 Joseph W. Baker, Flour and Provisions, 
 
 No. 212 State Street. — This business wasestaljlished 
 bv Mr. .Joseph VT. Baker at its present location in 
 May, 18S2. He deals in the best brands of Flour, 
 from the principal markets of the West, Soutli and 
 East, and also is a pork packer and provision 
 dealer at both wholesale and retail. 
 
 Mr. Baker was born at Windsor, Conn., in ISSO, 
 and was first identified with Hartford as a business 
 man in 18()0. He was educated in the |)ul)lic 
 schools of his native town at first, and after at 
 Wilbraham, Mass. He employs alwut seven com- 
 petent assistants in the prosecution of his business, 
 which extends throughout the city and adjacent 
 country. 
 
 He resides in and is identified in many ways with 
 his native town, although his business connections 
 are wholly with this city. 
 
 In Windsor he was selectman of the town during 
 the years of 1877, "78 and '79, inclusive. His reli- 
 gious tendencies are shown in his occupying the 
 positions of superintendent of the Saljbath-scliool, 
 and treasurer of and chorister in the Windsor 
 Congregational church. 
 
 Reliable and trustworthy in all matters, Mr. Ba- 
 ker has by over twenty years of an active life se- 
 cured the confidence of the pulilic as a thoroughly 
 conscientious business man and citizen. 
 
 A. Blunionthal & Son (I. Blumentlial), 
 Dealers iu Draught, Coach, Driving an<l Farm 
 Horses, No. 629 North Main Street.— The firm of 
 Blumenthal tC Son is probably the largest" of it.s 
 kind iu Connecticut, transacting a yearly trade 
 amounting to about 840,000, anddeaUug all over 
 the State. Their extensive premises at No. 629 
 North Main street consists of three stables, a 
 
 large sales-yard, and an office where there are 
 sold or exchanged an average of oOO horses a 
 year. The older Mr. Blumentlial, the founder 
 of the Ijusiuess, was born iu (rermany, in the 
 year 1S12, and remained in his native couutrv 
 until he was 33 years of age, when he came to 
 America. Two weeks were spent in New- York, 
 after which he located iu Hartford, where he has 
 resid(>d for a continuous term of thirty-six years. 
 His first business venture was as the projirietor 
 of a grocery store at the corner of Front and 
 Temple streets. This was eontinm^d for some 
 years and until Mr. Blumentlial entered his jn-es- 
 ent business, about 20 years ago. Mr. Bluraen- 
 thal, who was the third native of (rermany to 
 make liis residence iu Hartford, has the reputa- 
 tion of being- a thoroughly honest business man, 
 who has the interests of his adojited city at heart, 
 and who has done much for its advancement. 
 He was one of the gentlemen who organized at 
 their own expense the celebrated military com- 
 jiany known as the Seymour Liglit Cavalry. He 
 is the father of a large family, all of whom have 
 become celebrated for their musical talent and 
 its exercise iu the cau.se f)f charity. 
 
 Mr. Isaac Blumenthal, the sou, is a native of 
 Hartford, born in 18.55, aud has lived here all his 
 life, entering early into his father's business and 
 becoming a thorough master of its details. As a 
 business man he has ivon success as w'ell as repu- 
 tation, aud bids fair to be a worthy successor to 
 the good name of his father. In' politics, like 
 his father — who has refused tempting ofTcu's of 
 political preferment — he is only active to the ex- 
 tent of .siipporting the best men. As a promi- 
 nent member of the Governor's Horse Guard, and 
 in social life generally, he is regarded as a jileas- 
 ant associate. 
 
 Buckley & Oriffin (.John B^ickley and 
 Daniel J. Griflfiii), American and China Tea ('om- 
 pany, and Importers and Wholesale Dealers in 
 Wines, Liquors, etc., Nos. 47.5 and 477 Main Street. 
 — Tlie firm of Buckley ct Griffin was formed on Feb- 
 ruary 1. 1882, and succeeded to a business estali- 
 lishcd about fourteen years ago by the late M. C. 
 Necdham, who died aliout five years since, and 
 who.se estate continued the Imsiness until its ])ur- 
 chase by the present firm. The premises occupied 
 l>y the business of this house consists of two stores 
 and basements at No^. 47.'5 and 477 Main street, 
 each abou" 20 x 7.5 feet in size. The northern- 
 most of tue stores is devoted to the wholesaling 
 and retailing of teas, coffers, flour, canned goods, 
 spices, and other high-class groceries, while in the 
 other is transacted a wholesale and retail trade in 
 wines, liquors, etc., esj^ecial attention and promi- 
 nence being given to the wholesale branch. The 
 trade of the house extends throughout Connecticut 
 and into Massachusetts, and .some of the other 
 New England States, giving employment to three 
 traveling salesmen, in addition to tlu^ nine people 
 employed about the lu'emises. Tlie stock carried 
 by the firm amounts in v.alue from Sb5.000 to 
 !i;20,OnO, and the annual business to .$100,00(1. A 
 feature of this business, and one not often found 
 among mercantile houses, is an invariable rule to 
 purchase for cash only, thereby rendering necessary 
 the employment of a much larger capital than is 
 
186 
 
 THE HISTOnrCAL, STATISTICAL AYD IXDUSTlilAL 
 
 usually embarked iu houses of like size and 
 character. 
 
 Mr. John Buckley, tlie senior partner, is a native 
 of Ireland, and is aliout forty-five years of age. 
 lie came to this country wlien Init a hoy and has 
 been a resident of Hartford for more than thirty 
 years. For many years, and up to tlie time he en- 
 tered his present business, lie was a jjartner iu the 
 railroad dejjot restaurants in New York, Bridge- 
 port and Hartford, a Ijusiness in which he won a 
 wide acquaintance, an enviable business reputation 
 and an ample fortune. 
 
 Mr. Daniel .1. Griffin is also a native of Ireland, 
 and is thirty-four years of age. He has resided iu 
 the United States for eighteen years, four years of 
 wliich were spent in Xew York City, and tlie 
 remainder, with the exception of three years passed 
 at the Yale Law School, in Hartford. He was iu 
 mercantile life some yeais prior to entering the 
 law scliool, as well as in tlie office of Hon. Henry 
 C. Roljinson, of Hartford, where he pursued a 
 course of preparatory study. Sul)sequent to liis 
 term at Yale he practiced at the bar in Hartford 
 for three years, relinquisliing the practice of his 
 profession to re-enter tlie more lucrative walks of 
 business. 
 
 This firm occupies a position in the front rank of 
 Hartford's l)usiness houses, and its members are 
 universally esteemed and respected. 
 
 Brown & Gross, Publishers, Booksellers and 
 
 Stationers, Nos. 77 and 79 Asylum Street. — Tlie 
 history of tliis well-known and long-established 
 house is closely allied to the literary record of 
 Hartford and tlie State of Connecticut. In 1835, 
 when tlie city was comparatively a village and 
 Trinity College was on the site now occu|)ied by 
 the Capitol building, ^Ir. F. A. Brown embarked 
 in the business of a bookseller on State street. 
 Later the business was removed to JIain, corner of 
 Asylum street. Since 1838 the business has l)een 
 conducted under the firm names of Brown & Par- 
 sons and Brown & Gross, as successors to F. A. 
 Brown, the founder. The latter firm has been 
 known to the reading public as publishers and 
 booksellers since 1858. 
 
 Mr. F. A. Brown died Feb. 13th, 1880, at the 
 ripe age of seventy-three. For many years he was 
 an important factor in the educational world of 
 Hartford, and for a long time was Town and City 
 Treasurer. His store was the resort of the lovers 
 of books, and his influence can never be estimated. 
 In 1869 the business was removed to the present 
 location at 77 and 79 Asylum street. The premises 
 are 30 x 70 feet, with basement. The present 
 members cf the firm are Mr AVm. H. Gross and Mr. 
 Leverett Belknap, who transact business under the 
 name of Brown & Gross. As pulilishers they have 
 a well-earned and widespread reputation in scliooI 
 and college text-books, of which the following are 
 the most prominent: Alcestis of Euripides, 
 Antigone of Sophocles, Electra of Sophocles, 
 Gorgias of Plato, Prometheus of rEschylus; all 
 with notes by President Woolsey of Yale; Swift's 
 Natural Philosophies, Robliin's Outlines of History, 
 Connecticut Slate Register, Connecticut Civil 
 Officers, Catalogue of the Connecticut Volunteer 
 Organizations in tlie Sarvice of the United States, 
 1861-65; HoUibter's History of Connecticut, etc., 
 
 etc. As booksellers and stationers they are prob- 
 ably the largest in Hartford, if not in the State. 
 
 Mr. William H. Gross, the senior memlier, is a 
 native of Hartford. Previous to becoming a mem- 
 ber of this firm he was clerk in the publishing 
 houses of Will. James Hamersley and of Messrs. A. 
 S. Barnes 6c Co. in New York. Mr. Leverett 
 Belknap, the junior member, is also a native of 
 Hartford, born in 1851. He became identified with 
 this house when a l:)oy of thirteen, and a partner iu 
 1880. As publishers of educational books they sur- 
 pass all others in the State, and enjoy the entire 
 confidence of the public. 
 
 E. S. Konrtall «&. Co., Proprietors of the 
 " Hub" Clothing House, No. 141 Asylum St., oj>- 
 posite Allyn House. — Among the larger and more 
 enterpri.sing clothing houses in Hartford is that 
 of E. S. Kendall ct Co., at No. lil Asylum street, 
 corner Trumbull street and opposite the Allyn 
 House. The business was established in 1873, 
 at No. 35S JIain street, by Jordau, Clark & Co., 
 of Boston, and was removed in 1874 to Nos. 13 
 and 15 Asylum street, and in 1878 to its present 
 location. Mr. Kendall succeeded to the propri- 
 etorship of the business in 1880, since which 
 time, by careful attention to the wants of the 
 l^ublic and liberal and judicious management 
 and advertising, he has succeeded in forcing it 
 to the front rank of the clothing houses of 
 the Capital City. The store, one of the most 
 pleasant and eligibly located in the city, is 
 35x110 feet in size, and, -with a basement of 
 like dimensions, is stocked with one of the 
 most complete and extensive assortments of 
 gentlemen's clothing, boys' clothing, etc., to be 
 found in this section of tlie State. This house is 
 one of a great system of clothing houses extend- 
 ing throughout New England and the West, and 
 has exceptional advantages in the matter of pro- 
 curing the better classes of goods at the most 
 reasonable prices. 
 
 Mr. E. S. Kendall is a native of Massachusetts, 
 and has resided in Hartford since 1873. During 
 his residence here he has won the respect and 
 confidence of the community, and for his house 
 a iirst class business reputation. 
 
 I. B. Davis & Son, Manufacturers of the 
 Berrymau Patent Feed Water Heater and Purifier, 
 and the Economic Patent Tauk Feed Pump, 
 Cushman Street. — The business of this firm was 
 established in 1873 by the senior member, Mr. I. 
 B. Davis. One year after its inception the business 
 was removed to the two-story building now oc- 
 cupied by them on Cushman street, which is 133 
 X 42 feet iu size, with an L, 30 x 30 feet, and a 
 boiler-house adjoining. A 60-liorse power engine 
 of the Conway jjatent furnislies the motive power, 
 and about thirty people are employed. 
 
 This house manufactures the Berrynian patent 
 feed water heater and purifier and the Economic 
 patent boiler and tank feed pump, both of which 
 have an extended rejnitation. Tlie heater and puri- 
 fier is universally acknowledged by engineers and 
 all who have it in use to be the most jierfect device 
 ever discovered for heating and purifying tlie feed 
 water for steam boilers with exhaust st 'am. 
 
liEVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONXECTrCVT. 
 
 187 
 
 Tlie Economic patent l>oiler tank feocl pump, 
 [)iitented by Mr. I. B. Davis in ISTO, is, as the name 
 implit'S, an economical metliod, ^vllel■el)y water is 
 supplied to steam boilers. 
 
 Illustrated circulars explain in detail the full 
 advantages and give a long list of patrons, which 
 are found in nearly every State in the Union. 
 
 Mr. Davis is a native of Oxford, New Haven 
 County. Conn.; born in 1SI7. He was educated to 
 the trade of a mason builder, and conducted that 
 business at Seymour, Conn., till 11^04, when he re- 
 moved to Cincinnati. Ohio, where he was a steam- 
 boat builder and agent of the Syracuse Coal and 
 Salt Company. 
 
 While there he made several improvements in the 
 working and models of the Ohio river boats. He 
 introduced a lialanccd rudder and revolutionized 
 the models of ttic boats, whereby 700 tons could 
 be transported as well as 400 tons, and with the 
 same power. 
 
 The climate not agreeing with him, he was 
 obliged to sever his valuable business connections, 
 which he did in lS(i(i, when he left there, in the 
 opinion of his physician, to die. But the bracing 
 atmosphere of his native hills resuscitated him, and 
 to-day he is a tine specimen of a healthy man. In 
 1881, he admitted his son into |)aitnership. since 
 which time, the firm has been I. B. Davis it Son. 
 
 John O. Davis, the junior member, was born in 
 Seymour, Conn., Octolier, 1854. He received a 
 preliminary education at Chesliire Academy, which 
 was afterwards completed at the Yale Scientific 
 School. He was, previous to becoming a jjartner 
 with his father, a clerk for P. Jewell & Sons, in this 
 city. 
 
 This house and its productions are known in 
 every State ii' the Union, and at home it ranks with 
 the best of its class, and its memljers among the 
 representative citizens of Hartford. 
 
 John D. Fisk & Co. (J. D. and Chester 
 D. Fisk), Dealers in Boots, Shoes and RuVibers, 
 Leather and Findings, Ko. 375 Main St. — The 
 boot, shoe, leather and findings business now 
 carried ou by Messrs. John D. Fisk A: Co. , at the 
 Boston Shoe Store, No. 375 Main street, was 
 estalilished about forty years ago by J. W. 
 Eldridge and Sou, who continued it until 
 January, 1880, when they were .succeeded by the 
 present jiroprictors and Mr. Holaday, the latter 
 withdrawing from the concern in April, 1882. 
 The firm occupies a .spacious store and base- 
 ment, doing a general retail business in boots, 
 shoes, rubbers, etc., on the main floor and a 
 joVjbing trade in leather and findings down 
 stairs, the whole amounting to 350,000 per annum 
 with a rapid and steady increase from mouth to 
 month over that average. Four salesmen are 
 employed in the store, while a uumlier of .skilled 
 workmen turn out large quantities of fine work, 
 the making to order of which is the specialty of 
 the firm, and in which line, it is claimed, they 
 do the most extensive business in Hartford. 
 
 Mr. John D. Fisk, the senior partner in the 
 concern and father of bis associate, is. a native of 
 Williamstowu, Vt., born in 1820. When ([uite 
 young be moved to Malone. N. Y. , where he re- 
 sided until 18.")'.l, occupying a prominent place in 
 its sccietv and holding for several vearsthe oiBee 
 
 of Town Clerk. From Malone, Mr. Fisk removed 
 to New York City, and was for twenty years and 
 up to the time of his removal to Haitford, with 
 the well-known boot and shoe jobl)ing house of 
 Nathaniel Fisher & Co., nine years as salesman 
 and eleven as partner. Since his advent in Hart- 
 ford Mr. Fisk has won the confidence and esteem 
 of the community, and is now univer.sally ac- 
 knowledged as one of its substantial business 
 men. 
 
 Mr. Chester D. Fisk was born in Malone, N. 
 1'., in 1859, and resided in that place until his 
 father removed to New York. For three years 
 prior to his arrival here he was a clerk in the 
 employ of the firm of which the senior Mr. Fisk 
 was a mend)er, and iu that time gained the ex- 
 perience which is of such service in his present 
 busincs i. 
 
 The house is regarded as one of the rising 
 business houses in Connecticut. 
 
 A. Scpiires & Son (Alvin Squires and 
 Elisha B. S(iuiresi, Wholesale Oyster and Pro- 
 vision Dealers, Proprietors of The Putnam Phalanx 
 Market, Nos. 83 to 48 Market Street.— The general 
 provision and oyster business of A. Squires & Son, 
 located on Market street, near State, is the largest 
 of its kind in Hartford, and compares favoraljly 
 with any in the State. The premises have a frontage 
 of 1T5 feet and a depth of about twenty-five feet. 
 Here, iu addition to a very large retail business in 
 meats, etc., there is carried on the luisiness of pork- 
 packing and the wholesaling of oysters. This firm 
 are the originators and owners of a patent can for 
 the transportation of oysters from any distance, and 
 having retained the entire right in the patent have 
 been enalded to control the market in oysters sup- 
 plied in cans and refrigerators. These they bring 
 from Chesapeake Bay and other ])laces and deliver 
 all over New England, guaranteeing them to be in 
 as good condition when delivered as they were 
 when opened. The business was established in 
 18G7 by the elder Mr. Squires, the younger gentle- 
 man entering the firm in the year 1871. In addi- 
 tion to the large force of assistants employed by 
 the firm to do the work of their trade, there is a 
 boiler and engine used for nnining machinery for 
 the ))reparation of sausage and mince-meat, vast 
 quantities of which are made and sold daily. 
 
 Mr. Alvin Squires was born n\ Berlin in this 
 State, in 1821. He was for many years in the 
 steamboat business en the Coni.ecticut River and 
 Long Island Sound, and was commander of the 
 steamer ''Mary Benton."" .••unning a mail line on 
 Chesa[)eake Bay, in the employ of the Government 
 during the late war. During his residence in Hart- 
 ford Mr. Squires has occupied several public posi- 
 tions, notal^ly as a member of the Common 
 Council, to which body he w-as elected in 1871-2, 
 serving his constituents in an able and thoroughly 
 satisfactory manner. He is also i)rominent in the 
 historical military organization known as the Put- 
 nam Phalanx, in which he holds the otfice of 
 Quartermastc'r. 
 
 Mr. Elisha B. Squires is a native of Hartford, 
 liorn in 18.50, and has lesided lierc all his life. He 
 is an active and resi)ected member of the' Masonic 
 fraternity, and is the youngest man in the State 
 who has attained to the thirty-second degree ia 
 
188 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 that organization. He is looked upon as one of 
 the rising young business men of Hartford, and a 
 pleasant factor in its social life. The rise and 
 crowtli of this house is a salient feature in the busi- 
 ness history of Connecticut, and a pleasing evidence 
 of what honesty and industry can accomplish. 
 
 W. H. Abelle, Dealer in Fancy Groceries, 
 Teas, Coffees and Flour, No. 474 Main Street. — This 
 business was established liy Abello &, Lyman. The 
 present proprietor, Mr. W. H. Aljelle succeeded in 
 September, 1881, since which time lie has devel- 
 oped a business of no mean magnitude. Occupy- 
 ing a position at the corner of two tliorouglilares 
 and carrying a large and tine stock he offers un- 
 usual inducements to tlie public. The store is large 
 and attractive in appearance, and in its arrange- 
 ment affords every opportunity to display, in his 
 usual artistic manner, the specialties of his trade. 
 His customers are found in all sections of tlie city 
 and in most of the surrounding towns. Mr. Abelle 
 is one of the young, energetic business men who, 
 as a rule, carve a name and a place for themselves 
 wlierever they are. The amount of lousiness trans- 
 acted exceeds 850,000 per annum. Mr. Abelle is 
 a native of Franklin. Conn., born in 1848. His 
 name is anotlier in the list of successful young men 
 who come to Hartford to win their way to ultimate 
 success. 
 
 Wni. Boarrtman & Sons [Establislied 
 1841], "^'liolesale Dealers in Fine Teas, Pure Cof- 
 fees and Sijices, Toljaccos, Cigars and Grocers' Sun- 
 dries, No. y04 Asylum Street.— In 1841 Mr. William 
 Boardman. tlie senior member of the present firm, 
 established himself in his present Inisiuess in Weth- 
 ersfteld, continuing there until May, 18o0, when he 
 removed to Hartford, and with his son, Mr. Wil- 
 liam F. J. Boardman, estaljlished a house at Ni>. 
 12 Central Row. In 1853 Mr. Tlios. J. Boardman 
 was admitted to tlie firm and removal was had to 
 their store. No. 109 State street, which had been 
 purchased by the firm, and fitted up witli a steam 
 engine of large capacity, the latest and most ap- 
 proved machinery addecl, and otherwise increasing 
 the facilities for business. They remained at that 
 location for about fifteen years, removing thence to 
 No. 205 on the same street, still keeping the old 
 store as a manufactory, and finally, in 1872, to the 
 building on Asylum street, which they built of 
 Portland freestone the year previous, and which is 
 still the property of the firm. This building is a 
 structure that is characterized as one of the most 
 lieantiful and commanding buildings in the city of 
 Hartford. It is 534 feet front and 100 feet deep, 
 five stories high, and containing on the ground 
 floor two stores, one of which is used by the firm. 
 Besides the store, there is a basement where much 
 of tlie stock is handled, and on the second and 
 third floors are large store-rooms containing the 
 surplus that attends a business of this kind. In 
 the rear of the main building is a three-story brick 
 factory, 40.xfi0 feet in size, where the special brands 
 of coffees are roasted and ground, as also their 
 pure spices, for which the firm is noted. The stock 
 carriecl averages about .'J35,000, while the annual 
 business foots up to the very respectable figure of 
 $350,000. In the store and factory there are em- 
 ployed an average of fifteen hands, most of the work 
 
 being done by machinery. A complete assortment 
 of tlie latest improved patterns being driven by an 
 engine of twenty-five-horse power, supplied by a 
 si.\ty-horse power boiler, which also perforins the 
 duty of hoisting, and heating the building. 
 
 This house is the oldest in tlie manufacturing 
 line in New England, with a single exception, and 
 ranks among the foremost. Its trade covers a wide 
 extent of territory, Ijut is chiefly in New England 
 and New York. 
 
 Jlr. William Boardman is descended from a long 
 line of Connecticut ancestors, extending as far ))ack 
 as the year 163(x sixteen years after the landing of 
 the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, and the same year 
 that Roger Williams fled from the persecutions of 
 his Massachusetts brethren, and found a welcome 
 among the hospitable dwellers of the wilderness, in 
 what is tiow the State of Rhode Island. 
 
 Aliout this time the ancestor of Mr. William 
 Boardman, Mr. Samuel Boardman, emigrated to 
 this country from England. Judge Royal R. Hin- 
 man, in his catalogue of the first Puritan settlers of 
 the Colony of Connecticut, says: "Few of the first 
 settlers came with a better reputation, or sustained 
 it more uniformly through life, than Mr. Samuel 
 Boardman." 
 
 Mr. William Boardman was liorn in Lenox, 
 Berkshire County. Mass., in 1805. and moved to 
 Wethersfield, Conn., with his parents when he was 
 quite young. He was a printer liy trade, serving 
 his apprenticeship in the office of the Hartford 
 "Times." 
 
 Mr. Boardman associated himself with Mr. Wil- 
 liam Faulkner, and under the firm name of Messrs. 
 Boardman & Faulkner co'iiunenced in 1828 the 
 pulilicatjon of the Norwich " Republican," now 
 the Norwich "Bulletin." It supported General 
 .Tackson for the Presidency, and was the second 
 Jackson paper in the State. It had a fair circula- 
 tion, and politically and financially was a success. 
 
 At the close of the first year he retired from the 
 business, selling his interest to his partner and 
 returned to Wethersfield. 
 
 In the year 1833, lie, with Mr. Alfred Francis, 
 engaged in the ])rinting Irasiness in Wethersfield, 
 where they published, by subscription, the Life and 
 Correspondence of Thomas Jefferson, liy Mr. B. L. 
 Rayner, which was well received and had a large 
 sale. 
 
 In addition to the printing and pulilishing busi- 
 nesshefoundtime, with others, to form a joint stock 
 company forthemanufactureof " Ilolbrook's School 
 Apparatus," which they carried on by State'Prison 
 labor. He was pi-esident and treasurer of the 
 company and had entire management of it until 
 other business interests became so extensive that he 
 was obliged to sell out and retire. He also assisted 
 in organizing the Comstock, Ferre Co. , a corporation 
 for tlie growing and importing of every variety 
 of garden seeds, which has a world-wide reputa- 
 tion. He wa^ a stockholder aud director in this 
 company until he came to Hartford, at which time 
 he disposed of his interest in the same. 
 
 Mr. Boardman is one of the oldest men in active 
 business in tlie State of Connecticut, and is a fitting 
 example of wliat a poor boy. without many oppor- 
 tunities can do in the great battle of life. Success 
 seems to have crowned all enterprises with which 
 he has been connected. Perha2)s this is due in a 
 
HE VIEW <iF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 189 
 
 great measure to his moral stamina — to a priiiciplo 
 never to violate liis promise or agreement Imt to 
 fulfill each to tlie letter. Tliis has resulted so tliat 
 his ereflitin the llnaneial world lias always been of 
 he liest and his name has never come in dispute 
 
 itli tiie liusinoss community 
 
 In Hartford he has occupied — as in other com- 
 munities — prominent position, having heen a ]\Icm- 
 ber of the Legislature and County Commissioner, 
 Ijesides lieim; director in tlie old Hartford County, 
 BaiiU, tlie Hartford Life and Healtli Insurance Co. 
 the Orient Fire Insurance Co., and tlie Merrick 
 Tliread Co. of Holyoke, Mass. Other public ])osi- 
 tious liave worn liis uame witli honor, and he is 
 universally regarded as an honorable lousiness man 
 and a worthy citizen. 
 
 In reviewing the lii.story of this busy life, it will 
 1)0 oliserved tlic direct aud indirect inHuenc.e Mr. 
 William Boardinan has e.xerted in tlie literary, 
 political and financial world. As one of the 
 founders of the Norwich " Republican,' now the 
 "Bulletin," he was largely instrumental in the 
 election of General .lackson to the Presidency. 
 
 It may safely be said that he was the pioneer in 
 the great subscription book ))ublishing l)U3incss of 
 which Hartford is the recognized centre. 
 
 He was foremost in the estal)rishnient of the 
 great seed house of Comstock, Ferre & Co., whose 
 name is known to every fanner's lioy iu America; 
 and last, but not least, the founder of the oldest 
 and largest coffee and spice house, with a single 
 exception, in New England. 
 
 Mr. William F. .1. Boardman is a native of 
 Wethersfield, born iu 1828. He has resided in 
 Hartford since 13.50, aud was selected in 18(!3 to 
 represent the citizens of the Third Ward in the 
 Common Council, a position which history credits 
 him with having filled with marked aljility and 
 thorough honesty. As' one of the directors of 
 the State Bank, he applied to its affairs the same 
 administrative ability and sagacity that has char- 
 acterized the conduct of his own Ijusiuess and 
 wliich has tended so largely to its success. 
 
 ^Ir. Thomas J. Boardman is also a native of 
 Wethersfield, and was born in 1832. Like his 
 brother, he came to Hartford in 18.50. and made it 
 his permanent residence. He is also a memljer of 
 .1. W. Starkweather ii Co. , large lumber dealers, 
 in this city. Close application to lousiness has 
 left him neither the time nor the desire to enjoy 
 tlie honors aud suffer the cares ^of political life, 
 and he has, therefore, no salient point for the his- 
 torian save the fact tliat among the many respected 
 business men in New Eugl.iud he stands without a 
 suiierior. 
 
 K. j>I. Roberts & Sou, Dealers in and Man- 
 ufacturers of Solid Silver and Plated Ware. No. 68 
 Market Street. — It is a recognized fact that the 
 skill, progress, and refinement of a community are 
 represented in its productions. 
 
 Tliis is shown in ancient and modern history. 
 The arcrhiteeture of the ancients never was improved, 
 the art of the old masters w-as never eijualed, the 
 blades of Damascus yet rank as the ix-st. 
 
 In the new world we are fast arriving at the 
 standard of the old in most matters, and for excel- 
 ling them iu others. 
 
 In no production do we excel more than iu the 
 manufacture of solid silverware here in this city. 
 
 the richest of its size in America, noted for its edu- 
 cational advantages, aud tlie refinement of its 
 people, we should, as a natural se(iuence, ex[)ect the 
 finest iiroduetious, re(piiring the best artistic skill 
 of its educated artizans. 
 
 The growth of the solid silver and plated ware 
 manufaeturing interest in and about Hartford, for 
 tlie past twenty-five years, has lieen surprising. 
 
 The amount of capital employed and the number 
 of people eniiaged at tliat time were comparatively 
 small. To-day that industry ranks among the first 
 in the State. 
 
 One of the pioneers was the house of .1. O. it W. 
 Pitkin, who for a long time jirosecuted the busi 
 ness at East Ilartforil. With them Mr. E. M. 
 Robert.';, the senior jiartner of the firm of which wi^ 
 write, learned his trade, and on the dissolution of 
 the firm was a partner with ]\Ir. ,Iohn O. Pitkin as 
 successor. It is not generally known that these 
 pioneers are still alive and well. Mr. John O. 
 Pitkin counts his years at eighty-five, and resides 
 on liis farm at Coventry, Conn., and his brother, 
 Mr. Walter Pitkin, is a resident of Washington, 
 D.C. 
 
 The apprentice and afterwards partner', con- 
 ducted the business at the old place till it was 
 destroyed by fire in 1879, when the businc^ss was 
 removed to Trumbnll street in this city. Finding 
 the place too small to accommodate their increasing 
 business, they removed on May 1, 1880, to their 
 present location, when the jjreseiit firm of E. M. 
 Roberts it Sou was founded, and where S|)aeious 
 floors aud every convenience is afforded, and in 
 the centre of business, near to the princi[)al prom- 
 enade and the larger hotels. 
 
 Here they manufacture the most elegant and 
 costly designs possible of solid silver and plated 
 ware, as well as transact an extensive business, as 
 gold, silver and licensed nickel platers. 
 
 The processes through which their wares go is 
 indeed interesting. 
 
 The solid silver used iu the l>usiness comes in 
 fifty-ounce bars. It is first melted into moulds, 
 and rolled down to a required thickness; a dozen 
 sets of spoons being the outcome of the fifty-ounce 
 bar. The silver as moulded is, after a |)rocess of 
 splitting, " struck up " in a die, giving shape to the 
 article desired. Filiug aud stoned, the article is 
 then ready for the burnishing, this latter being 
 done, however, with solid silver and best pla'-ed 
 work, polishing only being considered sutlieient for 
 the inferior grades of plated ware. From the bur- 
 nisher or polisher the ware goes to the etching de- 
 partment, where the elegance and artistic finishing 
 is done. 
 
 The word, sentence, or design, to ornament the 
 ware is first engraved cm steel or copper plate, an 
 operation, by the way, very expensive. Ink is then 
 run into the engraved parts, the plate heated and 
 ])ut through a press wliere impressions are made on 
 small strips of paper. The transfer of these papers 
 is again transferred to the ware, which is soon after 
 varnished by a secret process that washes away the 
 ink, aud forms the letter or design. 
 
 The various jirocesses through which an article is 
 put are very interesting. The result is elegant silver 
 and plated ware, lasting for generations. 
 
 Mr. E. M. Roberts, the senior member of the 
 h<;use, is a native of East Hartford, Conn, and 
 
190 
 
 THE HISTORIC AZ, STATISTICAL AND lyoUSTBIAL 
 
 is sixty-three years of age. He lias for many years 
 applied himself to this busiuess, the choice of his 
 youth, iu whicli he takes the keenest interest. No 
 fertile tields of the West have enticed him away 
 from his native town and his chosen pursuit, and he 
 has been content to remain in one vocation, with 
 one amliition, to manufacture and excel in the 
 2)roduction of solid silverware. 
 
 That he has lieen successful is attested by the 
 large business done by the firm, which is driven to 
 the utmost to fill its orders. 
 
 Mr. Roberts still resides in Hartford, where he has 
 earned liy an upright life of probity and Christian 
 example, the entire confidence of his fellow-citizens, 
 .■Old ranks among the oldest and most reliable silver 
 workers in New England. 
 
 The active business and financial manager is the 
 son, Mr. .Joseph W. Roberts, a native of East Hart- 
 ford, and twenty-four years of age. 
 
 Like his father, who established the house, he 
 was educated to the business in the manufacturing 
 establishment of the company, and now has general 
 superintendence over its affairs. He pays strict 
 attention to Ijusiness, takes a ])ride in keeping up a 
 uniform .standard in the wares turned out, and the 
 trade finds him a prompt and reliable person with 
 which to form business relations. 
 
 Mr. Wallace N. Kenyon, the junior member, was 
 born iu New Britain, Conn., in tiS,54. 
 
 Upon his taste and discrimination as etcher, the 
 firm mostly depends for the decoration of its wares. 
 In addition to the etcliing for the firm, they have 
 contracts with several large silver jjlate manufac- 
 turers in New England and the West for whom tliey 
 do the etching, which is not only done by Mr. 
 Kenyon on gold and silver, but on steel, ivory, and 
 pearl. 
 
 The history of IMr. Kenyon is similar to many of 
 our successful merchants and manufacturers. His 
 father died when he was a babe, and he was left to 
 Ijattle with the world's stern realities. 
 
 From that time to this, without financial aid, he 
 h:M worked his way up, and became a member of 
 one tlie oldest and most reliable houses in their line 
 in the Union. He ])ossesses a thorough knowledge 
 of his business, and is recognized as one of the 
 most skilled etchers in the country. 
 
 While the trade of the house is mostly iu Boston, 
 it has customers in New York, the larger cities of 
 the great West, and other commercial centres, 
 where it ranks artistically and financially as among 
 the first silverware manufacturers in America. 
 
 Jaino.s Cr. Welles & Co., China, Glass and 
 Earthenware, No. 27 Asylnm Street. — The busi- 
 ness of this house dates back to 1820, when Mr. 
 Peter Morton was a well-known merchant at 
 the corner of State and Front streets. During 
 the i^ast three-score years and three the house 
 has continued uninterruptedly its successful 
 career, but under difierent heads and manage- 
 ment, and always a leading one to the present 
 day. 
 
 In 1832 the house was known as Messrs. 
 Bergh & Boughton. In 1840 Mr. Bergh retired 
 and went to New York City, Mr. BoTighton con- 
 tinuing till 1812, when Mr. Charles Mygatt as- 
 sumed the business. In 1843 it was Mr. John 
 
 S. Gray, and in 1846 Mr. James G. Welles, the 
 present senior proprietor. Soon after it was 
 Messrs. AVeUes & Goodwin, until 1856, when Mr. 
 Goodwin retii-ed and Mr. James G. Welles was 
 again sole proprietor until 1862. In that year 
 the house removed its business to No. 27 Asy- 
 lum street, where it has since continued for 
 more than twenty years. At the same time a 
 brother, Mr. Charles B. Welles, was admitted a 
 partner, and the firm name made Messrs. James 
 G. Welles k Co., which continued till July, 
 1882, when a new comjiany was formed under 
 the same name, a silent partner being admitted, 
 which arrangement still continues. The store 
 is located in the centre of Inisiness, and is one 
 of the largest and finest of its class in the State. 
 Two large jilate-glass show windows ornament 
 the front, and the stock contains all of the 
 imported novelties usually found in first-class 
 stores of this nature. A large basement below 
 is used as a sales and store room. 
 
 While the biisiness is mostly retail, quite a 
 wholesale trade is done with the towns in the 
 State. 
 
 Mr. James G. Welles is a native of East Hart- 
 ford ; born in 1821. He was educated at the 
 East Hartford Academy and has been a well- 
 known merchant here for forty-four years. Dur- 
 ing his long residence in Hartford he has taken 
 active interest in its institutions. For several 
 years he was Captain of the Governor's Foot 
 Guard, in which organization he takes great 
 pride. He has been a member of St. John's 
 Episcopal Church for forty years, thirty of 
 which as a warden and vestryman, and is also 
 treasurer of the Widows' Home. He long ago 
 established himself in the confidence of his fel- 
 low citizens, and is one of Hartford's represent- 
 ative men, noted for his interest in benevolent 
 institutions. 
 
 Charles Teske & C<» , Practical Watch- 
 makers, Inventors and Manufacturers of the 
 Mathematical Watch Regulator, for American 
 and Foreign Watches, No. 214 Asylum Street. — 
 The State of Connecticut is remarkable in the 
 fact that within her borders can be found a 
 greater number of skilled workmen and in- 
 ventors than in any other State in the Union of 
 like dimensions. Prominent among these may 
 be mentioned Mr. Charles Teske of the above- 
 named firm, the subject of this sketch, whose 
 constantly growing business is a conclusive 
 evidence of his skill and reliability. As a watch- 
 maker and repairer, Mr. Teske is without a 
 8ul3erior and a large projjortion of the finest 
 time-pieces owned in Hartford and vicinity find 
 their way to his store where the mistakes of less 
 able workmen are rectified. While IMr. Teske 
 does a large business in the regular line of his 
 calling, he has a specialty which bids fair to 
 make his name a household word among watch 
 owners and to result in that wealth which is the 
 common aim. This sijecialtv is the manufacture 
 and sale of a 'simple yet effective device for the 
 close regulation ot watches, and is known as 
 Teske's Patent Watch Regulator. This regula- 
 tor can be moved the ten thousandth part of an 
 inch with a common pin used by the owner. It 
 
HEVIT-:]]- OF THE STATE OF COXyECTICl'T. 
 
 101 
 
 was invouted liy 'Sir. Tcske some years ago, ami 
 is covereil by ])ateuts issued iu lS7i, 1875, and 
 1881. It is 'mauufacturcd on the premises iu a 
 workslio)) coutaiuiiiK a large number of expen- 
 sive lathi's. dies, iniuches, tappin-j; machines, 
 ete., tlie power bein};- supjdied by an imjjroved 
 water motor. The maniifaeture of these ref^u- 
 lators is ])ersoually superintended by Mr. Teske, 
 and about a ludf dozen skilled workmen are 
 constantly employed. This invention, at once 
 simple and effective, commends itself at sight 
 and is already r^ieetiug with a large sale in aU 
 parts of the country, besides having been 
 adojjti'd by the Hampden Watch Company of 
 Spriugtield, Mass., who give it their nuqualitied 
 indorsement, not only by applying it to their 
 watches, but by certificates of merit granted to 
 the iuveutor. 
 
 Mr. Teske is a native of Prussia, where he 
 was born in 1847. He came to America in 1869, 
 and located in Albany, whence he removed suc- 
 cessively to Balstini Spa, Saratoga, and Hart- 
 ford, arriving here in 1877, and immediately 
 establishing himself in business. He has oc- 
 cujjied his present location about two years, in 
 wliicdi time he has succeeded by the faithfulness 
 and excellence of his workmanship and the sale 
 of only tirst-class goods, in building wp a con- 
 nection of which he may be justly jiroud. Mr. 
 Teske stands in high repute with the business 
 community and is looked upon as one of the 
 progressive men of Hartford. 
 
 Arthur H. Eddy, Sole Manufacturer of the 
 Matlicr Bynamo-Electric Machine. No. 08 Market 
 Street. — The average New England mechanic is by 
 nature an inventor. Statistics show that more 
 patents are applied for liy natives of New England 
 than from any otlier locality in the United States. 
 Hundreds of establishments having for their cen- 
 tral figure a patent, are yearly started in this sec- 
 tion of the couutiy, and it is from these small 
 beginnings grow tlie large representative establish- 
 ments, occupying immense buildings, employing 
 thousands of ijcojde, and necessitating millions of 
 money to conduct them. 
 
 The history of the house of Mr. Arthur H. Eddy 
 shows how, from an idea worked out by one of these 
 inventors and ])rotected by a United States patent, 
 advances already a new process, making it still 
 moie useful and valualjle. We refer to the ^Mather 
 dynamo-electric machine for plating and electro- 
 typing, manufactured by Mr. Eddy. The advan- 
 tages of the dynamo-electric macliine for plating 
 and electrotyping are so decided that they have led 
 to the introduction of a large nural)er of machines 
 for that purpose. The blather dynamo-electric 
 machine is an improvement on all others in- 
 vented. 
 
 The manufacturer occupies one flooi-, 13.5 x 30 
 feet, in the large brick Iniilding at No. 08 Market 
 street, for assembling and finishing machines, and 
 in addition, he is designer and builder of special 
 electric apparatus. Mr. Eddy was Ijorn in New 
 Britain, Conn., in 1857, and after a preparatory 
 course in the public scliools of his native town, he 
 attended the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 
 Troy, where he took a special course as draughts- 
 man aud mechanical engineer, after which he was 
 
 two ycare at the Corliss Steam Engine Works, 
 Providence, K. I., and two years at a large estab- 
 lishment in this city. This experience gave him a 
 practical educaticni that is now showing financial 
 results in his present Imsiuess. 
 
 Previous to Deeeml)er 1, 1881, the date of his 
 estalilishment here, he was for one year in charge 
 of the Connecticut Teleplioue E.xchange, a position 
 he tilled with honor an<l lidelity. It was here tluit 
 he made a study of electricity, for which his ])re- 
 vious training had more generally fitted him. His 
 career is a fitting example for other young men to 
 follow, for he has earned an enviable reputation 
 as one of the most successful young mechanical 
 engineers aud reliable business men in Hartford. 
 
 H. R. Grirtloy, Dealer in Doors, Windows and 
 Blinds, also Paints, Oils and Glass, No. 88 Market 
 Street. — For many years this stand has been known 
 in connection with the door, sash and blind trade. 
 The first man who was indentified with it was Mr. 
 Kichard .loslyn, who, in turn, was succeeded in 
 1878 by the present ijroprietor, Jlr. H. R. Gridley. 
 The location is one of the most cmtral in Hartford, 
 one block from State street, and one from JIain 
 street, at No. 8S Market, cornL-r Temple street. The 
 stock, which is stored in a large, imposing building, 
 consists of doors, windows, blinds, fine inside shut- 
 ters and blinds, glass, oils, paints, colors, l)Utty, 
 etc., a specialty being made of hardwood work. 
 
 Mr. Gridley is a native of Berlin, Conn., having 
 been born in the year 1830. 
 
 After a thorough education in the schools of his 
 native town, and later at Westfield, Mass., he came 
 to Hartford in the year 1848. 
 
 For more than twenty years previous to 1878 he 
 was a well-known hardware merchant in this city, 
 during which time the extended acc^uaintance 
 formed has proven of great advantage in the pros- 
 ecution of his present Imsiness. 
 
 His reputation for reliability has contributed in 
 no small degree to his well-merited success. 
 
 Carpontor & Barth'tt (W. O. Carpenter 
 and E. S. Bartlett), successors to Henry Albro 
 & Co., Dealers in Paper-stock, Bags, Metals, 
 Waste, etc.. No. 190 Front street. — About forty- 
 five years ago, Mr. Nelson Hollister, founded 
 the business now carried on by Messrs. Car- 
 penter <fe Bartlett and conducted it till the year 
 1867, when he disposed of it to Mr. Henry Albro. 
 In 1871 Mr. Carpenter became a memlier of the 
 firm of Henry Albro & Co., and was followed 
 eight years later by Sir. Bartlett, who for two 
 vears had been in the waste business at No. 75 
 Ferry street. In May, 1S82, Mr. Albro died and 
 Messrs. Carpenter & Bartlett succeeded to the 
 entire business. 
 
 The history of Mr. Albro is so fuU of point and 
 example, that it is thought well in this connec- 
 tion to give a brief outline of it. 
 
 He was born iu Eastford, Conn., in 1833, and 
 up to his twentieth year received no education, 
 being debarred from attending school by the 
 fact that he was almost helplessly an invaliil. 
 Determining to do something in life, Mr. Albro 
 at this period began studying on his own ac- 
 count, and learned, besides the necessary busi- 
 ness knowledge, the trade of shoemaking. We 
 
192 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL ANI> INDUSTRIAL 
 
 next find him with a hoi'se and wagon traveling 
 from place to place and Inivingrags, jjaper, etc., 
 lajiug the fouudation for the great business he 
 left at his death. The first record of his ap- 
 pearance in the business circles of Hartford was 
 as senior member of the firm of Albro & Morey. 
 paper-stock dealers on Morgan street. This 
 continued about one year, when Mr. Albro pur- 
 chased Mr. ]\Iorey's interest and carried on the 
 busines.s on his own account until the change 
 which made the firm William McCrone & Co. In 
 1866 Mr. Albro left Connecticut and established 
 himself in business at'Kock Island, Illinois. Here 
 he remained only a short time, returning to 
 Hartford in 1867 and purchasing the business of 
 which this sketch treats. At this time Mr. 
 Albro's capital amounted to only about §2,000, 
 and his first year's business reached only about 
 twice and a half times that figure. From 1867 
 to 1882, the business advanced with snch rapid 
 strides that in the latter year the books of the 
 firm showed transactions to the amount of 
 §2.50,000 and the further fact that about |100,000 
 capital is now invested. 
 
 Personally, Mr. Albro was remarkable. He 
 suffered all his lite with an inciirable lameness 
 and the lack of many of the advantages of early 
 training, yet, notwithstanding these serious 
 drawbacks he made a name, a place and a for- 
 tune of which the most favored of mortals 
 might be proud. As a counselor to the young 
 business man and an adviser of his fellows he 
 was esjieciaUy gifted and sought after, and it 
 was rarely the case that results did not attest his 
 excellent judgment. In East Hartford, where 
 he passed his later life, the respect and confi- 
 dence of his fellow citizens were shown by 
 selecting him as a Justice of the Peace, an office 
 that he filled with dignity and aliility. He was 
 also prominently connected with the schools, 
 and labored hard in the interests of the early 
 education which had Ijeen denied in his own 
 case. 
 
 He passed away full of honor and riches and 
 left behind him a name as spotless as the snow, 
 a memory as .sweet as summer roses are, and a 
 void in business and social life not easily to be 
 tilled. 
 
 The business done Ijy Messrs. Carpenter & 
 Bartlett is the largest general business of the 
 kind in the State. There are some other houses 
 who transact more business in some one of the 
 specialties, but as general dealers in paper stock, 
 cotton and woolen rags, old metals, waste, etc., 
 this house undoubtedly takes the lead. The 
 building owned and occupied by the firm 
 runs from Pront street through to Charles 
 street, and is 45 x 186 feet in size and has four 
 floors crowded with baled and unbaled stock 
 and the seventy men and women employed 
 in sorting, grading, sacking, receiving, ship- 
 ping and baling the immense quantities of 
 merchandise handled by the liouse. In the rear of 
 tlie building is a large iron yard, with about 100 
 feet of sheds, where tons of iron are Ijcing con- 
 stantly received from all parts of the country and 
 sliipped to the foundries and machine shops in 
 Hartford and vicinity. Tlie business is divided 
 into Ave deijartmeuts, each with its superintendent, 
 
 while the mcmljers of the firm themselves superin- 
 tend the whole. Most of tlie work done here is 
 necessarily performed by Iiand, and a walk through 
 the establishment discloses nothing in the shape of 
 machinery, save an immensely powerful press, in 
 which au astonishingly great quantity of rags or 
 paper is compressed into a surprisingly small 
 laale. Besides this there are numberless scales, 
 ranging from the great '•Howe," of eight tons, in 
 the yard, where loaded teams are weighed, through 
 all sizes of platform and balance, down to the 
 okl-fasbioned steel-yard, used when the business 
 was ill its infancy. Most of these are used in the 
 business of tlie liouse, but they serve the needs of 
 others, Messrs. Carpenter & Bartlett Ijcing "City 
 Weighers" by appointment of tlie Common Coun- 
 cil. One of the peculiarities of this business is 
 that all purchases are strictly cash, while the sales 
 are made on time, as in other establishments. This, 
 it will be seen, renders the employment of large 
 capital necessary, and it is believed that in this 
 respect Messrs. Carpenter i& Bartleti'lead all their 
 associates. 
 
 Mr. William O. Carpenter was born in Eastford, 
 Conn., in 1845. He remained there until he was 
 twelve years of age, attending the public school. 
 His education was finished in the Danielsonville 
 Select School, after leaving which place he became 
 a school teacher, and taught for two terms in Put- 
 nam and Sterling. Seeking more active Viusiness 
 he came to Hartford and secured employment driv- 
 ing an express wagon. One year later found him 
 emjiloyed as foreman in the Huuring mills of W. 
 B. Willard, Esq., where he remained iov six years, 
 leaving to accept an appointment on the police 
 force. Here he remained for two years, and hav- 
 ing managed to accumulate a few hundred dollars, 
 bought into the firm of Henry Albro & Co.^ and 
 began the building of the good fortune that has 
 since attended him. Mr. Carpenter resided in East 
 Hartford for some years, and was constable of that 
 place for a long time. 
 
 Mr. Edwin S. Bartlett is a native of Woodstock, 
 in this State, born in 1.S44. He remained at home 
 until 1802; when he joined the ranks of the 
 Eighteenth Connecticut Volunteers, a regiment 
 raised in New London and Windham counties, 
 enlisting for three years. He was taken jirisoner 
 while under General Sigel in the Shenandoah 
 Valley, and impi-isoned in Lynchburg, Danville 
 and Andersonville, respectively, being jjaroled 
 from the horrors of the latter place permanently 
 disabled for service and weighing but seventy-five 
 pounds. After spending some months in the Dale 
 United States General Hospital at Worcester, 
 Mass., he was so fai' recovered as to l)e able to 
 come to Hartford and enter the Bryant & Strattou 
 Business College, from which institution he grad- 
 uated an accomplished bookkeeper and business 
 man. He found em|)loynient as bookkeeper in the 
 lumber yard of H. C. Burgess, and subsequently 
 with W. T. McLean, dealer in paper stock. In 
 1860 he bought Mr. McLean's business and con- 
 tinued it until 1871, when, in company with Mr. 
 Albro, he |)urchased the jjaper mill at Windsor 
 Locks. This enterprise was given ujj l:)y the firm 
 in 1874, and Mr. Bartlett returned to Hartford and 
 engaged in tlie waste business on joint account with 
 Henry Albro & Co. Tliis he continued until 1879, 
 
llEVrF.W OF rilK STATE <IV CONNKCTICVT. 
 
 193 
 
 •when the businesses were Cdiiscilidatcd and he he- 
 came II member of tlie firm. Mr. Bartlett resided 
 for some years in East Hartford, wliere lie was 
 active in school matters, ami in East Windsor from 
 1871 until two years a<;o, occupying the responsible 
 position of Town Auditor for several years. 
 
 The history of the house of Carpenter & Bartlett, 
 and of its predecessor, Henry All)ro it Co., as well 
 as the personal liislory of the individual members, 
 is full of pleasant suggesticm as to the possibilities 
 of energy and honesty, and furnishes an example 
 for the aspiring yOung men of to-day to follow. 
 
 S. 3I:>sU>ii tV Co. (Stephen and James 
 JIaslen), Monuments, Grave Stones, Mantels, 
 Grates, etc.. No. 352 Asylum Street. — The flour- 
 ishing business conducted by this firm was estab- 
 lished in 1869 by Williams A: Cook, at the corner 
 of Maple avenue and Congress .street, and was 
 Uurehased a year later by Mr. Stephen Maslen. 
 Ill 1873 Mr. Maslen 's brothers, James and John, 
 were admitted to co-partnersbii), the latter's in- 
 terest being purchased by the ])resent members 
 of the firm in 1882, in August of which year the 
 business was removed to the quarters it now oc- 
 cupies. The warerooms ou Asylum street con- 
 sists of two floors, each 23x80 feet in size, where 
 all the finer work, such as .sculpture and orna- 
 menting, is done, and where the goods are ex- 
 posed for sale. In the rear of the store is a large 
 yard, in which a portion of the rougher work is 
 accomplished and which is used for storing the 
 large stones used in the building of monuments. 
 The specialty of this firm i.s the manufacture of 
 monuments from all kinds of stone, in the iirej)- 
 aration of which they have from forty to fifty 
 iren engaged at the quarries in Quincy, Mass.', 
 Millstone, Conn. , and Westerly, K, I. The an- 
 nual volume of bu.siness now transacted by S. 
 Maslen A: Co. amounts to about S-1(),000, the 
 trade having almost doubled within a year. This 
 is confined almost entirely to Hartford and its 
 immediate vdeiuity, although orilers are received 
 aud filled for more remote localities. Among 
 the many beautiful monuments that adorn the 
 cemeteries of Hartford can be found numerous 
 specimens of the Messrs. Maslen's handiwork, 
 the chief of them being, perhaps, the elegant 
 monument to the memory of ex-Governor 
 Thomas H. Seymour,erected at Cedar Hills Ceme- 
 tery in 1881, great crowds of people attending its 
 dedication. The monument is Egyi)tian in style, 
 33 feet in height, about 50 tons'in weight, ami 
 in its artistic finish reflects great credit on the 
 firm who executed it. 
 
 Mr. Stephen Maslen was born in England in 
 1845. He arrived in America in 1863, and almost 
 immediately began the .study of the Ijusiness of 
 which he is now a master in all its branches. 
 Boston an<l Worce.ster were the scenes of his 
 earlier labors, and it was in the former city that 
 he attained to a knowledge of the finer Ijranches 
 of sculpture, the results of which are conspicu- 
 ous in the work turned out by this firm. 
 
 Mr. Maslen has resided in Hartford for about 
 twelve years, and has been prominently identi- 
 fied with church matters, first a.s a committee- 
 man at the South Bajitist church and subse- 
 quently, for four years, as precentor at the Centre 
 
 diurch, and in the same capacity for one year at 
 the Asylum Hill Congregational'church. 
 
 Mr. James Maslen, like his brother, is a native 
 of Englan<l, aud was born in 1843, arriving in 
 America in 1861. He is a practical man in his 
 business, having learned it in Boston, where he 
 resided until about ten years ago, when he re- 
 moved to Hartford. He has been for seven vears, 
 and is stiU, suiierinteudent of the Sunday School 
 Mission in ParkviUe, where he has done much 
 for the advancement of the interests of religion. 
 
 Both gentlemen are good examples of tlie suc- 
 cess which is sure to follow a life of i>robity and 
 Christianity. 
 
 James Al,ierii, Practical Plumber and Gas 
 Fitter, Dealer in all kinds of Plumbing and Gas 
 Fitting Materials, No. 280 Asylum Street— The 
 plumbing and gas-fitting establishment of Mr. 
 James Ahern, situated at No. 280 Asylum street, is 
 probably one of the finest and most completely 
 stocked of any of its kind in New England, and is 
 the headquarters of a very extensive business. 
 
 Mr. Ahern began business in Hartford in 1868, 
 locating himself at No. 272 Main street, where he 
 remained until May 1, 1882, when the demands of 
 his growing business compelled his removal to the 
 elejfant and roomy promises he now occupies. 
 
 The volume of business transacted yearly liy Mr. 
 Ahern amounts to $20,000 or $30,000,' andrequires 
 the assistance of from twelve to sixteen workmen, 
 the latter number being largely augmented in the 
 busy season. 
 
 The premises occupied by this business consist of 
 a lofty ceiled store and workshop extending from 
 Asylum street tlirough to a small street in the rear, 
 where all goods are received and shi])ped. The 
 store, including tlie workshop, lias a frontage of 
 twenty-five feet Ity a depth of ninety feet, and is 
 stocked with a full line of plumbers' and gas fit- 
 ters' mateiiahs, pipe, fixtures, etc., besides a large 
 and elegant assortment of tlie latest designs in gas 
 fixtures from the manufactory of Mitchell, Vance 
 it (!o., of New York, for which house Mr. Aliem 
 is sole agent in Hartford County. 
 
 In the workshop — a model of its kind — there is 
 to be found everything in the wa}' of materials 
 and tools that is required for any part of the 
 plumbers' and gas fitters' business. Neatly arranged 
 along the sides are numberless compartment 
 shelves, containing every kind and size of fittings 
 for gas and water known to the trade, while on tlie 
 benches may be found a complete assortment of 
 fine tools of every description used in the bu.siness. 
 In the centre of the sho|) stands a machine driven 
 by steam power and used for cutting and threading 
 iron pipe. This machine saves much time and la- 
 bor, and is so absolutely accurate in its operation 
 that the tightness of the joints made by it can be 
 relied on with ])erfect assurance. 
 
 In the basement there are stored immense quan- 
 tities of cast and wrought iron Jjipe, fittings, etc., 
 and there is no contract so large or varied in its na- 
 ture that Mr. Ahern is not prepared to fill from his 
 immediate stock. 
 
 The tmde of this house is not confined to Hart- 
 ford, I)ut extends to other portions of the State, 
 many of th(^ finer residences outside the city having 
 been fitted liy Mr. Ahern. This extent of business 
 
194 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 is due in great measure to the fact that Mr. Ahem 
 is one of the few in his line not content with being 
 merely a " |)ractical " workman, but who has studied 
 the scientific and sanitary aspects of the trade to 
 such advantage and witli such earnestness of pur- 
 pose tliat he is recognized not only as the leading 
 plumber in Hartford, \>vX as a scientific sanitarian 
 who uses his knowledge in his work, and for liis 
 customers" benefit. In fact, Mr. Ahern has so thor- 
 oughly mastered the principles of sanitary science 
 as applied to his particular calling that he has been 
 enabled to issue a pamphlet on the subject of 
 "Common Sense Plumbing," wliich treats of the 
 subject with admira1)le clearness, and reflects credit 
 on its author, while it conveys a vast deal of useful 
 information. 
 
 Mr. Aliern is about forty-three years of age, and, 
 although not a native of America, can be justly re- 
 garded an a representative American, having lived 
 in this country since his boyhood, most of tlietime 
 in Hartford, where he has won for himself an envi- 
 able place among the lousiness fraternity and the 
 good will of a great number of personal friends 
 and acquaintances. He is a progressive business 
 man, a desirable citizen, and enjoys the very honoi- 
 able distinction of being a " self-made man." 
 
 Georjifc W. Williams & Co. (Charles 
 S. Williams and D. Carleton), Wholesale Druggists, 
 Dealers in Grocers' Sundries, Chimneys, Burnei's, 
 Kerosene Oil, Matches, etc.. Nos. 306 and 208 State, 
 corner Front Street. — New England, and particular- 
 ly Connecticut, is prolific of history, not only in the 
 general sense, but as regards business houses whose 
 inception dates back to the earlier part of the pres- 
 ent century. Prominent among these is the house 
 whose designation forms the title line of this sketch 
 and whose histoi-y commenced when the century 
 was in its first quarter. 
 
 In the year 1825, fifty-eight years ago, when 
 Hartford was but the infant shadow of her present 
 self, and when State and Front streets were the 
 centre of the growing city, Mr. Isaac D. Bull com- 
 menced, in a modest way, tlie sale of drugs in a 
 small store, occupying the corner where the present 
 business is located. After conducting the store for 
 a few years, Mr. Bull disposed of tlie business to 
 Mr. George M. Welch, who continued it until 
 1854, when he was succeeded by Messrs. George 
 W. Williams and Horace A. Hall, who liegan 
 the wholesaling of drugs and the manufacture of 
 the specialties for which the firm is famous, operat- 
 ing under the style of Williams & Hall. In 1801 
 Mr. Hall died and Mr. Williams succeeded to the 
 entire business, changing the firm name to George 
 W. Williams & Co., under wliicli title the business 
 is still conducted. In 1880 Mr. Williams retired 
 from active mercantile pursuits, and the business 
 passed into the hands of his son, Mr. Charles S. 
 Williams, and Mr. D. Carleton, the present propri- 
 etors, who, in view of tlie wide celebrity attached 
 to the old firm name, decided not to change it. 
 
 From Mr. Bull's modest beginning to the present 
 immense trade and prosperity of the house was a 
 long step, and one that was not taken without 
 efflort. 'There has been in the business career of 
 this establishment none of that sudden and oft- 
 times evanescent glory that attends the manufac- 
 turer of nostrums and the cure-alls of the nation. 
 
 until it raises them to a giddy height and leaves 
 them gazing in the lilack abyss of ruin tlieir un- 
 founded claims have dug for them; but the rise has 
 been of that leisurely and steady nature that is 
 characteristic of the well-grounded business, and 
 that almost invariably waits on intelligent and en- 
 ergetic effort, when it is backed by unswerving 
 honesty and a never-failing excellence of product. 
 
 This great and growing business requires for 
 its transaction the two buildings known as Nos. 
 206 and 208 State street, their combined frontage 
 being in the neighborhood of one hundred feet, 
 while the dejjth and frontage on Front street is 
 half that figure. Each of the buildings is four 
 stories in height with basement, and it will be 
 seen that ten flooivs, each about fifty by fifty feet 
 in size, are occupied. In the building numbered 
 206 is the office and counting room on the first 
 floor, the second and third floors being used as a 
 manufactory, laboratory, bottling-room and pack- 
 ing dejiartment, while the basement and upper 
 floor are used for the jjurposes of storage. In 
 No. 208 the lower floor is used as a salesroom, 
 while the basement and three upper floors con- 
 tain a large proportion of the immense stock 
 carried by the firm. The number of assistants 
 employed in the office, salesrooms, factory and 
 warehouses average about twenty, although in 
 the busier seasons it is found necessary to em- 
 ploy additional help. In addition to these there 
 are a number of traveling salesmen whose sales 
 form a considerable item in the business trans- 
 acted. 
 
 While this house is known as a wholesale drug 
 house, and while they carry an extensive stock 
 and do a large trade in drugs, by far the greater 
 proportion of their business is in the specialties 
 which they own and manufacture. Among these, 
 perhaps, the most important is the widely known 
 and justly celebrated " Williams' Jamaica Gin- 
 ger," "Williams' Flavoring Extracts, " and "Wil- 
 liams' Essences." Besides these, the firm are 
 the sole owners and manufacturers of "Chinese 
 Cologne," the "New England Cough Remedy," 
 "Skinner's Liniment, " "Newell's Pain Reliever," 
 " Cxlobe Perfumes," "Dean's Insect Powder," 
 as well as perfumed writing inks, hair oils of all 
 kinds, liquid bluing, sewing machine oil, and 
 other articles too numerous to mention. In 
 addition to these, there is a full line of grocers' 
 sundries, chimneys, burners, kerosene oil, 
 matches, and kindred articles. 
 
 In the extent of territory covered by its busi- 
 ness this house is second to none in New Eng- 
 land, and jjrobably stands at the head of the list, 
 for the reason that its manufactures are used all 
 over the country, and find sale in other countries 
 as well. 
 
 Mr. Charles S. Williams, the senior partner in 
 the firm, is a native and representative New Eng- 
 lander, born in Manchester, Connecticut, in 
 1814. After completinghis education he entered 
 his father's store and acquired the later and 
 practical business education the fruits of which 
 are so apparent in his business life. He is a 
 thorough master of all the details of formula 
 and manufacture in the specialties of the house, 
 and is thus enabled to keep them up to the 
 standard of excellence on which they won their 
 reputation. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 195 
 
 Mr. Carleton is also a New Englandor, }iaving 
 l)eou born at Thctford, Vermont, in 184(1. After 
 acquiring a commou-Bcbool education he went to 
 work on a farm, and remained at that vocation 
 until his majority, when, his -father having left 
 him ahoTit .•#200, he took that sum and entered 
 tlie Hartford i5usiness College, where heaeriuired 
 a thorough knowledge of bookkeeping and busi- 
 ness forms. He entered the servii'e of George 
 W. Williams A: Co. about twelve years ago as 
 bookkeejier, rising rapidly to a conlideutial and 
 managing position in the house, and, finally, in 
 1880, becoming a partner. Mr. Carleton's suc- 
 cess in life is due solely to his own exertions, and 
 .stands as a shining example for the young men 
 of the country. 
 
 The history of this house is a pleasant jiroof 
 of the cert.iinty with which probity and energy 
 will win their way, and that honesty in rej)re- 
 sentatiou and action is " good policy." 
 
 Paul Link, Hartford Steam Brewery, No. 110 
 Albany Avenue. — Twenty-five years ago the bever- 
 age now so widely kown as lager Ij-^er, and so 
 extensively used throughout the entire country, 
 liad scarcely l)een heard of. except by tliose of our 
 citizens who were liorn in Germany, or those who 
 had enjoyed tlie tl)en somewhat uncommon distinc- 
 tion of liaving traveled in Europe. Since that 
 time the taste of the American people has been 
 educated up to a liking for this pleasant and harm- 
 less drink, and now the establishments for its man- 
 facture are numl)ered by the thousands, and find 
 location in almost every city and town of any con- 
 sideration, save wliere prohil)itory laws forliid its 
 sale. The Hartford Steam Brewery is one of the 
 outgrowths of the comparatively recent taste for 
 lager beer, and is one of the many growing indus- 
 tries in wliich excellence of goods commands a 
 constantly increasing patronage. This brewery was 
 established about the year 1838 by Charles llerold, 
 Sr., who conducted it until 186(), when it was pur- 
 chased l)y Paul Link, Sr., father of the present ])ro- 
 prietor. When Mr. Linlc died in 1874, liis son had 
 not attained his majority, and the administrators 
 of the estate leased the property to Mr. George 
 Sicliler for four years. Meanwhile young Mr. 
 Link passed tlirce years in Europe, perfecting him- 
 self as a practical l)rewer, the study of which pro- 
 fession he commenced while yet a lad, under the 
 tutelage of Ids father. 
 
 On liis return from Europe, Mr. Link spent some 
 time in tlie breweries of Cincinnati, whence he 
 removed to New York, and entered tlie service of 
 the well-known Itrewing firm, George Ringler & 
 Co., fi'om -whose estalilishment he graduated with 
 a full and practical knowledge of his lousiness. At 
 the expiration of 3Ir. Sichler's lease in February, 
 187!t, Mr. Link assumed charge of the brewery, 
 and has conducted its affairs u]) to the present with 
 such success that his yearly sales now amount to 
 al)out ."),000 liarrels, with the prospect of doul>ling 
 tli.at numlicr witliin a few years. The premises 
 occupii^d liy this business are located on tlie corner 
 of Albany avenue and Centre street, and consists of 
 a brewery, ice-house, stalile, dwelling-house, 
 saloon, and tlie necessary out-buildings. Tlie 
 ground covered has a frontage of 125 feet on 
 Albany avenue, by a depth of 200 feet on Centre 
 
 street. The ice-house, one of the finest of its kind 
 in Hartford or vicinity, lias a capacity of 1,000 tons 
 andisfiUed from the pond neartlieeity, of which Mr. 
 Link has a long lease, and which, even in the most 
 modcr.ite winters, yields agood supply. The aver- 
 age number of hands employed in this business is 
 ten, a greater force being rerpiired in the busy sum- 
 mer seasons. These are assisted in their work by a 
 engine of fifteen-horse power, supplied by a boiler 
 of like capacity. The product of this l)rewery has 
 attained an excellent reputation in Hartford, to 
 which place Mr. Link has confiiicd his trade, and 
 is cliierty remarkable for its purity, life and flavor. 
 Mr. Link, although born in Reading, Peiin., may 
 1)0 considered as a native of Hartford, having 
 resided here since he was only a year old. He was 
 born ontlic SOth of April, IS.TH, and is one of the 
 progressive young business men of the State. 
 
 Lo.stor L. En.swortli, Iron and Steel Car- 
 riage INIaterials, etc., No. 104 Front Street. — The 
 establishing of this house dates back to 1801, 
 when D.ivid Watkiuson & Co. inaugurated it. 
 After some years the house succeeded to Ezra 
 Clark lit Co., who in turn gave way to/!lark & 
 Co., and in September 1, 1881, the'jiresent pro- 
 prietor, who was a member of Clark & Co. for 
 twenty years, assumed the business. 
 
 The stock carried is one of the largest in the 
 State. It consists of iron, steel, anvils, vises, 
 bolts, springs, nuts, rivets, tire brick, spokes, 
 rims, hubs, wheels, shafts, and carriage trim- 
 mings of every description. 
 
 A large building, Iniilt especially for the dis- 
 play and storage of the goods dealt in, is one of 
 the features of completeness that strikes the 
 attention of the visitor. 
 
 The business when established in 1801 was of 
 inferior dimensions, but each successive firm has 
 largely developed its trade, so that now, as it 
 stands, it is one of the most extensive establish- 
 ments in its line to be found in New England. 
 
 Mr. Lester L. Ensworth, personally, is one of 
 those men having a commanding presence, pos- 
 sessed of a quiet dignity and rare executive capa- 
 city. He is a native of Hartford, educated here, 
 and prominently identified with its history during 
 the past twenty years. He was born Se])tember 
 4, 1842, and has been prominently identified with 
 the iron and steel trade since a young man. He 
 was a member of the City Council of Hartford 
 during the sessions of 1879, '80 and '81, and is a 
 director in the First National Bank of Hartford. 
 As a Hartford production, by liirth, education, 
 business and social training, he will comiiara 
 more than favoi'ably with other rei)resentatiye 
 men of the Western an<l Southern cities. 
 
 E. Habeusteiu, Caterer and Proprietor Elite 
 Restaurant No. 209 Main Street.— One of the 
 largest and most popular restaurants in Hartford is 
 the establishment of Mr. Edward Habenstein, 
 located at No. 26!) Main Street. The growth of 
 this business illustrates what application and a 
 thorough knowledge will do for tliose who try. 
 
 In 1870, Mr. Habenstein was an employee in this 
 city, but with an ambition to achieve success as a 
 business man. In 1871, lie succeeded to the busi- 
 ness of a Mr. Williams, then a baker on Broad 
 
196 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 street, where he did a thriving trade in a small way, 
 supporting a wagon, wliicli delivered Ijread, cakes, 
 and ice cream of his own mal<e, to the best fami- 
 lies in that vicinity. The increase of business 
 necessitated his removal to larger quarters, and in 
 1873 he hired a store in the Union HalL Building, 
 wliere he had an ice cream restaurant in addition to 
 the leaking, and wliere also he laid the foundation 
 for his future success as a fashionable caterer. 
 Here he continued till 1879, when he moved to his 
 present location, which is one of the most central 
 in Hartford. 
 
 The store is 20 x 106 feet in size, with a base- 
 ment so desirable for restaurants, and is fitted and 
 furnished in the most elegant festliaetic manner. 
 The store front is ornamented with large plate- 
 glass show windows, in which are exhibited rare 
 specimens of the l)aker and confectioner's handi- 
 work. On either side of the front part of the store 
 are expensive show-cases stored with all the deli- 
 cacies usually found in first-class establishments of 
 this kind. The back part of the store is furnislied 
 with an expensive carpet, real lace curtains, large 
 mirrors and fashionable furniture generally, for the 
 accommodation of one hundred and twenty-five 
 guests dining at one time. With the drawing of 
 the heavy lace and other curtains this ])art of the 
 establishment can be secluded from tlie other, afford- 
 ing a suitable banquet hall for a large company. 
 
 The stained-glass windows ornamenting the rear 
 part of the restaurant are a feature in its general 
 appearance. 
 
 A regular dinner is served here every week day 
 from 13 to 3 p. m., which is appreciated by ladies 
 and gentleman of the city as well as those in town 
 from neighboring villages. 
 
 In addition to the duties attending this business, 
 Mr. Habenstein conducts the restaurant at the Cap- 
 itol during the sessions of the Legislature, where 
 his daily patrons are tlie Governor and other digni- 
 taries of the State. In addition to tlie business of 
 a restaurant and cafe, he has acquired an extended 
 reputation as a caterer for weddings, parties, balls, 
 etc. In this specialty he ranks as the largest 
 and most popular in Connecticut. The finest of 
 imported china, silverware, table linen and other 
 accessories to tlie amount of thousands of dollars 
 are owned and brought into requisition in carrying 
 out the details of an order given for a small party 
 up to that numliered at one thousand, and in any 
 part of the State. 
 
 The business done as a caterer is very large, 
 and it is safe to say that in this specialty he is the 
 largest in the State. 
 
 Mr. Edward Habenstein is a native of Saxony, 
 and thirty-eight years of age. He came to this 
 country when a boy, at the age of nine years. He 
 served seven years as a baker in Utica, N. Y. , and 
 the next seven as a confectioner in tlie establish- 
 ment of a famous New Yorker, thus familiarizing 
 himself with every detail of the business he is now 
 pursuing. During his career as a business man he 
 has been ably seconded by his wife, who has largely 
 helped to make, instead of marring his fortune. 
 Slie is an active worker, and superintendent of the 
 various departments of the business, particularly 
 that of catering. 
 
 During the past few years this establishment has 
 catered for fully one thousand of the largest and 
 most brilliant receptions in Connecticut. 
 
 He is now building a two-and-a-half story cot- 
 tage at Watch Hill to be used hjf him during the 
 summer seasons for a restaurant and the retailing 
 of his celebrated ice cream. 
 
 In less than thirteen years, from a humble baker 
 on a street in the suburbs, he has the satisfaction of 
 knowing that he has the finest ladies and gents'' 
 cafe in Hartford, and is regarded as one of the 
 most iiopular caterers in New England. From the- 
 proceeds of the constantly growing business he has 
 built an elegant residence, which is a credit to him> 
 and an ornament to the city. 
 
 His career is a marked illustration of what cam 
 be done, and the success tliat can be won by 
 industry, perseverance and merit. 
 
 Hartford Optical Company, Manufacturer.? 
 and Dealers in Optical Goods, No. 144 Asyhnn 
 Street, Allyn House Block. — This company, the 
 only one of its kind in Hartford or the immediate 
 vicinity, was founded in January, 1881, by Mr. 
 Wm. 'T. Stevens, who remains as manager. The store 
 of the company is stocked with alarge assortment of 
 optical goodsof every variety. Conspicuous among 
 which is the largest assortment of spectacles and 
 eye-glasses to be found in the State. The specialty 
 of the company is the manufacture of these goods 
 to order, this branch being personally attended to 
 by Mr. Stevens, whose abilities in that line have 
 won for the house a widespread and flattering 
 reputation. The company are fortunate in tlie fact 
 that they have a connection with Dr. John A. 
 Stevens (l>rother of the manager), a resident phy- 
 sician, widely known as a specialist in diseases of 
 the eye. 
 
 In repairing optical goods, as well as watches and 
 other pieces of delicate mechanism, tlie workmen, 
 employed by the company are unexcelled, and this 
 fact goes far towards the rapid enhancement of the 
 already considerable business. The traile of the 
 company is not entirely local, but extends all over 
 New England, and to a less extent throughout the 
 United States. Mr. Stevens, the Manager, is a 
 thoroughly scientific optician, and in this fact, 
 doubtless, lies the secret of the success already 
 achieved by the company. He is a native of Pres- 
 tonholm, near Scotland, and is about thirty-one 
 years of age. He can be classed almost American, 
 as he has been in this country ever since his second 
 year. Mr. Stevens has been a resident of Hartford 
 about two years, the earlier portions of his life hav- 
 ing been spent in the West and South ;' Chicago, 
 Cleveland, and Chattanooga. He is generally 
 spoken of as a reliable and energetic business man 
 and a complete master of his profession. 
 
 C. F. Nichols, Manufacturer of Paper Boxes, 
 
 No. 68 Market Street. — The extensive paper box 
 manufactory, now carried on by Mr. C. F. 
 Nichols, at No. 68 Market street, was estab- 
 lished in 1850, by E. Tucker's Sons, who ran it 
 until 1879, when Mr. Nichols became its owner 
 by purchase. After assuming the ownership of 
 the business, Mr. Nichols continued it for about 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 197 
 
 ■a. year in Boardman's buildinp; on Asylum street, 
 removing thence to No. 428 Asylnm street, ami 
 in February, 1883 to bis jireseut commodious 
 quarters. 
 
 The premises now ooeujjied consist of two 
 full floors, one of which is 26 x 100 and the 
 other forty feet wider in size, where employ- 
 ment is given to between fifty and sixty hands, 
 a large proportion of whom are. girls and young 
 women. An engine and boiler on the premises 
 drives a number of the unique machines used in 
 the trade, and there is daily turned out thou- 
 sands of ])aper boxes, chiefly for the use of 
 manufacturers of silk twist and silver ware, and 
 for jewelers and druggists, these dejiartments 
 being the specialties of the factory. The trade 
 done amounts to from Sl2,000 to ^15,000 per 
 annum, and is increasing in such ratio as to 
 warrant the belief that the lap.se of two or three 
 years will see those figures doubled. Mr. Nichols' 
 man>ifaetures find sale chiefly in Hartford and 
 adjoining towns, although, in some cases, sliiji- 
 ments are made to more remote points. 
 
 Mr. Nichols 's a native of Bennington, Ver- 
 mont ; born in 183(5. He remained in that place 
 ■only until he was three years of age, when his 
 parents removed to Belchertown, ]\Iass., where 
 be resided until 1851, removing thence to Spring- 
 field, Mass. In this litter ])lace be was engaged 
 for five years as a confectioner, a business he 
 likewise followed for a time in Hartford before 
 •entering the paper box factory of E. Tucker's 
 Sons, where be acted as foreman until he pur- 
 ■chased the business in 1879. Mr. Nichols was 
 for three years Captain of the First Comjjany of 
 t'le Governor's Guard and afterwards Caj)tain 
 of the Veterans of that organization for one year, 
 the term being limited by the constitution. At 
 the present writiu'.; he occupies the position of 
 Ijieutenant of the Veterans and is one of the 
 most ijopiilar members of the corps. 
 
 Mr. Nichols' standing in the community is 
 first-class, and in social circles he is highly es- 
 teemed. 
 
 The Win. Ilogers ftlamifactnriiijj: C'oin- 
 l)aiiy. Plated Nickel, Silver and White Metal 
 Table Ware, No. 67 Front street.— All over the 
 United States, and throughout many other parts 
 of the civilized wiu'ld, the name of Rogers has 
 become associated with a peculiar ti-ade-mark 
 upon the best class of plated taljle ware. This 
 trade-mai'k is like the eagle stamp upon a coin 
 — it is an absolute warrant of genuineness. Miny 
 imitators and counterfeiters have sjjrung uj) 
 from time to time, but like the counterfeiters of 
 coin they have neither succeeded in deceiving 
 nor escaping detection, and to-day the Rogers 
 Manufacturing Company of Hartford is in almost 
 ■exclusive possession of the field which the excel- 
 lence of their goods has won. The inception of 
 this great industry was in the year 1847, when 
 Mr. William Rogers, father of 'Mr. F. WiUson 
 Rogers, Secretary of the i)re8ent company, com- 
 menced the manufacture of jjlated ware on a 
 comparatively small scale. The unusual excel- 
 lence of the wares put on the market by Mr. 
 AVm. Rogers rai^idly augmented tlie business, 
 and in 18'>5 it was deemed expedient to form the 
 
 Wm. Rogers Manufacturing Company and en- 
 large the facilities for manufacturing. In 1872 
 the comjjany was incorporated and the factory 
 was removed to the works now occupied and 
 which embrace four full floors, each 50x175 feet 
 in size, and give employment to one hundred 
 and twenty-five bands. The machinery used 
 in the work is of the most expensive and 
 improved jiatterns and is so economical in its 
 operations that the one hundred and twenty- 
 five bands employed are enaliled by its aid 
 to turn out a quantity of work that under 
 the old system would have required tlie ser- 
 vices of nearly tlirec times that numltcr. The 
 salesroom of the cstablislunent is on tlie ground 
 floor of tlie factory building, and is filled with a 
 wonderfully complete assortment of the celeljrated 
 ware made by the company, each piece of which 
 bears the talismanic trade-mark which guarantees 
 its excellence. Some idea of the remarkable growth 
 of this industry may be gained from the fact that 
 in 1878 the entire volume of business amounted to 
 something like .fOO.OOO, there being seventy-five 
 bands employed; while in 1883, with an increase 
 of fifty hands — such lias been the improvement in 
 machinery — the business reached to nearly a half 
 a million. Besides the employees in the factory 
 proper, tlicre is a large force of clerks and salesmen; 
 eight of the latter being constantly employed on the 
 road, visiting and making sales in every State and 
 Territory in the Union. The business, as originally 
 started, now embraces the manufacture of table 
 cutlery, the com|)any having ccmsolidated with the 
 Rogers Cutlery Company in 187!). 
 
 Mr. William H. Watrous, President and Treasurer 
 of the company, is a native of Hartford, about 
 forty-two years of age. He learned the trade of 
 silver plating with Mr. William Rogers, founder of 
 the original house, who was a practical man and 
 superintendent of the business until his decease in 
 1873. Mr. Watrous has grown from boyhood in the 
 business, and has filled a number of positions of 
 trust and responsibility elsewhere, having been over- 
 seer for Rogers ic Bros, in Waterlniry, then in the 
 Ames Manufacturing Company, of Chicopee, Mass., 
 and afterwards with the Strong Manufacturing 
 Company, of Winsted, Conn. Upon the formation 
 of the present company, Mr. Watrous took charge 
 of the ])lating department, and it is largely due to 
 his skill that the goods of the house have main- 
 tained their supremacy in the market. When the 
 rebellion broke out, he was one of the first to offer 
 his services, and served as first lieutenant in 
 a Connecticut regiment, going first for three 
 months, and subsei|uently for the nine months' 
 term. 
 
 Mr. F. WiUson Rogers is also a native of Hartford, 
 and was born in 18.51. After completing his edu- 
 cation, he learned the jewelry business, l.)ut left it 
 to enter the Rogers CJutlery Company, of which he 
 was made secretary in 1878. On the consolidation 
 of the two companies in 1871), he was appointed 
 secretary of the iiresent concern, a position which 
 be has held ever since. He is regarded as aslirewd 
 and energetic business man, and a wortliy successor 
 to the good name left by his father. 
 
 The Wm. Rogers Manufacturing Company are 
 the undisputed leaders in their busines in the United 
 States. 
 
198 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Charles F. SAveet, Proprietor of Star Knit- 
 ting Mills, Manufacturers of Children's Under- 
 wear, No. 133 Sheldon Street.— The establishment 
 of this industry dates from June 1st, 1881, since 
 ■which time its growth has been as surprising to the 
 public as it has been gratifying to its i)rojector. 
 The mill occupies one floor of the building at No. 
 133 Sheldon Street, 1.50 x 40 feet in size, and em- 
 ploys about fifty people, most of whom are girls. 
 The goods manufactured embrace all qualities of 
 merino and cotton underwear for children exclus- 
 ively, no men's or w-omen's goods being made. 
 Mr. Sweet purchases his yarns on the outside, but 
 aside froui that fact the mill is a complete knitting 
 mill, all the other processes, such as cutting, 'wash- 
 ing, weaving, making up, trimming, etc., being 
 done on the premises. The business now done 
 reaches to the very satisfactory figure of .f 00,000 a 
 year, while the prospect of largely adding to that 
 sum is very flattering. Most of the goods made 
 here are disposed of in other States by Mr. Sweet's 
 agents, who are Iselin, Neeser >.% Co., No. 339 
 Canal street. New York, and Charles P. Lincoln, 
 No. 31 '2 Chestnut street, Philadelphia. 
 
 Mr. Sweet was born in Albany, N. Y., in Oct. 
 1849, and came to Hartford about five years ago, 
 taking the position of manager of the Glastonbury 
 Knitting Company at Glastonbury, a position he 
 retained for three years and until the time he em- 
 barked in business for himself. He is thoroughly 
 practical in his calling, having been in the business 
 for sixteen years, the greater portion of whicli was 
 spent in the mill of Benjamin A. Sweet, liis father, 
 at Albany, where he worked in and mastered the 
 details of every department. This experience with 
 his father, who, besides being a mill-owner, is one 
 of the largest wool dealers in his section, has l>een 
 of such value that j\Ir. Sweet is enabled to turn out 
 the very best qualities of goods at reasonal>le prices, 
 and to find a ready market for the products of his 
 mills. 
 
 Mr. Sweet bears an enviable reputation in the 
 business community, wliile his social qualities are 
 such as to command the cordial respect and liking 
 of his associates. 
 
 Smith, Wliite & Co. (Edwin J. Smith 
 and Frank G. White), Importers and Men's Out- 
 litters, Manufact irers of the " C. &S." Shirt, 
 Nos. 65 and 67 Asylum Street. — In every city of 
 the United States will be found one house and 
 firm that occupies a leading position in its line 
 and stands head and shoulders above its fellows, 
 both in enterprise and the amount of l)u.siness 
 done. In Hartford, the house of Smith, Wliite 
 & Co. occupies such a position in the men's fur- 
 nishing goods trade. This business was estab- 
 lished Viy Mr. Edwin J. Smith, of the present 
 firm, in 1871, next door to the jiresent stores, to 
 which removal was had in 1878. Mr. Smith was 
 joined in 1873 by Mr. W. E. Covey, and from 
 that time up to January, 1883, when Mr. Covey 
 withdrew, the firm was known as Covey A: Smith. 
 On Mr. Covey's withdi'awal, Mr. Frank G. White 
 became a partner in the house, and the present 
 designation was adopted. The premises occu- 
 pied by this business consists of an eletiant and 
 spacious store, 100x24 feet in size, with base- 
 
 ment of like dimensions, and a second floor 40x 
 24, in which is stored and displayed one of the 
 finest stocks in New England, valued at from 
 $20,000 to §40,000, according to the season. 
 The business, which is both wholesale and retail, 
 and gives emi^loyment to a number of traveling 
 agents in Connecticut, Khode Island and Massa- 
 chusetts, amounts to about .§100,000 per annum, 
 a large portion of the trade being in the cele- 
 brated " C. &S." shirt, manufactured and sold 
 at wholesale and retail by the firm. Some of 
 the sjjecialties of the house are : Dent's gloves, 
 Allen, Solly it Co. 's underwear, fancy goods 
 from the well-known London house of" Welch, 
 Margetsin & Co. , Fownes Bros. ' gloves, Mcin- 
 tosh's rubber coats. Knight & Fetch's house gar- 
 ments, Kloek's French goods, Charles Guve's 
 noted French hosiery and underwear and other 
 articles of the higher grades, all of which are im- 
 ported direct from the manufacturers in Europe 
 and elsewhere and jjrocured Iiy personal selec- 
 tion, Mr. Smith visiting England and the Con- 
 tinent every year for that purpose, and to select 
 the later novelties in furnishing goods and 
 artistic bric-a-brac to be found in the markets of 
 the old world. 
 
 An idea of the character of the business trans- 
 acted by this house may be gained from the state- 
 ment that in addition to the legular trade of a fur- 
 nishing goods house, they deal in such articles as 
 house robes from Japan; candlesticks, vases, card 
 receivers, inkstands, smoker's sets, and thermome- 
 ters in bronze from Vienna; portfolios, jewel cas- 
 kets, work baskets, flower stands, stamp cases, 
 glove and handkerchief sachets, in silk and plush, 
 from Paris; besides an endless variety of dressing 
 cases, toilet sets, emljossed and hand painted fans, 
 card cases, robes, rugs, silk uml)rellas, walking 
 sticks, traveling bags, portmanteaus, and a thousand 
 other things of use and ornament. 
 
 Mr. Edwin J. Smitli, th senior member of the 
 firm is a native of Washington, Litchfield County, 
 Conn., born in 1844. He has resided in Hartford 
 for about nineteen years, fifteen of which have been 
 passed in his present business. During a portion 
 of the war of tlie Rebellion he was a Sergeant in 
 the Twentieth Connecticut Volunteers, and partici- 
 pated in tlie battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, 
 Lookout Mountain, Cassville or Fort Dallas, Peach 
 Creek, and Atlanta, and was with General Sherman 
 in his famous " !March to the Sea." He was at one 
 time a memlier of the City Council and at present 
 is Fire Marslial and Commissioner, an ottice lie has 
 lield for six years, and in which he has given entire 
 satisfaction to the people of Hartford. Mr. Smith 
 keeps up the memory of his military life by mem- 
 bership in the City Guard, and is Quaitermaster of 
 the Veterans of that organization. 
 
 Mr. Frank G. Wliite was l)orn in North Adams, 
 Mass., in 18.50, and has resided in Hartford since 
 boyhood. His education was acquired in the ))ub- 
 lic schools here, his graduation from the higli 
 school occurring in 1874. His business career 
 began in tlie old Bee Hive, where he was engaged 
 as clerk until its destrucdon by fire, after which he 
 entered the service of Genimill, Burnham & Co., 
 with whom he remained until he assumed a partner- 
 ship in his present business. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 199 
 
 The firm of Smith, Wliite & Co. bears a fiist- 
 class coinnieicial reputation and its individual mem- 
 bers stand liigh in tlie esteem of the public. 
 
 Seth lieldoii & Son (James S. Belden), Pro- 
 7)riet(>rs of the Bolton Flagging Stone Quarry at 
 Bolton, Tolland Co., Conn., office No. GO Coni- 
 raerce Street. — About the year ISoO, Jlr. Seth Bel- 
 den succeeded to the stone business of Mr. Apolus 
 Sn-eetland, who had l>een established for a number 
 of years, and wlio dealt principally in brown stone 
 for" building purposes. Tliis brancli of the busi- 
 ness was carried unl)y Mr. Belden until Is.jO, wlieii 
 the quarrying and sale of flagging for sidewalks 
 was begun, tliat gradually overshadowing the other 
 department of tlie trade, until at the present it has 
 become almost the exclusive specialty of the con- 
 cern. In IS.jG, Mr. .James S. Belden, son of the 
 founder of the house, was admitted to partnership, 
 and the firm has since Ijeen known by its jiresent 
 title. The quarry owned by tliis firm is situated at 
 Bolton, Conn., about si.xtecn miles from Hartford, 
 on the New York and New England Il.iilroad. Tlie 
 stone is largely admi.\ed witli mica, and is espe- 
 cially valualile for sidewalks. Tlie quarry is on a 
 ledge, whicli is in no place more than 200 feet 
 wide, and has been worked for a distance of lliree 
 miles. Its great depth — about eighty feet — renders 
 tlie employment of costl niacliinery an alisolute 
 necessity for extracting the rock, and most of the 
 work is accomplished fjy its aid. The first work- 
 ing of tliis ({Uarry dates back about seventy-five 
 years, during: whicli flagging has been shipped from 
 it to all jiarts of New England, and in a number of 
 cases as far south as New Orleans and Washington, 
 a portion of the flagging in front of the National 
 Capitol being composed of Bolton stone, as well as 
 all of the corridors in the Eastern Penitentiary in 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 The yards of tlie firm, at the corner of Commerce 
 and Potter streets, are 3.50 x 200 feet in size, and 
 there is a stock carried of aliout $10,000, wliile tlie 
 yearly volume of business reaches nearly four times 
 that sum. 
 
 Mr. Seth Belden was born in Middletowninl812, 
 and althougli he lias readied the age of seveniy 
 years is active in business, ile lias resided in Hart- 
 ford since l^iT, and has filled a prominent place in 
 her history, having l_ieen at various times a member 
 of the city government, a director in tlie Farmers' 
 and Meclianics' Bank, and United States Peusion 
 Agent under President Pien*. He is a practical 
 stone-cutter by trade, and has never followed auy 
 other business. 
 
 Mr. .James S. Belden is a native of Hartford ; 
 born on .July i"), 1840. His education was obtained 
 in the pul)lic schools here, and his business learned 
 with his father. He was a member of tlie ComiiKm 
 Council for three terms, 186(i, 1807, and 1808, and 
 is credited witli having served liis constituentswith 
 marked aliility and honesty. He is Secretary and 
 Treasurer of the Hartford Clement Tile Company, a 
 description of wliicli will be found elsewhere. 
 
 Tliis firm and its constituent members are re- 
 garded as thorougiily reliable. 
 
 Trunks, Bags, Furnishing Goods, etc.. No. 355 
 Main Street. — As far back as the year 1840 a 
 gentleman named Avery established him.self in 
 the liat and fur business in Hartford, and laid 
 the foundation of the 2'rosperous house whose 
 title forms the head-line of this article. In 1845 
 hi^ was succeeded by Messrs. Strong and Wood- 
 rutt', which firm continued for thirty-three years 
 and six months, terminating on Septembor 10, 
 1879, by the withdrawal of Mr. Strong, the en- 
 trance of Mr. James E. Woodrufi", and the adop- 
 tion of the present firm name. The business 
 done by this house embraces a trade in hats, 
 furs, trunks, bags, glo.ves, gentlemen's furnish- 
 ing goods, etc., a S2)ecialty being made of the 
 manufacture of fur garments, in which line the 
 house is among the largest in the State The 
 premises occupied are situated on the westerly 
 side of Main street, north of Asylum street, and 
 consist of a store and basement, eacdi 20x135 feet 
 in size. There are employed from twelve to 
 twenty hands in the various departments of 
 ma'iu'faetnre, while three or four salesmen attend 
 to the wants of the numerous customers. The 
 trade of the house extends to all parts of the 
 country, although the bulk of it is done in the 
 State of Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. Orriu D. Woodruff, the senior partner, 
 was born in Canton, Uonn., in 1820, and has 
 lived in Hartford since childhood. For forty- 
 uine years he has been in his present location, 
 eleven years as clerk and the remainder as pro- 
 prietor. The citizens of Hartford know him as 
 a thoroughly relialile business man and a worthy 
 member of the community. 
 
 Mr. James E. Woodrufi" is the son of the senior 
 member and has been a jiartuer in the house 
 alxmt three and one-half years. He is a native 
 of Hartford, Clonn. ; born in 1844. Like his 
 father, he has resided here almost his entire 
 life, and for fifteen years was engaged in the 
 dry-goods business with the firm of C. S.Weath- 
 erby &, Co., for whom he acted as manager during 
 the'last three years of his service. He liears a 
 tirst-class business reijutation and is universally 
 esteemed. 
 
 O. 1>. AVcMxlniflf & Co. (O. D. and J. E. 
 
 Woodrufi'i, Hatters, Furriers and dealers in 
 
 Charles King, dealer in Stoves, Furnaces, 
 Ranges, Hollow and Tin Ware, Nos. 407 and 499 
 Main Street. — The establishment of the large stove 
 and tinware business, now carried on by Mr. Charles 
 King at Nos. 497 and 499 Main street, dates back 
 to about forty-five years ago, when Mr. William J. 
 Pliillips started in a smaller way in a store located 
 on Main street, some distance south of the quarters 
 now occupied. The Inisiness remained in its orig- 
 inal location until fourteen yeais ago, when it was 
 removed to the more commodious preniisisin which 
 it is now carried on. In February, 1872. Mr. King 
 purchased tlie stock and good-will of the business, 
 and has conducted it up to the present with unvary- 
 ing success. The store is 26 by 125 feet in size and 
 contains a very largo and complete stock of stoves, 
 furnaces, ranges, hollow and tin ware, etc., and is 
 the headquarters in Hartford of the celebrated 
 " Good News " range, the Argand base burner and 
 the Burtis furnace, all of which are the specialties 
 of the house. In the rear of the store is a three- 
 story brick building where is stored the surplus 
 
200 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 stock and where is manufactured the tinware neces- 
 sary for the jobbing and retail trade carried on. 
 An average of seventeen liands are employed, the 
 number varying with the season. The annual trade 
 amounts to about $30,000, for the prosecution of 
 which a stock of Si 0,000 worth of goods is car- 
 ried. A branch house at Unionville, under the 
 management of Mr. H. K. Vosburgb as agent, dis- 
 poses of goods amounting to nearly $10,000 in 
 value, annually. 
 
 Mr. King was born in Chicopee, Mass., in 1825, 
 removing to Hartford when he was but seven years 
 of age, and residing here continually ever since. 
 His education was acquired in the public schools, 
 and at the age of fifteen years he entered the service 
 of T. Smitliifc Co. — now Smith, Bourn & Co. — the 
 well-known manufacturers of saddlery and harness, 
 with whom he remained as clerk and partner for a 
 period of thirty-three years. Mr. King is active in 
 churcli and charitable matters, liaving been a deacon 
 in the Windsor Avenue Congregational Church 
 since its formation, and is generally regarded as 
 one of Hartford's best citizens. 
 
 The illustration of the works of this company, 
 whicli will be found on page 160, shows them 
 as seen from the cars of the N. Y., N. H. it H. and 
 the N. Y. & N. E. Railroads on the opposite side 
 of the river. The Weed Sewing Machine Company 
 is one of which Hartford boasts as one of the 
 chief industries of the city. 
 
 The "Weed Sewiiigf Maehiiie Co., Capitol 
 Avenue, west of Broad Street. — The second largest 
 manufacturing establishment in Hartford, in 
 amount of capital, men employed and volume of 
 business done, is The Weed Sewing Machine Co., 
 the illustration of which adorn these pages. The 
 capital is $(500,000, all paid in. 
 
 The first jjlant was in the rear of the old Post- 
 office on Main street, corner Grove. This was in 
 18G7, the year the company was incorporated, and 
 the first president was Mr. John S. Niles. 
 
 Outgrowing the old location, they moved into 
 a portion of the works of Messrs. Pratt it Whitney, 
 and in 1871, having Ijought the plant of theSharp's 
 Rifle Co., they removed to their present location, 
 which is a pleasant walk of about tea minutes from 
 the Union Station, or five minutes from the State 
 Capitol, which is on the same avenue. 
 
 The fame of the Weed Sewing Machine Co. has 
 been pushed to every part of the civilized world by 
 its productions. The name Weed is a household 
 word in America, known in connection with sew- 
 ing machines. The latest and most perfect speci- 
 men of a sewing machine produced by them is 
 '■The Hartford," named in honor of the city. 
 It is a machine designed for family use and 
 for light manufacturing. On this machine 
 ball-bearings are used, for the first time in 
 sewing machines, the patent for which is the 
 sole property of this company. They also ])ro- 
 duce a machine for manufacturing called the Gen- 
 eral Favorite, or " G. F." Machine, turning out, of 
 both models, about 100 per day. The production 
 of sewing machines, is only a part of their busi- 
 ness. They manufacture all the celebrated Colum- 
 bia bicycles and tricycles, the leading article 
 of the kind, in the United States, forgings 
 for agricultural implements and steam machin- 
 ery, as well as a number of other sewing 
 machines for companies not having works of their 
 own, the McKay twin needle machine and others. 
 Some idea of the size and capacity of these works 
 is shown in the fact tliat their floor room covers five 
 acres, and the motive power is supplied by a 350- 
 horse power engine. 
 
 P. Fay, Marble and Granite Worker, No. 8 
 Maple Avenue.— One of the most enterprising mar- 
 ble and granite-working establishments in Hartford 
 is that of Mr. P. Fay, which was inaugurated at 
 its present location, No. 8 Maple avenue, in the 
 year 1879. 
 
 The salesroom, which is stocked with a number 
 of very artistic and expensive mantels, ornamented 
 with mirrors, tile, etc. , is triangular in shape and 
 40.\00 feet, fronting on two streets. Adjoining this 
 is the office, while in the rear is a storeroom and 
 workshop where from eight to ten peoijle are kept 
 busy in manipulating granite and marble into mon- 
 uments, headstones, tablets, marble and slate man- 
 tels, grates, fenders, plumbers' slabs, cabinet slabs, 
 etc., etc. He also deals in encaustic tiles for floors, 
 and art tiles of all kinds, together with a full line 
 of granite monuments, tablets and headstones. He 
 also furnishes estimates for all kinds of foreign and 
 domestic granite and does a business of about 
 $15,000 per annum. 
 
 5Ir. Fay is a native of New York City, born in 
 1839, and has been identified with Hartford since 
 1877. On the Ijreaking out of the war he enlisted 
 in the Fifth New York Artillery, in which he bore 
 the colors of that famous fighting organization for 
 six months, an act which gained him the slKmlder- 
 straps of a First Lieutenant. With his command 
 he was iu the hard-fought battles of Winchester, 
 Gettysburg, the two engagements at Harpers' Ferry, 
 and Cedar Creek, in the latter engagement of which 
 he was captured and taken toLibby Prison, where, 
 through the influence of a Confederate lady to 
 whom he had extended a great favor when she was 
 within the Union lines, he was saved from going to 
 Andersonville, from which place he probably 
 would never have returned alive. 
 
 Mr. Fay has, during his residence in Hartford, 
 made a name and a place for himself in social ami 
 business circles. He is Commander of the Nathan- 
 iel Lyon Post 2, G. A. R., Department of Connec- 
 ticut, in which organization he takes great interest. 
 He is known as a reliable and persevering business 
 man. 
 
 H. E. Patten, Dye Works, Carpet Beating 
 and Cleaning Establishment, No. 37 Wells Street. 
 — Among the various trades that go to make up 
 the great and ever-increasing comfort of our ad- 
 vanced civilization, there are many deserving 
 the praise of the lover of ease and cleanliness, 
 and first among them is that which, without 
 trouble to or jjersonal attention from the owner, 
 takes his half-worn clothing, gloves, feathers, 
 carpets, etc., and in a wonderfully short space 
 of time and with marvelous completeness, re- 
 stores them to almost their jjristine brightness, 
 or adds to them other and more jjleasing hues. 
 Chief among these promoters of household hap- 
 piness is Mr. Henry E. Patten, the successor to 
 a business established in 1825 by Messrs. T. & J. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTWUr. 
 
 201 
 
 S. Parker, ami sold l).v tliem to Mr. George Gil- 
 bert, by him to Mr. George Smith, and by his 
 e.state, iu 1.S73, to the ])resent proprietor, who 
 started <>u May 1, IH,'),'), as a workman in the 
 establishmmit he now owns. The premises iu 
 which tlie i>perations of this extensive bnsiness 
 are oondueted are located on the sonth side of 
 Wells street. No. 37, below Main street, and con- 
 .sist of fonr floors, in addition to a large dye- 
 house situated iu tlie rear of the main building. 
 The .structure lias a frontage on Wells street of 
 forty-live feet, and runs back to the Park Kiver, 
 a ilistance of seventy-five feet, the rear portion 
 of the building being almost twice the width of 
 the Wells .street front. A large engine of twenty- 
 flve horse ])ower, and a boiler of like capacity, 
 furnish i)Ower and steam for the diflerent ma- 
 chines and processes used in the business, the 
 number of skilled workmen varying from twelve 
 to twenty-tive, according to the season. This 
 establishment is by far the largest of its kind in 
 Hartford, and, with perhaps one exception, the 
 largest in the State. The building, as well as 
 the one adjoining it on the east, is the jiroperty 
 of Mr. Patten, both being among the most valua- 
 ble business property in the city, and iu a loca- 
 tion where the enhancement of values is rapid 
 and steady. The building not occupied by Mr. 
 Patten is rented for model and machine shops, 
 brass foundries, etc., and presents a scene of 
 nnusual manufacturing industry. 
 
 The business done by Mr. Patten embraces a 
 wide range and includes the dyeing, cleaning 
 and repairing gloves, flannel, blankets, feathers, 
 table and piano spreads, woolen goods of all 
 descriiitions, silks in all colors, and other articles 
 too numerous to mention. Gentlemen's gar- 
 ments are cleaned or dyed and repaired without 
 riijjiing, while feather beds, pillows and bolsters 
 are renovated liy a process peculiar to the estab- 
 lishment. Perhaps the most extensive branch 
 of the business is the cleaning of carjjets by a 
 machine designed by Mr. Patten, and a process 
 inown as the "wet process," liy means of which 
 the original colors ai'e restored in all their 
 brightness, and all dirt, moths, etc., effectually 
 removed. Besides these machines there are two 
 others of approved ])atterns for the ordinary 
 work of beating carjiets, both of which, as well 
 as the one tirst mentioned, are in constant opera- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Patten is a native of Stafford, Tolland 
 County, Conn., and was born in 1835. Up to his 
 twentieth year he was engaged iu the usual pur- 
 suits and pastimes of boyhood and youth, a 
 great portion of the time being spent in acquir- 
 ing an education, which he did at academies in 
 Wilbraham, Mass., and Westfield, Conn. On 
 May 1, 1H55, he came to Hartford and imme- 
 diately entered, as workman, the business that 
 in later years brought him to his ])resent ele- 
 vated position iu the world of trade, and won 
 for him the comfortable income he now enjoys. 
 Mr. Patten is a notable member of the company of 
 self-made men of New England, and deservedly 
 enjoys the hearty esteem of his fellow citizens. 
 
 T. Sissoii & Co., Wholesale Druggists, No. 
 259 Main Street. — One of the oldest, largest and 
 
 most extensive wholesale drug liouses in the State 
 of Connecticut is that of Messrs. T. Sisson & Co., 
 located at No. 2.5!) JIain street. Tlie foundation of 
 the liusiness dates Ijack to 1S'.>2, when Messrs. Lee 
 it Butler kept a drug store just north of the old 
 stone luidge on Main street, removing to the 
 present location iu 1836. 
 
 For over thirty years the firm remained as it was 
 in 1833. In 1S5.5, the innovation of a new member 
 was added, and the name made Messrs. Lee, Butler 
 & Co. Three years later, in 1858, the firm became 
 Messrs. Lee, Sisson & Co., in 186.5, Messrs. Sisson 
 & Butler, and in 1H81, Messrs. T. Sisson & Co., the 
 ])resent proprietors. 
 
 The Ijusiness stand, which lias been a landmark 
 on the business tlioroughfare of Hartford for forty- 
 seven years, is four stories in height, 30 x 60 feet in 
 sizl^ witli an L. 
 
 Tlie stock carried is, of necessity, very large, as 
 thi'ir trade extends tUrougliout the State, and to 
 many points in New England. In addition to 
 drugs, they carry a large stock of patent medicines, 
 paints, oils, glass, and manufacturers' supplies. 
 Twelve assistants, l)esides tlie memljers of the firm, 
 are necessary for tlie i^rosecution of the business, 
 which is very large and extended. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Sisson, the senior member, is a 
 native of West Hartford, CVmn., and fifty-four 
 years of age. He has been a clerk and proprietor 
 in tliis house for forty-one years, learning the drug 
 business wit!i it. He is closely identified with the 
 l)enevolent and financial institutions of Hartford, 
 l)eing Tieasurer of the Retreat for the Insane, 
 director in tlie Connecticut JIutual Life Insurance 
 Compauy, Hartford County Mutual Fire Insurance 
 Company, First National Bank and Dime Savings 
 Biuk. From a boy he has won his way to being 
 tlie head of one of the largest drug houses of the 
 State, and is generally noted for his financial suc- 
 C'ssand his many deeds of charity and benevolence. 
 
 Mr. Geo. P. Chandler, the next member of the 
 firm, is a native of Saxton's River, Vermont ; born 
 in 1814. He learned his business in Greenfield, 
 Mitss., and has been in Hartford since 1865, and a ■ 
 member of the firm of Messrs. T. Sisstm & Co. 
 since 1871, which is a sufficient guarantee of his 
 social and financial standing. 
 
 Mr. Fred. II. C'hapiu, the junior member, is a 
 native of Lafayette, Indiana, but from boyhood 
 li IS been a resilient of this city, where he was edu- 
 c.ited at the Grammar and High schools. He is 
 thirty years of age, and for fourteen years has been 
 connected with tlie house, and since 1881 as one of 
 the proprietors. He is also a special student in 
 a-itronomy, and, in counection with Mr. C. P. 
 Howard, of the firm of J. L. Howard it Co., has a 
 very fine observatory and telescope for use in this 
 study. 
 
 Tile wholesale drug house of Messrs. T. Sisson 
 & Co. is a representative one, well-known, long- 
 established, and is one of the few which has ])ur- 
 siied the even tenor of its way for so many years 
 and preserved its financial standing untarnished, 
 adding, in the meantime, to its magnitude and 
 capacity. 
 
 I>wiglit Slate, Builder and Designer of Ma- 
 chinery, No. 262 Main Street— In the year 1835, 
 Mr. Slate commenced the manufacture of ma- 
 
202 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 chinery in Stafford, Connecticut. After an ex- 
 perience of ten years, be moved, in 1845, to 
 Windsor Locks, where he became the senior 
 member of the firm of Slate & Brown, manufac- 
 turers of cotton and other machinery. 
 
 It was at this time that the Mexican war was 
 in progress, and Colonel Sam. Colthad a contract 
 with the United States Government to furnish 
 one thousand of his revolvers, the barrels and 
 cylinders of which were made by Slate k 
 Brown, and used by Colonel Walker'.s regiment 
 in Mexico. This was the first thousand pistols 
 of Colt's patent used by the Government, and 
 was the pioneer of many which followed. 
 
 During the business career of Slate & Brown 
 at Windsor Locks they acquired an extended 
 reputation for the manufacture of cotton ma- 
 chinery, counting among their patrons, the Pal- 
 pier Company, Thorndike Company, Otis Com- 
 pany, Cordis Company, and other large estab- 
 lishments. They furnished, in 1845, the ma- 
 chinery for two mills belonging to the Otis 
 Company, Ware, Mass. 
 
 In 1850, on account of ill health, Mr. Slate 
 Bold out his interest to Mr. Brown and removed 
 to Augusta, Ga. , where he, through the in- 
 ducements of Mr. Wm. M. De Antignac, Presi- 
 dent of the Augusta Manufacturing Comjiany, 
 took the management of the Augusta Machine 
 Works, which turned out freight and jmssenger 
 cars and saw mills. Mr. Slate while there turned 
 out the heavy castings for No. 2 cotton mill of 
 the Augusta Manufacturing Company, and was 
 consulting mechanic in the purchase of the 
 machinery for the same, saving the company not 
 less than $100,000 by having it pui-chased in New 
 England instead of being made in Augusta. The 
 wise advice of Mr. Slate has been recognized 
 by memViers of that eomiiany in more ways 
 than one since that time. Blost, if not all, of 
 the cars for the several railroads in the vicinity 
 of Augusta were made at the Augusta Machine 
 Works. Those of good credit began to make 
 their own after a time, while those of poor credit 
 continued as customers, which crijjpled the 
 finances of the company, and Mr. Slate withdrew, 
 and purchased a tract of land bordering on the 
 Ohoope Eiver, in the southern part of the State, 
 and embarked in the lumber business. His near 
 neighbor in the same business was Mr. Harmon 
 Rowley, a native of this State, but now one of 
 the richest men in Augusta, Ga. Selling his 
 interest in Georgia, Mr. Slate returned to Con- 
 necticut, and during the war was a contractor at 
 Colt's armory in this city. In 1866 he was a 
 designer of machinery at the Pratt and Whitney 
 Company, in Hartford, remaining there as such 
 till 1872, when he embarked in business again as 
 a designer of machinery, producing designs for 
 the National Screw Company, American Paper 
 Barrel Company, National Stove Company, and 
 others. 
 
 His present establishment embraces one entire 
 floor of a large building, situated in the business 
 centre, and about thirty-five men are constantly 
 employed. The business done aggregates about 
 845,000 per annum. 
 
 The machinery turned out at this establish- 
 ment is of most every kind, a specialty being 
 
 made of machinist's tools, aipright drills, milling 
 machines, marking machines, grinding machines, 
 etc., most, if not all, being of his own design 
 and invention. 
 
 One of his machines is called a Sensitive Drill, 
 adapted for drilling three-eighth inch holes and 
 under. He claims that there is nothing in the mar- 
 ket like it, and that it will break less drills and 
 drill faster tlian any drill-press made. A number 
 of jirominent manufacturers in New England and 
 the West are using this drill with entire satisfaction. 
 
 Slate's ComlMnation Grinding machine, is another 
 invention of his. It is adapted for sharpening, by 
 grinding, long-shanked, spiral, straight-toothed 
 and taper reamers; milling machine cutters with 
 spiral, straight, beveled, radical or disc teeth. It 
 is in great demand for its accuracy, rapidity and 
 general handiness. 
 
 Slate's Patent Cutting-off Tool is another design 
 of his. The material and workmanship of all of 
 his work is of the best and possess t!ie qualities of 
 accuracy, rapidity and durability. The machines 
 and tools designed and manufactured liy Mr. Slate 
 are found in stock at the macliinerv depots of E. 
 P. Bullard, No. 14 Dey Street, New" York ; W. A. 
 Davis, No. 134 Pearl Street, Boston, Mass.; Hill, 
 Clarke &, Co., No. 36 Oliver Street, Boston, Mass.; 
 Warden & Hincklev, No. 14 South Canal Street, 
 Chicago; W. A. James, No. 275 South Canal 
 Street, Chicago, Ills. ; J. H. Kerrick & Co., Minne- 
 apolis, Minn. ; Bowman Machine Company, St. 
 Louis, Mil. ; Waruer & Swasey, Cleveland, Ohio. 
 
 In 1871 Mr. Slate invented a water heater for 
 steam, boilers which is said to be tlie best made, 
 brings the highest price, and is sold all over the 
 world. He is also the originator of an Automatic 
 Screw Machine tliat points one hundred screws per 
 minute, a numljer of which are now in progress to 
 fill an order recently received. 
 
 An Automatic Gear Cutting Machine and a Taper 
 attachment for a Lathe are also his designs. 
 
 The number of his designs and inventions, the 
 value placed upon tliem by those using and con- 
 trolling them, the manufacturing establishment of 
 his own of no mean proportions, all contribute to 
 his well-won reputation as an originator and skill- 
 ful designer. 
 
 Mr. Slate is a native of Gill, Franklin Co. Mass., 
 and .sixty-six years of age. He left his native town 
 when a youth of sixteen, and has lieen identified 
 witli Connecticut most of the time since. His first 
 venture in the business world was at the age of 
 nineteen, since which time he has been an active 
 worker, designing, inventing and manufacturing 
 machinery. Mr. Slate is liy nature an originator and 
 a thorough machinist. Tlie products of his ideas 
 and designs have made several men and one or more 
 incorporated companies rich. He takes much inter- 
 est in the industries of his native State and is di- 
 rector and consulting engineer for the E. llorton & 
 Son Cliuck Co., of Windsor Locks. 
 
 The productions of his establisliment are exported 
 to England, France, Germany and Belgium, where 
 his name is well known. 
 
 Prof. Noah Cressy, M.D., V. S., Ph. D., 
 
 Veterinary Surgeon, No. 36 State Street. — In no 
 department of physical science is there to be found 
 more of pretense and chicanery than in the practice 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF VONNECTIGUT. 
 
 203 
 
 of the majority of the self-styled veterinary sur- 
 geons, and it is, tlierefore, a grateful task to rerord 
 tlie liistory nf an lionoraljle exception to the rule. 
 
 Noali C'ressy, is a native of Kowe, Mass., and is 
 aljout forty-four years of age. i lis earlier educa- 
 tion was olitainetl at Shelhourne Falls Academy 
 and tlie University of Vermont. He graduated 
 from tlie Berksliire Medical College, from wliich 
 institution lie liolds tlie degree of Doctor of Medi- 
 cine. After lii.s graduation lie attended a numlicr 
 of terms as a student of comparative anatomy in 
 tlie scicntiHc department of Harvard College, going 
 tlience to tlie Montreal Veterinary College, where 
 he obtained his V. S. degree. Dr. Cressy practiced 
 medicine for ten years, before he decided to confine 
 liimself to the veterinary brancli of the science and 
 won for himself an enviable reputation as a practi- 
 tioner. 
 
 As a professor of veterinary science at the State 
 Agricultural College at Amherst, Mass. , the doctor 
 especially distinguislied himself, and as a lecturer 
 throughout New England did much to educate tlie 
 ' masses to a knowledge of the needs and projier 
 treatment of animals. So maiked was his success 
 that the University of Vermont took public recog- 
 nition of it by conferring upon him the degree of 
 Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.). Besides these titles 
 and distinctions, the doctor enjoys the further dis- 
 tinction of having been the first State veterinary 
 surgeon ever appointed, that event occurring in 
 1872, when Governor Marshall Jewell, of Connec- 
 ticut, addressed to him the following: "Dr. Noah 
 Cressy, State Veterinary Surgeon. Dear Sir: — In 
 view of the prevalence of the epizootic among 
 horses, and the general want of knowledge among 
 our people, and also in view of your past experi- 
 ence as a veterinary surgeon, and your recent vitit 
 to New York and examination of the disease as it 
 there appeared, I hereby authorize and direct you 
 to visit the principal places in this State where the 
 disease has broken out and give sucli advice nnd 
 a.ssistance as the exigencies of the case may require, 
 giving such previous notice of your visits as cir- 
 cumstances may permit." 
 
 The comiiumicatioii was acted on, and it is ad- 
 mitted on all sides that the doctor's labors in this 
 connection were productive of great good to the 
 jwojile and of much popularity to the governor. 
 The consequent expenses were allowed by the Leg- 
 islature, without dissent, and it is believed that 
 Governor .Jewell was largely indebted for his re- 
 election to the favorable sentiment created among 
 the agricultural portion of the community by his 
 liberal action as regards the services of Dr. Cressy 
 and the benefit derived from that gentleman's teach- 
 ings. 
 
 Dr. Cressy has been established in Hartford since 
 1880. and in a comparatively short space of time 
 lias formed a connection in his profession unex- 
 celled by any practitioner elsewhere and far greater 
 than tliat of any of his immediate neiglibors. He 
 is the owner of the finest collection of works on 
 veterinary science to be found in America, besides 
 one of the very few complete sets of the " Veteri- 
 narian'' on this side of the Atlantic. In addition to 
 attending to the duties of his profession, the doc- 
 tor finds time to till the editorial chair of the Hy- 
 gienic and Veterinary Department of the " National 
 Live Stock Journal," imblished in Chicago, a posi- 
 
 tion to which he was appointed in July, 1882, and 
 thus pleasantly introduced : 
 
 ■' Wi! take much pleasure in being able to an- 
 nounce that we have made arrangements with 
 Prof. Noah Cressy, M.D., V.S., Ph.D., of Hart- 
 ford, Conn., to edit the 'Hygienic and Veteri- 
 nary Deinirtment ' of Tin; Jounial. Dr. Cressy is 
 well known as a talented and interesting writer 
 on veterinary matters, and an able practitioner. 
 His lectures and addre.sses have frequently been 
 published in pamjddet form, and have attracted 
 a great deal of attention. It was with lii.s advice 
 and assistance, as State Veterinarian for (Con- 
 necticut, that the commission ajjpoiiited to stamp 
 out pleuro-jmeumonia iu that State ijerformed 
 such thorough work." 
 
 Iu a later issue Tlie Journal .says : 
 
 We have been much gratified by the flattering 
 notices, in our New England exchanges, of Dr. 
 Noah Cressy 's engagement as editor of the 
 "Veterinary" deijartment. Prominent men 
 in the East have also written ns iu very com- 
 plimentary terms of his abilities, Ijoth as a writer 
 and practitioner. 
 
 Dr. Cressy, ten years ago, took an advanced 
 position among professional men, on the subject 
 of exjjerimeutal i-eseareh on the nature and pre- 
 veutiou of diseases among animals, and has 
 since then persistently urged the imiJortance of 
 tliis on j)ublic institutions of learning. In view 
 of this, he has reason to feel jiroud of the com- 
 pliment paid him at the agricultural college of 
 his native State, Massachusetts, where he has 
 been professor of veterinary science, by the es- 
 tablishment of an experimental station, and the 
 adoj)tiou of the very means he has advocated so 
 long. We shall exiject to hear of good results 
 from these inve.stigations. 
 
 From all the evidences at hand it is safe to 
 venture the assertion that Dr. Cressy stands in 
 the very front rank of his profession, and that 
 he is far in advance of the majority. In Hart- 
 ford, as elsewliere, he is regarded as a cultivated 
 scholar, an honorable gentlemen, and a desirable 
 accession to the ranks of professional men. 
 
 W. H. Po.st & Co., Household Art, Artistic 
 House Furnishing, Carpets, Paper Hangings, Cur- 
 tains, etc., No3. 428 and 430 Main Street.— Statis- 
 tics show that the City of Hartford is the richest 
 according to size in the Union. Her citizens for 
 some years have disputed with those of Providence 
 Rhode Island, on this point, but the United States 
 Census of 1880settled it in favor of this the Capitol 
 City. The stranger within her gates is impressed 
 with the evidences on every hand of wealth, culture, 
 education and refinement. 
 
 It is no wonder, then, that in such a city there 
 slumld be a demand for household art decorations 
 and artistic furnishing, which has been recognized 
 and supplied by Messrs. W. H. Post & Co., who 
 formed a partnership and commenced business in 
 April, 1881. It is too much the ambition of a cer- 
 tain chiss of dealers to provide the cheapest article 
 instead of tlie best at the lowest possible price, and 
 it is always a great satisfaction to make note of any 
 establishment whose ])rojectors' aim is to revolution- 
 ize this practice, and, instead, give a " quid pro 
 quo " for the patronage they invite and receive. 
 
'20i 
 
 THE niSTORlCAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 The intelligence of (he customers of Messrs. "W. 
 H. Post & Co. will permit notliing else. The homes 
 of the best families of Hartford and of the State 
 show this in the quiet and sul)stantial elegance of 
 their furnishings and the dignified appearance of 
 ilieir surroundings. Such a policy, the best in all 
 ■departments, is especially to be commended in the 
 manufacture and sale of anything that so directly 
 concerns our happiness, for the lu.vuries of the last 
 generation are now the necessities of this. 
 
 More than twenty-five years ago, ilr. W. H. 
 Post went into partnership with Mr. C. O. Talcott 
 for the prosecution of the dry-goods, carpet and 
 paper hanging business, under the firm name of 
 Talcott & Post. Their business was very success- 
 ful and their sales increased from year to year, un- 
 til Aprd, 1881, when they found it necessary to 
 liave more room, and they decided to separte their 
 ■departments. Mr. Post liad for some years devoted 
 himself principally to the carpet and house furnish- 
 ing department, so that this seemed to be his favor- 
 able opportunity to devote himself entirely to his 
 favorite specialty, and the result was the formation 
 of the new partnership of Wm. H. Post & Co. 
 Mr. E. S. Ycrgason, who for twenty-two years had 
 •been in the employ of the old firm was admitted as 
 junior partner. The spacious store Nos. 428 and 
 430 Main street, owned by Mr. Post and his former 
 partner, is one of the most desirable locations for 
 ■such a business in the city. The stores are fitted up 
 in a most elegant manner, everything being in uni- 
 son with the object of their business. Expensive 
 plate-glass windows adorn the front.affor ding a flood 
 of light so essential to persons selecting those deli- 
 cate shades of color belonging to the more expen- 
 sive carpets curtains and art decorations, of wliich 
 a large stock is necessary to meet the demands of 
 their sjjecial class of customers. The proprietors 
 are aided by a corps of experienced salesmen 
 selected especially to cater to the demands of their 
 trade. It is too often the case that one gi-avitates 
 to our larger cities for large stocks to select 
 from, but this house has such an extensive follow- 
 ing that everything found in New York or Boston 
 tan be duplicated here. The novelties of Paris, 
 London and Vienna are drawn upon by tlie agents 
 of this firm, that their customers may know at once 
 the prevailing artistic furnishings in the old world 
 as well as in this. In short, no effort which a life- 
 long experience can suggest is spared to produce 
 Jiousehold art in all its phases, to the entire satis- 
 faction of all interested. 
 
 No house in the State carries a larger stock of 
 household art goods, ranks higher in an artistic 
 point of view, or has a more extensive trade than 
 W. H. Post & Co. 
 
 Mr. W. H. Post, as above recorded, was a mem- 
 ber of the firm of Talcott & Post for many years, 
 during which time he earned the reputation of a pro- 
 gressive and substantial business man, a well-earned 
 reputation he still preserves with every evidence of 
 even yet attaining a higher rank, if possible, in 
 the estimation of the people. He is a native of the 
 State, l>y birth and education, and a product of the 
 educational system of Connecticut for which it has 
 been so long famous. Born in Hebron., Conn., 
 April 1. 1834, he came to Hartford in 1850, where 
 Le lias since resided. 
 
 The junior msmbsr of the firm, Mr. E. S. Yer- 
 gason, was born in Windham, Conn., September 
 10, 1840, and is also a graduate from the public 
 schools of the State. His training has been in keep- 
 ing with his chosen pursuit and in consonance with 
 his artistic instincts, which contribute in a great 
 degree to the success of the liouse of which he is a 
 member. 
 
 He served his country as a member of the Twenty- 
 second Connecticut Volunteer Infantry and partici- 
 jiated in all the battles and followed the flag of 
 that famous historic organizntion through victory 
 and defeat, and was present at the final grand 
 review of the armies at Washington. 
 
 The business of the house amounts to half a mil- 
 lion dollars annually. Finally, this estal)lishment 
 is a representative one, found only in such cities as 
 Hartford, and reflects great credit upon the artistic 
 tastes of the proprietors, who rank high among the 
 most successful and substantial business men in this 
 section of the State. 
 
 Dwiglit H. Biiell, Fine Watches, Diamonds 
 and Jewelry, No. 823 Main Street. — In 1851, the 
 subject of this sketch, then a lad ju.st entering his 
 teens, began his business life in the service of Mr. 
 Thomas Steele, with whom he learned the watch- 
 making and jewelry trade, and all tlie other details 
 necessary to the conduct of such an establishment 
 as the one which now owns him as head. At the 
 early age of twenty-one years Mr. Buell became a 
 partner with Mr. Steele, remaining such for about 
 nine years. In 1807, Mr. Buell left the old house, 
 and, associating himself witli Mr. Charles J. Wood, 
 established the firm of D. H. Buell & Co., occupy- 
 ing the premises where he is at present located. 
 After a short term of partnership, tlie firm dis- 
 solved, Mr. Wood withdrawing and Mr. Buell con- 
 tinuing the business in his own name up to the 
 present. The store occupied by Mr. Buell is one of 
 the most eligibly located in the city, it being on 
 the westerly side of Main street, about four doors 
 north from Asylum street, and within a very short 
 distance of the Post-otlice, City Hall, banks, insur- 
 ance offices, and other institutions, and in the very 
 centre of the trading district. It is jirovided with 
 a very elegant |)late-glass front, while its interior 
 is fitted up in the most tasteful and expensive man- 
 ner. Six assistants are employed in the various de- 
 partments of tlie business, which, although general 
 in the jewelry line, is especially large in the special- 
 ties of fine watches and diamonds, large quantities 
 of those articles being annually sold over an area of 
 territory embracing many distant points. In the 
 matter of watches, Mr. Buell has a reputation sec- 
 ond to no dealer in the country, his custom being 
 to keep and sell the finer descriptions, such as the 
 Waltliamand the Vacheron & Constantin, the latter 
 being from the c»Iebrated Swiss firm of that name, 
 and for whom Mr. Buell is the agent. Besides 
 these, there is a very large stock of other makes of 
 watches, jewelry, silver and plated ware and 
 bronzes, besides an unusually large and varied as- 
 sortment of diamonds and other precious stones, 
 s'3leeted with care and by the aid of a long experi- 
 ence. In short, it is probable that the stock carried 
 by Mr. Buell embraces a larger variety of fine goods 
 than can be found elsewhere in the city. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 205- 
 
 Mr. Biiell is a native of Litclifield, Conn., where 
 he lived nntil lie was seven years of age, removing 
 tlience to Watertown, where he spent eight years, 
 from there coming to Hartford to leani his trade. 
 He is regarded as an energetic and successful liusi- 
 ness man, his claim to the title l)eing proven by the 
 fact that his first year's business in his present loca- 
 tion amounted to over $100,000. Mr. Buell is held 
 in high esteem by his fellow-citizens, having been 
 on more than one occasion solicited to accept oftice, 
 an honor he invariably declined, that his entire 
 time miglit Ije devoted to l)is business. 
 
 Charles T. Stuart, Photographist, No. 27.5 
 Main Street. — The t'ity of Hartford is in many 
 respects fortunate, possessing as it does more of 
 wealth, culture, and refinement than any other city of 
 like size in the country. Not tlie least of its advan- 
 tages lies in the fact that in the person of the gen- 
 tleman whose name heads this sketch, there is 
 within its borders the most skillful and enterpris- 
 ing i)liotographic artist in the State, and one who 
 has no superior in the world. The gallery in which 
 Mr. Stuart produces those gems of art wliich have 
 made him famous, was established aliout twenty- 
 six years ago by Mr. S. i). Waite, wlio continued 
 it until May, 1880, wlien Mr. Stuart purchased it. 
 Tlie premises consists of two floors, each 30.\.50 
 feet in size, Ijesides a large room above the oper- 
 atmg-room where tlie printing of pictures is done. 
 On the lower of the two floors is an elegantly fur- 
 nished reception and show room and an apartment 
 devoted to the use of the retouchers and finishers. 
 Tlie operating room is on the floor above, and i.s 
 one of the most complete in its way to be found in 
 tlie United States. All the apparatus is of the 
 very highest style and cost, Mr. Stuart being of 
 the opinion that good work can only be made with 
 good tools. In tlie matter of furniture, scenery, 
 and otlier adjuncts to the jiroduction of first-class 
 pictures, the gallery is notable, tlicre being a more 
 tlian ordinary large assortment of these articles, so 
 large, indeed, that their cost has swelled the amount 
 of capital invested in the business to about 
 $12,000. In the year prior to Mr. Stuart's pur- 
 chase of the gallery, there was a liusiness amount- 
 ing to between seven and eight thousand dollars, 
 the largest ever done in Hartford up to that time. 
 Under Mr. Stuart's management, and as a result 
 of his skill, the business immediately took an up- 
 ward tendency, his first year producing in the 
 neighborhood of Sl.5,000, his second year adding 
 another 5>.i,000, and tlie present year promising 
 to swell the increase in still greater ratio. Like 
 Miles Standish, Mr. Stuart believes that "if 
 you want a thing well done, you must do it 
 yourself," and hence gives his personal attention 
 to the operating department, making all of 
 the sittings himself. The specialty of his business 
 is "the instantaneous process " with which he is 
 enabled to catch a pleasant expression and a natural 
 one, before the sitter becomes weary and uncon- 
 sciously assumes a rigid stare, as is often the case 
 with tlie old method. Children and animals are 
 thus brought witliin the scope of the camera with 
 as much certainty of good results as attends the 
 process of the adult human. While Mr. Stuart is 
 not alone in the application of this important dis- 
 
 covery, he is the only artist in tlie city who uses it 
 hal)itually, and tin only one who seems to be will- 
 ing to incur the extra expense and labor involved 
 in its U'Je. The "instantaneous process " can be 
 applied in a light where it wouUl be useless to at- 
 tempt to make a picture in the ordinary way, and 
 it is therefore a saving of time to sitters who would 
 otherwise be compelled to wait for favorable 
 weather. Not only in tlii.s respect is Mr. Stuart 
 alive to the necessities of his iirofession, but ia 
 every direction where improvements are suggested 
 he can be found experimenting and adopting the 
 Ix'ttL-r methods. An element of his success is- 
 u idoubtedly to be found in tlie fact that he entered 
 his profession from pure love of it, that sentiment 
 growing with his experience and giving him an 
 advantage only possessed by the true artist. In the 
 matter of elegant borders, double jiriiited pictures, 
 beautiful interiors, scenery, etc., Mr. .Stuart is far- 
 ahead of the majority of |>hotographers and is the 
 equal of any in the world. The business of this 
 gallery reciuires the services of ten assistants, who 
 are engaged in the different departments of print- 
 ing, re-touching and finishing. Thegreater portion 
 of the business is among the e'/Zu; of Hartford, 
 although there is a large country trade. 
 
 Mr. Stuart began the study of his profession 
 with Mr. C H. 'iVilliarason, the celebrated photo- 
 graphic artist of Brooklyn, N. Y., and continued il;^ 
 witli others eminent in the business. He practiced 
 for ten seasons among tlie fashionables at Long 
 Branch, for one season at Cape May, and for several 
 seasons made sittings at the U. S. Military Acad- 
 emy, West Point ; Vassar College, Poughkeepsie; 
 Princeton College, Princeton, N. .T.; and plioto- 
 graplied the classes of '70 and '80 at Yale, and the 
 classes of '80 and '81 at Trinity. Mr. Stuart is the 
 poss'jssorof an elegantly-engrossed testimonial from 
 Yale College, the only one of the kind ever issued 
 by that or any like institution of learning. It 
 reads as roUows : 
 
 "To Mr. Charles T. Stuart, Greeting:— In addi- 
 tion to the favorable testimonygiven by the picture 
 committee of 1879, we desire to give an e.xpressioa 
 of our approbation of the manner in which Mr. 
 Charles T. Stuart has performed his work as pho- 
 tograjjher of '80, and to cordially recommend him 
 as a skillful artist and a courteous gentleman. C. 
 W. Haines, .lay W. Seaver, W. H. Sherman; Pic- 
 ture Cniiimittec of Yale, '80." 
 
 In addition to this, Mp. Stuart has many other 
 testimonials to his skill, the most important among 
 wliicli, jjerhaps, are the hundreds of specimens of 
 his handiwork that adorn the walls of his gallery, 
 each a living and incontrovertilile proof that he 
 stands in the foremost phalanx of the great column 
 of photographers, and higli upon the list of the 
 few who can be called artists. 
 
 .T. K. Biirlow, Bookseller and Stationer, No. 
 2:i2 Asylum Street. — Among the numercms station- 
 ery and bookselling estalilishments in Hartford tliat 
 of Mr. .Josejih R. liarlow, at tlie aliove location, is 
 worthy of especial mention. A jile.asant anil com- 
 modicms store, eligibly located on the line of travel 
 from tlie railroad depot, and in easy distance from 
 the residi'uces of Hartford's best people, is one 
 of the chief factors of the success which attends 
 
206 
 
 rilK HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 this growing l)U^iness. Mr. Barlow establislied 
 liimself in his present quarters in 1875, and by 
 strict attention to tlie wants of the public, aided, 
 doubtless, by his large private connection with the 
 better people of the city, he has succeeded in build- 
 ing up a l)usiness of no mean proportions. Besides 
 dealing in goods that are strictly in the line of the 
 stationery and Ijook business. Mr. Barlow carries a 
 large stock of novelties, articles of vei-tii, etc., from 
 which selections can l)e made with jileasure and 
 proiit. One of the features of the business is a 
 circulating library, the extensive patronage of 
 which is indicative of the superior lit 'rary taste of 
 the people of Hartford. Tliis store is regarded as 
 the headquarters of the elite, most of its patrons 
 being of that class. Mr. Barlow is a native of 
 Massachussets, having been born in Boston in 1847. 
 He has resided in Hartford for twenty-six years, of 
 which period ten years and three months were spent 
 in the employ of Mr. Aliraham Rose. He is ])ar- 
 ticularly distinguished for his musical talents, and 
 has been organist of Trinity Church for aljout five 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Barlow is regarded by the business com- 
 munity as one of its most uprigiit memliers, and l>y 
 his customers and large circle of friends as a social 
 acquisition. 
 
 R. G. AVaterous & Co. (W. J. Benton). Hat- 
 ters; Furs, Robes, Trunks, Bags, etc.. No. 5 Asylum 
 Street. — This luisiness was established about seven- 
 teen years ago in Hartford, l)y Mr. Waterous, who 
 had been previously engaged in the same line for 
 many years at Bridgeport. The original location 
 was on the corner of Main and Asylum streets, 
 removal being had to the present location in 1877. 
 The store is 25 x 70 feet, with abasement of similar 
 dimensions, in both of which are contained large 
 stocks of hats, caps, ladies' furs, robes, blankets, 
 gloves, bags, trunks, etc., and where employment 
 is given to three salesmen, as well as to the neces- 
 sary bookkeepers, porters, etc. Tlie trade of the 
 house is largely retail, l)ut extends outside of Hart- 
 ford, the name of " Waterous the Hatter" being 
 well known throughout the State for fair dealing. 
 
 Mr. Richard G. Waterous is a native of Albany, 
 N. Y., about fifty-six years of age, and lias been 
 long and favorably known as one of Connecticut's 
 most enterprising business men. 
 
 Mr. W. J. Benton was born in Hartford in 1850, 
 and has been in his jiresent lousiness since early 
 jnanhood, and is regarded as a rising man. 
 
 H. B. Beach & Son (H. L. Beach). Boiler 
 "Works. i\Ianufacturers of Marine and Stationary 
 Boilers, Plate and Sheet Iron of every Description 
 and Design, No. 135 Grove Street. — The firm of 
 Messrs. H. B. Beach & Son are the legitimate out- 
 growtli and successors to a long line of ancestors, 
 all more or less prominently identified witli the 
 manufacturing industries of Connecticut, Ohio, 
 New York and New England. Going back to 
 1755, we read that Colonel Benjamin Hanks was 
 l)orn in September, 1755, at Slansfield, Conn., and 
 that he in 1778 establislied liimselC in the clock 
 and watch business at Litchfield, Conn. In 1785 
 lie returned to his native town and established a 
 foundry for bells and brass cannon. He died in 
 
 1820 at West Troy. N. Y., where lie had, in 1808, 
 established his third son Julius in the same busi- 
 ness. Julius was succeeded by Mr. Andrew 
 Meneely, who married Pliilena, eldest daughter of 
 Rodney Hanks, brother of Colonel Benjamin 
 Hanks, and wlio was a graduate of Julius' works, 
 succeeded to his business in 1826, making churcli 
 bells a specialty. He continued this business till 
 1851, when he died, leaving tlie business to his 
 two sons, B. A. & G. R. Meneely, who continued 
 it under the firm name of Andrew Meneely's Sons 
 until 1863, when they changed it to E. A. & 6. K. 
 Meneely. 
 
 Returning to Connecticut, we find here Messrs. 
 Alpheus & Truman Hanks bouglit out the foundry 
 business of Goodwin, Dodd «t Gilbert in the fall of 
 1820, and took possession of the same in 1821. 
 
 Alpheus was a lirother and Truman a second son 
 of Colonel Benjamin Hanks, heretofore mentioned, 
 and was a member of the firm of Hanks, Gurley & 
 Co., founders in Troy, N. Y. , which place they left 
 to enter business in Hartford. Conn. The firm 
 continued till the death of Alpheus Hanks, in 
 December, 1831, when Truman continued the busi- 
 ness till Se])tember, 1834, and sold out to his sons 
 Lucien B. & Edwin R. Hanks, they conducting it 
 under the firm name o£ L. B. Hanks <fc Co. until 
 March 1836, when they sold out to Truman 
 Hanks, Horatio Fitch and Edwin R. Hanks, who 
 conducted it under the firm name of Hanks, 
 Fitch & Co., until March, 1839, when the 
 other partners sold out to Mr. Truman Hanks, 
 who then admitted one of his former appren- 
 tices, Mr. Samuel Woodruff, fis partner, and 
 a brother-in-law of Mr. Woodruff, Mr. Charles 
 Wygatt, and the business was conducted under the 
 firm name of Woodruff & Co., Mr. Hanks being an 
 invalid and confined to his liouse by paralysis. In 
 1831, Lucius B, the eldest son of Truman Hanks, 
 and his friend Jonathan S. Miles, who married 
 Maria, eldest daughter of Alpheus Hanks, emi- 
 grated to Cincinnati, Ohio, and established the 
 Cincinnati Iron Foundry, which .afterwards was 
 known .as the Niles Works. In 1846, George L. 
 Hanks, in connection with Niles & Co., established 
 a bell and brass foundry in Cincinnati, Ohio. He 
 died in 1859, and the establishment passed into 
 other hands 
 
 In September, 1842, Truuiau Hanks and Samuel 
 Woodruff bought out Charles Mygatt, and under 
 the name of Hanks & Woodruff continued the 
 business of the Hartford Iron Foundry until Sep- 
 tember, 184.5, when Mr. Hanks retired, leaving his 
 interest in the hands of his son-in-law Mr. Henry 
 B. Beach, now senior member of the firm of H. B. 
 Beach & Son. In 1846 Mr. Hanks died. In 1845 
 Mr. H. B. Beach and Mr. Samuel Woodruff formed 
 a copartnership under the firm name of Woodruff 
 & Beach, whicli in 18.53 was merged into a joint 
 stock company under the name of the Wood- 
 ruff & Beach Iron Works, which went out of 
 business November 2, 1871, the Hartford 
 Foundry and Machine Company succeeding. 
 In 1872, Messrs. Beach & Co. (brothers of Mr. 
 Henry B. Beach), iu connection with Messrs. 
 Hilyer & Bunee, caused to be organized the 
 Hartford Foundry and Machine Company, with 
 a cajiital of ^75,000 and leased to them the works 
 and machinery except the boiler department, 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE (iF COyyECTICCT. 
 
 207 
 
 wliicli had passed iuto the possession of Messrs. 
 H. B. Beach & Sou. The Hartford Foundry and 
 Machine Company closed and wound up their 
 })usiness on the exjiiration of their lease in 1880. 
 The works then remained i<lle until January, 
 1881, wlien the Hartfm-d Euf^aneering Company 
 was organized, which still continues. 
 
 Returning to Messrs. H. B. Beach & Son, we 
 find them as successors to the Woodruif & Beach 
 Iron Work.s in the boiler dei)artment, actively 
 engaged in the manufacture of the very superior 
 and celebrated " Rln'utan " tubular and water 
 front marine and stationary boilers which it is 
 claimed are not surjiassed if even equaled by 
 boilers of any kind now made in this country. 
 
 From their long experience in steam engine 
 building, tliey fully understand all requirements 
 necessary for a complete, well-made, reliable 
 and ecom)mical boiler, and as their aim is to do 
 the best work in all respects, they have selected 
 the " Rheutan '■ as their specialty. The rapid 
 increase of their business can only be a I'eliable 
 proof of the correctness of their judgment. 
 
 The shop occupied by this firm is necessarily 
 but one story in height, but the lack of space 
 aViove is compensated by the urea of ground 
 covered, it being 200 feet square. Here is man- 
 ufactured all the diS'erent kinds of marine 
 and stationary boilers, jilate and sheet-ironwork 
 produced elsewhere, while the specialty of the 
 firm demands most of the time of more than 
 forty skilled workmen, as heretofore mentioned. 
 This siiecialty is a patent water-front tubular 
 boiler, claimed and conceded to be one of 
 the best things of its kind ever manufactured 
 I in this country, being simple in construction, 
 with a constant circulation of water through all 
 parts, made of the best material known to the 
 trade and in consonance with the best accepted 
 methods of workmanship. This boiler, the in- 
 vention of Mr. G. II. Rheutan, Superintendent 
 of the works, has a water-front which is a part 
 of the boiler itself and forms a support for the 
 front end, obviating to a great extent the use of 
 masoni'y. The chief points of excellence in this 
 boiler are safety, additional heating surface, its 
 capacity for being readily cleaned, and its saving 
 of fuel, in which latter respect it is claimed to 
 be about one third cheaper than any other 
 boiler matle. That these claims are well founded, 
 is attested l\v numerous testimonials and the 
 fact that they are in \ise in nearly all of the 
 great manufacturing and other estal)lishments 
 of Connecticut and the neighboring States, 
 among which may be mentioned the following : 
 
 Weed Sewing Machine Co., Hartford, Conn., 
 four boilers ; Hartford Machine Screw Co., 
 Hartford, Conn., three b;iilers : American Screw 
 Co., works at Hartford and at Providence, R. I., 
 two boilers ; Hartfoi'd Engineering Co. . Hart- 
 ford, Conn., one boiler: Pratt & A\liitney Co.. 
 Hartford. Conn., one boiler ; Billings k Spencer 
 Co. , Hartford Conn. , one boiler ; Hartford Steam 
 Heating Co., Hartford, Conn., one boiler ; I. B. 
 Davis & Sou., Hartford, Conn., one boiler; 
 John W. Gray & Co., Hartford, Conn., one 
 boiler; Hartford Manilla Co., Hartford, Conn., 
 works at Burnside, Conn., three boilers; A. 
 Dunham's Sons, Poquounock, Conn., three 
 
 boilers; Hartford Paper Co., Poquonnock, Conn., 
 three lioilers ; E. N. Welch Manufacturing Co., 
 Forestville, Conn., three boilers; E. N. Welch 
 Manufacturing t!o., Bristol, Conn., two boilers ; 
 Bristol Manufacturing Co., Forestville, Conn., 
 two boilers ; Bristol Brass it Clock Co., (rolling 
 mill), Forrest ville Conn., two boilers; Green- 
 woods Co. , New Hartford, Conn., one boiler; 
 Union Mfg. Co., North Manchester, Conn., 
 two boilers ; Medlicott Co., Windsor Locks, 
 Conn., one boiler; Hendey Machine Co., Tor- 
 riugton, Conn., one boiler ; Fen wick Hall, Say- 
 brook, Conn., one boiler ; Williams Bros. Man- 
 ufacturing Co., Naubuc, Conn., one boiler; 
 Yale Lock Co., Stamford, Conn., six boilers; 
 Stanley Rule & Level Co., New Britain, Conn., 
 onel)oiler ; Piatt Bros. itCo. , Waterbury, Conn., 
 one boiler; Toy, Bickford & Co., Sim.sbury, 
 Conn., two boilers ; Jolmson k Co., Unca.sville, 
 Conn., one boiler ; Charles Parker Co., Meriden, 
 Conn., two boilers; Hunter .t Shiland. Essex 
 Junction, Vt., one boiler ; Grant & Bogert, 
 Flushing, L. I., one boiler ; Newburgh Steam 
 Mills, Newburgh, N. Y., six boilers ; Harmony 
 Mills, Cohoes, N. Y., one boiler ; C. T. Raynolds 
 & Co., New York, N. Y'., one boiler; Garner & 
 Co., New Y'ork, N. Y'., boiler; Nonotuck Silk 
 Co. , Florence, Mass. , two boilers ; American 
 Hosiery Co., New Britain, Conn., one boiler ; 
 Bridgeport, Organ Co., Bridgeport, Conn., three 
 boilers ; White Paper Co., Suffield, Conn., two 
 boilers ; Waterloo, Woolen Co. , Waterloo, N. Y'. , 
 one boiler ; Waterbury Manufactiiring Co., 
 Waterbury Conn., one boiler ; Waterbury, Clock, 
 Co. , Waterbury, Conn. , one boiler ; Hazard 
 Powder Co., HazardvUle, Conn., two boilers ; 
 Peter Adams, Buckland, Conn., one boiler; 
 Allyn House, Hartford, Conn. , one boiler ; 
 Brush Electric Co. , Cleveland, Ohio, one boiler. 
 
 Mr. Henry B. Beach, the senior member of 
 the firm, is of the well-known Cotmecticut 
 familv of that name, and was born in Hartford 
 in 1817. 
 
 Mr. Henry L. Beach, the great grandson of 
 Col. Benjamin Hanks, mentioned in the com- 
 mencement of this sketch, and the junior partner 
 of Messrs. H. B. Beach & Son, was born in Hart- 
 ford in 1842. In the war of the Rebellion he 
 served as an officer of the Sixteenth Connecticut 
 Volunteers, a three years regiment. On his 
 return he entered his present business. 
 
 The name of Beach is an honored one in Hart- 
 ford, the father of the senior member of the 
 firm having been for fifty year.s the jjresident of 
 the Phcenix Bank, transmitting to his sons and 
 his sons' sons, a name second to none in the 
 lustre of integrity and a reputation they have 
 maintained with dignity. 
 
 Hart, Morriaiii & Co., ITou.se-furnishing 
 Goods, Carpets, Pajjer Hangings, Dry (ioods. 
 Bedding, etc.. No. 304 Main Street. — The house of 
 Ilart, Merriam & Co. is one of the oldest as 
 well as the largest in New England. One of the 
 present firm, Mr. Sugden, lias l)een connected with 
 it for forty years, having entered the employ of 
 Catlin & Co., the originators of the business, in 
 1843. Five years afterwards Mr. Sugden became 
 
208 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTlilAL 
 
 the owner of an interest in the house, and, until 
 18G5, the style of the firm was Sugdeu & Co. In 
 that year Jlessrs. Hart & Merriani joined forces 
 with Mr. Sugdeu and the firm adopted its present 
 designation. The premises occupied by this firm 
 consist of a store and l^asement, each 50 x 250 feet 
 in size, where can be found in stock and on sale 
 the most complete assortment of dry goods, carpets, 
 paper hangings, feathers, linens, beddings, etc., to 
 be found in the State. This stock is probably the 
 equal, in size and variety, to any in New England ; 
 and it is scarcely too much to say that there are 
 few houses in the United States tliat excel Hart, 
 Merriani & Co. in tliat respect. Their magnificent 
 stock of carpets finds a fitting place of display in 
 their spacious carpet-hall — an apartment 50x100 
 feet in size — their dry goods, linens, bedding and 
 other articles for house furnisliing are kept aud 
 shown in the front of tlie spacious store, while tlie 
 basement is made tlie receptacle of tlie very large 
 surplus of stock, au idea of the magnitude of which 
 may be gained from the fact that one item of it 
 alone, is stated at 145,000 rolls of wall-paper, in 
 the sale of which article they stand second on the 
 list of all the houses in New England. 
 
 Mr. WilMara E. Sugden, the senior member of 
 the firm, was born in Middletown, Conn., in 1821, 
 and came to Hartford in 1843 to enter into the 
 service of the firm of Catlin & Co., of which he 
 afterwards became a member, and which the pres- 
 ent firm succeeds. From that time to the present 
 Mr. Sugden has attended tc the financial interests of 
 the house and has won for it and for himself au envi- 
 able place in the business world. Added tothecares 
 of his immediate business, Mr. Sugden has those 
 liertaiuing to the office of president of the 
 Hartford County Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany, and director in the National Exchange 
 Bank. Mr. Charles E. Hart was born in New 
 Britain, Conn., on June 17, 1840, aud obtained 
 his education in the high and normal schools in 
 that city. He came to Hartford in 1857, enter- 
 ing his present business four years later and be- 
 coming a memlier of the firm of Sugden & Co. 
 one year prior to the formation of the present 
 house. Mr. Hart deservedly enjoys the esteem 
 and resjiect of the business and social world, 
 and has had his merit recognized by three con- 
 secutive elections to a seat in the City Council, 
 au office in the administration of which he dis- 
 played the same traits of ability and integrity 
 that have distinguished his business career. He 
 was one of the original member's of the select 
 military organization known as the City Guard 
 and has done much to further the interests of 
 that body. In other lines of business Mr. Hart 
 holds a prominent place, while the social cii'cles 
 of Hartford find in him a welcome member. 
 
 Mr. Lent B. Merriam is a native of West Hart- 
 land, Conn. ; born on October 7, 1836. His edu- 
 cation was obtained in the Wesleyan Academy at 
 Wilbraham, Mass., where he remained until his 
 nineteenth year, when he entered the service of 
 Mr. Norman Adams at Winsted, Conn., as clerk, 
 remaining there for two years. In 1857 he began 
 his business career in Hartford as salesman for 
 Messrs. Talcott & Post, a position he retained 
 for eight years and until he entered the firm of 
 which he is now a member. Mr. Merriam's 
 
 business connections have extended beyond the 
 immediate circle of his house to the transjiorta- 
 tion business of the State, he being a director in 
 the Connecticut Western RaUroad Company, 
 and Chairman of its Executive Committee. Mr. 
 Merriam has taken an active j^art in the govern- 
 ment of his adopted city, and has been honored 
 by being elected for five terms t(j a seat in the 
 Common Council, in which body he held the 
 very important position of Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee on Claims, doing good service and win- 
 ning a high reputation for probity and sagacity. 
 All the members of this firm enjoy the thor- 
 ough confidence of the community, and the 
 house is looked upon as a representative in its- 
 line. 
 
 M. O'Flaherty, Druggist, Capitol Avenue 
 Drug Store, No. 117 Main Street. — The flourishing 
 drug business now carried on by the gentleman 
 whose name heads this sketch, was established in 
 its present location about seven years ago bj' Mr. J. 
 D. Smith, and conducted by him until September, 
 1878, when the present proprietor succeeded to it. 
 The store is eligibly situated on the corner of Main 
 street aud Capitol avenue, in the Hotel Capitol 
 building, and in easy reach of the residences of the 
 wealthier classes of Hartford's citizens, to whom is- 
 due the larger portion of the trade. The premises 
 are 35x80 feet in size, and are fitted, furnished and 
 stocked in the most complete manner and at a. 
 large expense. The proprietor is a practical and 
 accomplished pharmacist and druggist, and pre- 
 scriptions are insured correctness under his personal 
 supervision. 
 
 Mr. O'Flaherty is a native of Holyoke, Mass., 
 burn in 1850, and educated in the public schools. 
 In his profession he stands in the front rank. 
 
 O. D. Goortrich & Co. (Dr. A. Goodrich 
 and Dr. Noah Cressy), Veterinary Drug Store, No. 
 30 State Street. — Famous as is New England for 
 the development of new ideas and the adoption of 
 improvements, it has hitherto been impossible to 
 disprove in her behalf the saying : "there is noth- 
 ing new under the sun." To the firm whose desig- 
 nation forms the head of this article belongs the 
 credit of being tlie firet to demonstrate the fact that 
 sayings which have passed into proverbs are not 
 always incontrovertible. That there is something^ 
 that will confirm this assertion was proven in No- 
 vember, 1881, by the establishment of the only 
 purely veterinary drug store ever established in this 
 State, or — so far as history or tradition inform us 
 — in any other State. This store, situated on State 
 street, adjoining tlie United States Hotel and op- 
 posite the City Hall and Post-office, is about 25 x 
 50 feet in size, aud has in connection with it the 
 office of Dr. Noah Cressy, the distinguished veteri- 
 narian, who, besides practicing his piolcEsion, is a 
 partner in the firm, and whoso prescriptions go 
 towards creating a large portion of the business. 
 The purpose of this establishment is the furnishing 
 of absolutely jjure drugs and other articles for the 
 alleviation and cure of all the pains and diseases to 
 which horses, cattle, and other domestic animals 
 are subject, with the same care and attention to de- 
 tail and quality bestowed in like matters affecting 
 
JiEVlE]V OF THE STATE OP CONNECTICUT. 
 
 209 
 
 tlic liiiman race. No patent' ^■ure-alls, uo infallible 
 nostrums, no mysterious mixtures compoundeil from 
 the traditional recipes of the unlearned country 
 doctor, cumber the shelves of the store, nor arc 
 they supplied. But, in their ])laccs, in addition to 
 the line of regular druL;?, are a number of prepara- 
 tions from the formuhc of l)r. Oressy, the demand 
 for which is so great as to compel their manufac- 
 ture in large quantities, that the time that would 
 be otherwise consumed in putting up the numerous 
 l)rcscriptions can be saved. Among these prepara- 
 tions may be mentioned three types of condition 
 powders for horses; the first for general debility ; 
 the next for coughs, colds, lung diseases and dis- 
 tem]jers ; and the last for the various skin affec- 
 tions to which the animal is subject. The liniments, 
 colic mixtures, worm medicines and other prepara- 
 tions put up in quantities have attained a wide rep- 
 utation and sale, and have become the standards of 
 such articles over a wide extent of territory. In 
 addition to those already mentioned, there are med- 
 icines for all types of disease that touch tlie do- 
 mestic animals, from the valuable and stately racer 
 to the less valuable house dog, and from him to 
 the comparatively insignificant but still valuable 
 chicken. 
 
 In short, the wants of the ailing animal are thor- 
 oughly provided for, and the Veterinary Drugstore 
 is the monument that marks a great rise in the ele- 
 vation of the conditon of man's best friends — the 
 domestic animals. 
 
 Mr. George V). Goodrich is the son of the well- 
 known Dr. A. R. Goodrich, formerly State Comp- 
 troller and at present State Treasurer. He was 
 born in Vernon, Conn., on August 4, lti.50, and has 
 made that place his home all his life. His educa- 
 tion was finished at the Connecticut Literary Insti- 
 tution at Suffield, after leaving which he entered 
 his father's office and began the study of the drug 
 l)Usiness. From 1ST3 to 1877 he served under hi^ 
 father as chief clerk in the State Comptroller's 
 ortice, and at the expiration of his term purchased 
 the Charter Oak Drug Store on Central Row, Hart- 
 ford, conducting it until September, 1882, when he 
 sold it out in order to give his undivided attention 
 to his present business. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich was tax collector for one term in 
 his native town, and served f<ir five years as captain 
 on the staff of Brigadier Generals \y. Randall 
 Smith of Norwalk and Stephen R. Smitli of New 
 Haven, performing, for the greater part of that 
 time, the duties of major, as Ijrigade commissary. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich is a practical druggist, and enjoys 
 not only the reputation of being tlic first and only 
 one to establish himself in his ])eculiar line, but is 
 regarded as an honorable and rising business man 
 and a cultivated gentleman. 
 
 The personal history of the other members of the 
 firm will be found under their appropriate heads. 
 
 Billings At Hitchcock, Manufacturers of 
 Knit Goods, No. 1189 Broad Street.— This busi- 
 ness was established at Springfield, Mass., by Capt. 
 H. R. Billings in 1879, and was removed to tliis 
 city March 1st, 1882, at w'hich time the present 
 firm of Billings k, Hitchcock was formed. They 
 manufacture silk and woolen hosiery and mittens 
 
 Ijy hand machines, employing about tliirty persons. 
 The building occupied is 110 x Ai feet in size and 
 one story in height. 
 
 Most of the productions of this factory are sold 
 through the commission house of Messrs. Kibbe, 
 Chaffee, Shreve & Co., Nos. 71 and 73 Worth 
 Street, New York. 
 
 Capt. Henry R. Billings is a native of Windsor, 
 Vermont, born in 1837. For several years he was 
 a contractor at the Weed Sewing Machine Co., 
 Iiaving learned the machinist trade in his native 
 town. He was a member of the First Connecticut 
 Regiment, and lati'r of the Twentieth Connecticut, 
 enlisting in the latter regiment as private and re- 
 turning as captain of Company D. 
 
 Mr. Marcena Hitchcock is a native of Lebanon, 
 New York, and is fifty years of age. He has l>een 
 in Hartford since 18(5G, most of the time, as now, a 
 contractor at the works of the Weed Sewing 
 Machine Co. He is also a practical machinist, 
 wood-worker and inventor. The firm has a good 
 financial standing and its productions are of the 
 best. 
 
 Georjje Siehler, i)roprietor Hartford Gambri- 
 nus Brewery, Park, corner Lawrence Street. — The 
 Hartford Gambrinus Brewery, situated at Park, cor- 
 ner Lawrence street, George Siehler, proprietor, is 
 the latest accession to the list of breweries in Con- 
 necticut, and is of the most modern construction. 
 The largest building is 100 x 45 feet in size, and 
 four stories in height, the brewery proper is 35 x 36- 
 feet, five stories, and these with a restaurant and 
 residence adjoining, comprise the establishment 
 owned and occupied liy Mr. Sicliler. The buildings 
 are liuilt of expensive pressed brick, ornamented 
 with granite and present an imposing appearance. 
 The production is about 25,000 I larrels of lager beer 
 per year. As is usual with first class brewers, Mr. 
 Siehler takes great pride in his horses and teams, 
 which are used in his business. The trade extends 
 to different jjoints in the State and the productions, 
 of the Gamlirinus Brewery are well known to Con- 
 necticut people. 
 
 Mr. Siehler was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, 
 in 1840. He learned the trade of a brewer in his 
 native town and came to America in 1807. For 
 several years he was a brewer in New York City- 
 coming to Hartford in 1870 and carried on Inisiness 
 on Alliany avenue, for four years before building 
 in his present location. 
 
 Mr. Siehler is known to the public as an honor- 
 able business man, and to the trade as a capable and 
 intelligent brewer. His establishment contributes 
 largely in the supply of a refreshing beverage, the 
 consumption of which the recent industrial census 
 shows has increased more than fifty ))er cent during 
 the last decade. 
 
 A. S. Cook, Manufacturer of Machinery, Colt's 
 West Armory. — This manufacturing establishment 
 is one of the many in Hartford which has devel- 
 oped quite an export trade for its products. The 
 business was established in 1809, and its gradual 
 and substantial increase since that time, is compli- 
 mentary to the financialability and mechanical skill 
 of the proprietor. 
 
 In the growtli of most businesses of any magni- 
 tude, there is sometimes felt the immediate use of 
 
210 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 capital, which too often is supplied l)y some ca|)i- 
 talist, to tlie detriment of the originator, and 
 instead of laljor and capital going hand in hand, 
 tlie former is controlled by the latter, and what at 
 first gave brilliant promise to the inventor and pro- 
 jector results in a l)are existence, while the capitalist 
 reaps the main reward. 
 
 Not so with Mr. A. S. Cook. He has made haste 
 slowly but surely, until now the jiremises occujjied 
 by this flourishing business emijrace an area of GO 
 X 200 feet in Colt's West Armory, while he employs 
 from fifty to seventy-five, and indirectly one hun- 
 dred men, according to the demands of his busi- 
 ness. Wliile, in a general sense, he is a manufac- 
 turer of machinery, he makes a specialty of 
 manufacturing machinery for the making of wood 
 screws, tire bolts, stove bolts, lag screws, and rivets, 
 and is also manufacturer of Stephens' patent par- 
 allel vise and special machinery. 
 
 In the manufacture of vises Mr. Cook is a marked 
 instance of lousiness success. He has Ijrought into 
 his service workmen of a high order, and not only 
 requires a large numljer, but gives them constant 
 employment. Tlie invention is the most obvious 
 advance in tlie economy of vises yet discovered. 
 It is tlie embodiment of simplicity and effectiveness, 
 and is so marked an improvement on anything of 
 the kind yet discovered that its introduction to 
 popular use is only a matter of time. 
 
 ■The requsitions made on Mr. C. for this article 
 are surprising. It is evidently meeting a necessity 
 long felt and general. To meet tliis demand a 
 strong force is constantly engaged. But this is by 
 no means all or even tlie largestpart of his business. 
 He manufactured a complete outfit of screw ma- 
 chinery for the Eussell & Erwin Manufacturing Co., 
 of New Britain, Conn., and furnished them a com- 
 plete set of patterns and drawings for the same. 
 Such of these powerful machines for heading the 
 blanks, as he now has finished, present the ap- 
 pearance of great duraliility and immense strengtli. 
 They cannot fail to iierforin well the hardest tasks 
 that may be assigned tlieui in their future comliats 
 with the cold iron. They are creditable exhibitione 
 of the skill and enterprise of this successful manu- 
 facturer, and must meet the highest approval of 
 tlie wealthy company who are to employ them. 
 
 The following-named companies are also fur- 
 nished with a complete outfit of screw machinery 
 made by Mr. Cook : Wardell & Hinckley, Chicago, 
 111. ; The Massachusetts Screw Co., Holyoke, Mass.; 
 Syracuse, N. Y., Screw Co.; Pliiladelphia, Pa., 
 Screw Co.; Atlantic Screw Works, Hartford, Conn.; 
 Dominion Bolt Co., Toronto, Canada; Dayton Screw 
 Co. (of which Mr. Albert G. Angell, formerly of 
 the American Screw Co., Providence, R. I., is 
 president), Dayton, Ohio. A factory in Berlin, 
 Germany, was also supplied, sending to the latter 
 city men to put the machinery in operation. Sweden 
 and other countries have also machinery made at 
 this establishment. 
 
 The facilities of Mr. Cook enable him to under- 
 take any large contracts for machinery of any kind, 
 as he has completed his arrangements to meet the 
 most diverse requirements. Mr. A. S. Cook is a 
 native of Sandwich, Carroll Co., N. H., and about 
 sixty years of age. He has l)een a resident of Hart- 
 ford for over thirty years. He learned most of his 
 trade in Lowell, Mass., finishing it with Mr. A. 
 
 Pratt, president of tiie Pratt & Whitney Co., of 
 tliis city, since which time he has been in his ])res- 
 ent business — the manufacturing of machinery. 
 In tlie various depai-tments of the lousiness, INIr. 
 Cook is assisted by his two sons, who have grown 
 to manhood, with him, and, like the father, are 
 practical macliinists. Mr. M. F. Cook is thirty-one 
 years of age, and lias charge of the planing de- 
 partment. 
 
 Mr. John F. Cook, the youngest, is twenty-eight 
 years of age, and has charge of the office. Both 
 are natives of Hartford and graduates of the high 
 school. 
 
 Mr. A. S. Cook is a memljer of the city council 
 of ^ his adopted city, and enjoys the distinction of 
 being the only , manufacturer of wood and coach 
 screw machinery in the world. 
 
 The Hartford Sanitary Plunibing- Com- 
 pany, Manufacturers of tlie Hartford Glass Water- 
 Closet, Nos. 68 to 80 Market Street.— There is no 
 department of sanitary science that has received so 
 much attention of late years as has the subject of 
 the construction of water-clo.sets, with a view of 
 removing the objectionable features that render the 
 ordinary closet a nuisance to the senses of sight and 
 smell, and what is infinitely worse, absolutely dan- 
 gerous to health and life. Hundreds of inventors 
 have Imsied their brains in devising plans for pre- 
 venting the deadly sewer-gas from gaining an en- 
 trance to our dwellings, and some of the hundreds 
 of consequent inventions have been more or less 
 successful, the majority, however, serving no other 
 purpose than to increase the evil tliey were designed 
 to ameliorate. The absolute solution of this vexa- 
 tious proljlem was left to the Hartford Sanitary 
 Plumbing Company, the jiatentees and manufac- 
 turers of the Hartford Glass Water-CUiset, an 
 article which has won for itself an immense sale 
 and the unqualified indorsement of the sanitarians 
 of the country. 
 
 This closet is manufactured in tlie highest style 
 of metallic work and on a principle never hereto- 
 fore used. It consists of a metallic shell, lined 
 with blown opaque glass, with automatic air-tight 
 valves and hermetically closing traps. Tlie glass 
 lining is smooth and nou-absorlient, covering the 
 whole interior and preserving it continually in a 
 state of absolute purity and sweetness. Tlie valves 
 are so constructed that they cannot be opened by 
 jiressure from the sewer, and all the parts of the 
 discharge being of equal size all deposits are car- 
 ried off by the action of an unbroken column of 
 water. In short, the construction of the closet is 
 so perfect and simple that it explains and com- 
 mends itself at once. 
 
 The company was incorporated in 1880, with a 
 capital of $60,000. The officers are : Robert E. 
 Day, President ; R. W. Farmer, Secretary and 
 Treasurer; H. S. Lord, Superintendent. 
 
 Mr. Day is a well-known citizen of Hartford, 
 where he fills a number of important positions in 
 the business world. He is president of the Hart- 
 ford Security Company and is director in the lead- 
 ing l^aiiks and insurance companies. 
 
 Mr. Farmer is a memlier of the well-known 
 banking firm of Hubbard i.t Farmer, and has been 
 State Auditor for ten vears. 
 
HE VIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 211 
 
 Mr. Lord, Supen'ntendciit of tlie company's busi- 
 ness, is a native of Lyme, Conn., and was horn in 
 1839. Ilis advent in Hartford occurred in 1802, 
 since which time he has served as clerk in tlie 
 Allyn House for six years, and as a traveler for the 
 houses of RodiTcrs Brothers of Waterliury and for 
 the William Rodgcrs Manufacturing Company of 
 Hartford. 
 
 T. Stoolo A; Son (T. Sedgwick Steele), Inr 
 7Joi'ters and Dealers in Watches, Jewelry, etc.> 
 Ao. 407 Main Street.— Hartford, the 'Cai)itol 
 City of Oonnecticiit, is celebrated for its wealth, 
 its culture, its educationalfacilities, its churches, 
 its insurance and banking institutions, the eutei-- 
 priso of its business men. aud for many other 
 things too numerous to detail. Perhaps one of 
 the chief items iu the list of its characteristics is 
 the widespread aud intelligent love of the beauti- 
 ful and artistic among its residents, a taste that 
 finds expression in the many and expensive ob- 
 jects of art adorning their homes. It has been 
 said that love of the artistic is inborn in those 
 who pos.sess it and that it cannot be acquired by 
 any one unfortunate enough to lack it at birth. 
 While this may Ije, and doubtless is, true to a 
 certain extent, the statement can be qnalitied liy 
 the equally positive assertion that latent tastes 
 may be cultivated, and natural instincts fostered 
 from their original crudeuess to a condition 
 wherein cultured intelligence softens the rough 
 edges of unthinking enthusiasm to the smoother 
 delights of enlightened discrimination. That there 
 must be leaders and teachers in every upward 
 movement is a truth that jjroves itself, aud that 
 there must have been such iu the development 
 of the taste that has made Hartford the art centre 
 of lU'ovincial New England is equally olivious. 
 Among these leaders and teachers the names of 
 Messrs. Steele & Son occupy prominent jjosi- 
 tions, awarded by the public and conceded by 
 their competitors. 
 
 As long ago as the year 1836, the elder Mr. 
 Steele estalilished himself in the jewelry trade, 
 by the purchase of the business of J. O. & W. 
 Pitkin, located at No. 3-40 Main street. Mr. 
 Steele, had as partner Mr. Crocker, the firm Ijeing 
 known as Steele A: Crocker \\\i to 1842, when the 
 latter gentleman died. From that time untU 
 1860 Mr. Steele conducted the business on his 
 sole account, his son, Mr. T. Sedgwick Steele, 
 being admitted to partnership in that year and 
 the present firm designati(in adopted. From the 
 time of the entrance of the younger gentleman 
 as a member of the firm may be dated the ever- 
 increasing excellence in art matters that has cul- 
 minated in placing the house in the proud po- 
 sition it now occupies in that respect. In 1875 
 it was found that the old quarters were inade- 
 quate to the needs of the Ijusiness, both iu a 
 mercantile and artistic sense, and removal was 
 determined on. Immediate stejjs were taken to- 
 wards the fitting and furnishing of the new store, 
 and it was decided that in those essentials it 
 should be second to none in New England, and 
 superior to any in Hartford or the entire State. 
 How well that decision bore its fruit may be 
 learned by an inspection of the palatial quarters 
 now occupied, where the beauty-loving eye is 
 
 surfeited with the dazzling enw.mbla of rosewood 
 and marble, of fret and fresco, of jjlate-glass and 
 tapestry, of velvets and carving, of jewels rare 
 and metals bright and the uneqiialed collection 
 of tasteful aud expensive objects of art, culled 
 from the markets of the older countries bv mas- 
 ter hands, whose labor was a work of love.' 
 
 In December. IST.j, tlie new store wns ready foi 
 occup.-incy, and the busiiu-ss was transferred to it, 
 the younger Mr. Steele being tlien the sole projirie- 
 tor. Ills father having passed from earth only a short 
 time i)rior to the removal. F'rom that time until 
 the present Mr. Steele has laliored to elevate and 
 maintain the standard of taste iu art matters, with 
 the gratifying success heretofore indicated. 
 
 The advantages enjoyed Ijy this house are perhaps 
 greater tlian tlio.se of any similar establishment 
 between New York and Boston, for the reason that 
 their agency at Geneva, SwitzerL-yid, enaldes them 
 to import direct, thus saving a considerable per- 
 centage in prices, and bringing the later styles of 
 goods before the jHiblic much earlier than can be 
 done by houses depending on the jobbers in other 
 American cities. 
 
 Mr. T. Sedgwick Steele, the proprietor of this 
 magnificent temple of tin; arts, is a native of Hart- 
 ford, and was born on June 11, 1845. From an 
 early age he has shown that love of the beautiful 
 iu nature and art which has culminated in his 
 present leadership in matters of taste, aud which has 
 done so much for culture in his native city and 
 State. Not only as a lover and judge of art is Mr. 
 Steele cons|)icuous, but as one of its practical ex- 
 ponents he lias won merited distinction, chiefly as a 
 painter of still-life pieces, a number of which have 
 found places "on the line," at the New York 
 National Academy of Design and the Brooklyn Art 
 Academy. With the pen Mr. Steele is as ready as 
 with the brush, and the columns of many news- 
 papers and magazines have been enriched by his 
 articles on the hunting and fishing regions of Maine, 
 Lake Superior, Florida and other places through 
 which he has journeyed. His latest contributions 
 to current literature are in the form of two books, 
 entitled "Paddle and Portage," and "Canoe and 
 Camera," resi)ectively. These works are the out- 
 come and description of the author's experience in 
 northern Maine and New Brunswick, in which 
 almost unknown country he made a number of 
 canoe tours. The illustraticms, which are both 
 numerous and artistic arc from ])hotographs made 
 by Mr. Steele himself, whose knowledge of the 
 camera and its uses is as thorough and as i)ractical 
 as is his knowledge of the uses of the brush and 
 pen. 
 
 With these lighter and more pleasing labors, Mr. 
 Steele eomlunes the sterner pursuit of the surveyor, 
 having compiled and published the latest and most 
 complete map of the head waters of the Aroostook. 
 Penobscot and St. .lohn's rivers, embracing jjortions 
 of Canada and New Brunswick. Mr. Steele is 
 Secretary of the Connecticut School of Desigu, an 
 institution in which his influence has been felt. 
 His love of the athletic side of life is evidenced by 
 his auuual canoe tours and the fact that he is an 
 active meml)er and President of the Connecticut 
 Bicycle Club. 
 
 In conclusion, it is safe to say that the house of 
 T. Steele & Sou is the leading jewelry house outside 
 
212 
 
 THE HISTOBTCAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 of Boston, in New England ; and of its proprietor, 
 that lie enjoys well-merited and universal esteem. 
 
 William H. Kelsey & Co. (Wm. H. Kelsev, 
 Jr.), Tilerchant Tailors, No. 283 Main Street.— The 
 elegant and spacious store of William II. Kelsey & 
 Co., merchant tailors, is situated on the corner of 
 Main and Pearl streets, and is one of the finest of 
 its kind in Hartford. It is 20 by 100 feet in size, 
 with an extensive plate-glass front on botli streets, 
 affording unusually great facilities for the display 
 of the tirst-class goods and the fine workmausliip 
 for which the house is noted. The business was 
 established aliout twenty years ago l)y the elder Mr. 
 Kelsey, the firm of Kelsey, Carpenter & Hitchcock 
 succeeding him. Another change, some years later, 
 made the firm Kelsey & Hitchcock, and on February 
 1, 1882, the final change took place by the admis- 
 sion of Air. W. H. Kelsey, Jr., and the present firm 
 name was adopted. 
 
 Mr. William H. Kelsey, Sr., is a native of Clin- 
 ton, Conn., born in 1826. He moved to Hartford 
 when a young man and commenced at ouce to learn 
 the business in which he has won high repute. He 
 is prominent in cluuch and charitable matters and 
 is one of the officers of the Asylum Hill Congrega- 
 tional Clmrch. 
 
 Mr. Wm, H. Kelsey, Jr., is a native of Hartford, 
 born in 1854. He acquired his education in the 
 public and high schools here and his knowledge of 
 his business from his father, with whom he has 
 been as clerk and partner for about six years. 
 
 The firm has an excellent standing in the mer- 
 cantile world and its members enjoy the hearty 
 esteem of their fellow citizens. 
 
 Charle.s S. Goodwin & Son, Dealers in 
 Boots, Shoes and Rubbers, No. 277 Main Street. — 
 This house is the oldest retail boot and shoe house 
 in Connecticut, and, with perhaps one excep- 
 tion, tlie oldest in the line, either wholesale or 
 retail. It was established in 1804 by Mr. John 
 Goodwin, father of the senior member of the jjres- 
 ent firm and grandfather to its junior. From the 
 founder, the business descended to an elder sou, 
 John H. Goodwin, who carried it on in his own 
 name for several years, and afterwards under the 
 firm name of John H. Goodwin & Co. In 1865 
 Mr. Charles S. Goodwin assumed entire proprietor- 
 ship and contiuued the Inisiuess until 1881, wheu 
 his son and present partner was admitted to the 
 firm, and the designation. C. S. Goodwin & Son, 
 ado|)ted. The store at No. 277 Main street, now 
 occupied Ijy the firm, is a pleasant and commodi- 
 ous one, being about 22 x 00 feet in size, with 
 very high ceilings and desirable show windows. 
 The stock carried ranges from $7,000 to $8,000 
 in value, and the business done is in the usual 
 mercantile proportion. The history of this Ijusi- 
 ness contains, perhaps, more of the direct his- 
 tory of one family than any other of its line in 
 Hartford, or indeed in the State. For more 
 than seventy-five years it has l)een carried on at 
 the same location, and always by meml>ers of the 
 GoodOTn family, embracing three generations. 
 The first successor to the founder of the house was 
 Mr. John H. Goodwin, who entered it when but 
 fourteen years of age, and who, in his time, carried 
 
 on a manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing 
 trade, the first two features having been subse- 
 quently droi)ped. He was for many years a director 
 in the Phccuix Mutual Life Insurance Company, 
 and otherwise prominent in the community until 
 1873, wheu, at the age of sixty-three years, he 
 passed away, respected and lamented by his fellow 
 citizens. 
 
 Mr. Charles S. Goodwin, of the present firm, is 
 a native of Hartford ; l)orn in 1819. He is also a 
 director in the Phcenix Life, and is otherwise con- 
 spicuous in the business world. 
 
 Mr. Charles L. Goodwin, son of the last named 
 gentleman and junior partner in the firm, is a native 
 of Hartford ; born in 1858. His education was 
 acquired here, as well as the knowledge of busi- 
 ness. The firm enjoys thethorough confidence of the 
 community and its individual memljers universal 
 respect, as well as the distinction of being partners 
 in the oldest house in direct line of succession in 
 this section of the State. 
 
 The Hills Aroliinieclean Lawn Mower 
 Conii>any, No. 274 Main Street. — One of the 
 many manufactiu'ing establi.shments which have 
 contributed greatly to the reputation which. 
 Connecticut has as a manufacturing State is The 
 Ai'chimedean Lawn Mower Company of this city, 
 whose works comprise a jjart of Colts' Armory, 
 with an office at No. 27-1 Main Street. The busi- 
 ness was inaugurated many years ago by Messrs. 
 Sawyer, Brewer, Bas.sett i Co., who eoudueted 
 business at first iu this city and later at Bir- 
 mingham, Conn. 
 
 In 1871, this company bought what is known 
 as the Hills patent, aud were organized with a 
 cajiital of §100,000, and the following-named 
 officers : President, Mr. Ebenezer P. Jliner ; 
 Vice-President, Mr. Henry K. Morgan ; Treas- 
 urer, Mr. Francis P. Cooley ; Secretary, Mr. 
 John R. Eedfield. 
 
 The works at Colts' Ai-morv comprise three 
 floors, each 60 by 100 feet, where from 75 to 100 
 people are employed making four kinds of lawn 
 mowers, adajjted not only to the wants of this 
 country but Russia, England, France, Germany, 
 Australia, New Zealand, and other foreign coun- 
 tries, to which about one-half of their jjroduc- 
 tions are exj)orted. The mowers made by this 
 company have been awarded the highest jJraise 
 wherever exhibited. At the princijjal exhibitions 
 of the world the number of medals won is no 
 less than twenty-four, including a gold medal at 
 Hamburg, Germany, and medals at the World's 
 Fair at Vienna, and at the Centennial at Phila- 
 delphia. So pojiular are they that they have 
 become celelu'ated throughout all civilized coun- 
 tries, aud are recognized as the most j)erfeot and 
 desirable lawn mower ever made. 
 
 The officers of the company are all well known 
 residents aud men of financial standing in Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 The President, Mr. Ebenezer P. Miner, is a 
 native of Groton, Conn., born in 1837, educated 
 in the j)ublic schools of the State, and has been 
 identified with this city since 1862, where he was 
 a ijrominent dry goods dealer for ten years prior 
 to assuming the office of j^resident of this com- 
 pany. 
 
BEVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 213 
 
 Mr. Henry K. Jlorgan the Vice-President is a 
 retired caiiitalist here, <lirector in the Pratt 
 Street Savings Bank, Phoenix Fire Insurance 
 Company, Weed Sewing Machine Company, and 
 interested in several of the benevolent institu- 
 tions here, the Hartford Hospital, and others of 
 like nature. 
 
 Mr. Francis B. Cooley, the Treasurer, is presi- 
 dent of the National Exchange Bank, and at one 
 time the head of the great dry-goods house of 
 Messrs. Cooley, Farwell k Co., Chicago, which 
 he established. 
 
 The Secretary, Mr. John K. Redfield, is cashier 
 of the National Exchange Bank, and well known 
 in tinancial circles. 
 
 The sales of the company amount to Sl50,000 
 per annum, and their |)roductions stand in the 
 front rank, and have a reputation second to 
 none. 
 
 Honiss & Abl)0, Fresh Fish, Lobsters, etc.. 
 No. 183 State Street. — This business is one of the 
 oldest in its line in Hartford. It was established 
 by All'. Frank G. Oakes aljout fifteen years ago. 
 Later it was Oakes & Aljbe, wlio were succeeded 
 by Mr. L. G. Abbe, the present firm taknig pos- 
 session in Ihe si)rini; of 1882. 
 
 In addition to dealing in all kinds of fresh fish, 
 lobsters, clams, etc., they make a specialty in the 
 season of dealing at wholesale in tlie celebrated 
 Connecticut Kivershad, which tliey send throughout 
 New England and adjoining States. 
 
 Tlie senior partner, Mr. Tliomas Honiss, is, in 
 addition to his interest here, proprietor of tlie 
 wholesale and retail oyster de))ot at No. 30 State 
 street, under the United States Hotel, where he has 
 been in business for a number of years. He is 
 forty-seven years of age and represents his ward 
 as Councilman in the city government. 
 
 Mr. L. G. Abl)e is a native of East Windsor, 
 Conn., born in 1830. He served his country as a 
 memljer of the Twenty-second Connecticut Regi- 
 ment during the war of the Rebellion. He was 
 later |)ostmaster in the town of Waterbury from 
 1871 to 1870, and was agent for the Naugatuck 
 Railroad and Adams Express Co. for five years, and 
 also school committee in tlie same community. 
 Both houses are representative in their line and do 
 an extensive business in this city and adjoining 
 States. 
 
 Seidlor & May, Furniture Dealers and Man- 
 ufacturers of Patent Sofa-Beds, Nos. 14 and 16 
 Ford Street. — In 1808 Mr. George N. Seidlcr, the 
 senior member of the firm of Seidler & May, estab- 
 lished this extensive business, wliicli has since 
 grown to he one of the largest in tlie State. In 
 18G9, a year later, the firm was made Seidler & 
 May, under wliich name it still continues at Nos. 
 l-l and 16 Ford street, opposite the new State Capi- 
 tol. Their business consists of dealing in all kinds 
 of furniture, mattresses, spring beds, mirrors, 
 feathers, etc. They are also manufacturers of fur- 
 niture to order and their patent sofa-lied, which le- 
 ceived the highest award — a medal and diploma at 
 tlie Centennial. It opens easily without having to 
 be removed from the wall, and makes a good, com- 
 fortable bed for constant use. The fact of it being 
 
 made in sections jirecludes the wear on the cover- 
 ing of the sofa, when used as a bed, making a 
 much mure durable sofa, it is claimed, than where 
 you have to use both seat and back to sleep upon. 
 It was patented Dec. 7, 187."i, and its sales since 
 that time have contributed not a little to the un- 
 usual success of the house. 
 
 The premises occupied by Seidler & May, con- 
 sist of a liuilding five stories in height 39x116 feet 
 in size, including the basement. The sliow-rooins 
 and office are particularly pleasing and business- 
 like. In addition to the other specialties they 
 manufacture a reclining chair which has met with 
 much favor from the pulilic. About twenty-five 
 employees are engaged and a very large business 
 done in the city and with the surrounding country. 
 
 Mr. Geo. N. Seidler is a native of New York, 
 born in 183.5, and since 1854 has been in the furni- 
 ture liusiness. 
 
 Mr. Charles May is a native of South Hartwick, 
 Otsego County, N. Y., born in 1839, and has been 
 in this line of liusiness since lM()9. 
 
 The house, though not as old as some others in 
 years, excels in its facilities and ranks among the 
 first in Connecticut as to character and amount of 
 business done. 
 
 The Hartford Woven Wire Mattress 
 Company, No. 175 Pearl Street. — This company 
 was incorporated in 1868, with $60,000 capitnl. It 
 has the following-named officers: President, George 
 Roberts ; Treasurer, W. J. Myers; Secretary, Henry 
 Roberts. The directors are the above-named officers, 
 S. T. Woolcott, Charles Green and W. L. Matson. 
 Tne manufactory and office are located at No. 175 
 Pearl street, where four floors of a spacious brick 
 building are occupied, and sixty people employed. 
 
 More than thirteen years' use of the woven wire 
 mattress has demonstrated its usefulness in families, 
 hotels, asylums, hospitals, etc. The company has 
 agents in thirty-tliree cities, and commercial travelers 
 are employed in every State in the Union. The 
 company publishes an illustrated twenty-five-page 
 circular, which shows the designs and describes in 
 d^jtail the different makes. 
 
 Tlie company is the largest manufacturers of 
 woven wire mattresses in the Union, and its pro- 
 ductions are jirotected by patents. 
 
 The officers and directors are some of Hartford's 
 successful men and well-known citizens. 
 
 Hartford Wire Works, F. H. Crosthwaite, 
 Manager, No. 247 Asylum Street. — Tiie business of 
 the Hartford Wire Works was established by Mr. .1. 
 Henry Martin in the year 1870. At that time, as at 
 the present, he was a contractor at the county jail, 
 hiring convict labor. Happening, one day, to lie 
 in a florist's place, he was attracted by the wire de- 
 signs there on exhibition, and conceived the idea of 
 luamifacturing them. 
 
 To that end, he experimented at first with a few 
 of the inmates at the county jail, and ultimately 
 had a number at work with gratifying results. 
 
 The office and salesroom, at that time, was located 
 on TrumliuU street, which were removed to the pres- 
 ent location, No. 2i7 Asylum street about four years 
 ago. 
 
 For some years Mr. Crosthwaite was a partner 
 with Mr. Miirtin, but on the removal of the busi- 
 
2U 
 
 THE mSTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 ness to this number he purchased it, and now con- 
 ducts it as sole jjroprietor. 
 
 All kinds of florist's wire designs are manufac- 
 tured ; also, spark-guards and fenders, window- 
 <ruards, office-railing, wire-cloth, fencing, etc. ; a 
 s'peciidty Ijeing made of patent window-screens. 
 
 The premises occupied consist of two floors, 26 
 X 05 feet in size. The first floor is used as an office 
 and salesroom, the other as a manufactory for win- 
 dow-screens. The other goods are made at the 
 county jail, where about fifteen people are engaged 
 in this pursuit. 
 
 The history of the wirework business in Hartford is 
 full of non-success for those who were engaged in it, 
 no less than five concerns having started and failed 
 in a few years, leaving tlie Hartford Wire Works 
 alone in possession of the field. 
 
 Mr. F. H. Crosthwaite is a native of London, 
 England; born in 1853. He has resided in Hart- 
 ford since a boy, where he was educated in the pulj- 
 lic schools, and has been in this business for ten 
 years. The establishment is one of the largest of its 
 class in the State, and its iiroductions find a market 
 in New York and other large cities. 
 
 Clias. F. Hiird & Co. (C. F. Hurd and 
 Moses Melleu ), Importers and Dealers in Crockery, 
 China Glass and Plated Ware, etc., '.231 and 283 
 Main Street.— About the year 1S40, the business 
 now carried on by Messrs. Chas. F. Hurd & Co. 
 was established on the opposite side of Mam street 
 by a Mr. S. P. Kendall, he being joined some years 
 later by Mr. A. R. Skinner. The firm of Kendall 
 & Skinner was dissolved, the latter gentleman con- 
 tinuing the business on his own account untd pur- 
 chaseci by Mr. Hurd of the present firm. In 1878 
 Mr. Moses Mellen purchased an interest in the busi- 
 ness and the present designation was adopted. 
 Thirty-three yeai-s ago the business was removed to 
 the store now occupied, whicli is one of the finest 
 in the city. It is 25 x 85 feet in size, and lias two 
 very spacious and elegant plate-glass show-win- 
 dows in which are displayed specimens of the large 
 and varied stock of crockery, china, glass, and 
 plated ware, etc., carried by the firm, who are 
 importers and wholesale and retail dealers m those 
 articles. In addition to the store proper, there are 
 several lofts in different localities used for storage 
 of the surplus stock and a large packing room in 
 the rear of the store. Tlie business done by this 
 house is very large and rapidly growing, it having 
 trebled in five years. 
 
 Mr. Charles F. Hurd is a native of Connecticut 
 about thirty-nine years of age, and has resided in 
 Connecticut the greater portion of liis life. He is 
 universally respected and esteemed, and is looked 
 upon as one of the leading business men of the 
 Capitol City. 
 
 Mr. Moses Mellen was l)oru in Boston, Mass., and 
 is about thirty-uiue years of age. He has resided in 
 Hartford since his connection with tlie firm, and 
 has won the entire confidence of the community. 
 During the war of the Rebellion, Mr. Mellen served 
 his country as a member of the Forty-fourth Mass- 
 achusetts Infantry, coming home with a good 
 record. . 
 
 The house of Charles F. Hurd k Co. is classed 
 among the leading houses in Connecticut. 
 
 L. B. Goodman, Wholesale Dealer in Boots, 
 Shoes and Rubbers, No. 147 Asylum Street.— One 
 of the oldest among the old established shoe houses 
 in Connecticut is the one at )jresent conducted by 
 Mr. L. B. Goodman, at No. 47 Asylum street. In 
 1838 the firm was known as Whitney, Hills & 
 Rising, in 1842 it was Hills ct Rising, six years later, 
 Hills,°Rising & Childs — Mr. Goodman having then 
 risen from a clerksliip to a partnership— in 1858 it 
 became Hills & Goodman, about nine years later it 
 was changed to Goodman & Hills, and in 1871 Mr. 
 Goodman assumed the sole proprietorship, retaining 
 it up to the present. The premises occupied by Mr. 
 Goodman consist of two floors, each 22 x 110 feet 
 in size and stocked wit'i a very large aisortment 
 of boots, shoes, rubbeis, etc., in which articles 
 there is done an extensive wholesale and jobbing 
 trade throughout the State. 
 
 Mr. Goodman is a native of West Hartford ; born 
 in 1820, Prior to attaining his majority he was 
 clerk in the grocery business, but subsequently to 
 that event entered his present business and has 
 remained in it since. In addition to carrying on 
 the affairs of his house, Mr. Goodman has at times 
 Iteen connected with the banking business as direc- 
 tor, but was compelled by the growth of his own 
 business to relinquish all outside matters and devote 
 his entire time and attention to those affairs. 
 
 In the commercial world the name of L. B. Good- 
 man stands high and its bearer is universally re- 
 spected. 
 
 Henry Meyer, Dealer in Furniture, No. 175 
 Main Street. — Among the retail furniture stores in 
 Hartford deserving of mention is that of Mr. Henry 
 Meyer, who first commenced business on Mull)erry 
 street 'in 1876, removing to his present location in 
 1878. The store now occupied at No. 175 Main 
 street is 20 x 75 feet, and in addition there are 
 three floors and an L for workshops and warerooms, 
 in which six workmen are employed. 
 
 The stock consists of furniture of every descrip- 
 tion, upholstery goods and bedding, and all the 
 many goods usually found in such establishments. 
 The location is central, being on the line of the 
 principal business thoroughfare and in the midst of 
 the retail business of the city. 
 
 Quite a liusiness is done in the manufacture to 
 order of fine furniture, and the repairing of the 
 same, for wliich Mr. Meyer has an excellent reputa- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Henry Meyer is a native of the northern part 
 of Germany, born in 1831. He has been a citizen 
 of tliis country for about thirty years and a resident 
 of Hartford for nineteen years. He served his 
 adopted country during the war as a Sergeant in 
 the famous Bsrdan Sharp Shooters, and was 
 attached to Porter's Corps. 
 
 During his residence here he has built up a good 
 trade and acquired the reputation of a careful, con- 
 servative business man and a highly respected 
 citizen. 
 
 Clayton H. Case, Jeweler, No. 335 Main 
 Street— The very elegant jewelry establishment 
 of Mr. Clayton H. Case, or, as he is more frequently 
 called. Captain Case, is situated on Main street, 
 a few doors from Asylum street, in one of the 
 
JiEVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 215 
 
 most eligible business locations in Hartford. 
 The store, the largest in the eity used for the 
 jewelry business, lias a plate glass front about 20 
 feet in width, while its depth is about four times 
 that tignre. Twenty-tivo feet of apartment is 
 l^artitioned off for a workroom, leaving the depth 
 of the salesroom at lifty-tive feet. Mr. Case em- 
 jjloys an average of eight workmen, and does a 
 considerable business in manufaeturing a.s well as 
 an immense trade in watches, his stock of which is 
 uuequaled in size and variety by any similar es- 
 taldishment in Hartford and by few in the State. 
 Mr. Case carries an extensive stock of silverware, 
 jewelry and diamonds, the -value of which 
 reaches the ueighb.^rhood of 840,000. The es- 
 tablishment of this Ijusiness dates from the year 
 1868, when Mr. Case began in a small way at 
 553 Main street, remaining there for three years, 
 and being forced to .seek a larger store at No. 10 
 Asylum street. Hero he remained for nine 
 anil one-half years, and in September, 1880, was 
 again forced by his rapidly growing business to 
 remove, taking the commodious store he now 
 occuj^ies. 
 
 Mr. Case is a native of Connecticut, born in 
 Hartland, in 1840. He Las been a resident of 
 Hartford for about fifteen years, the early part of 
 his life having been passed in his native place, 
 and in Barkhamsted, New York, and California. 
 He entered the service in 1861 as a member of the 
 Tenth Connecticut Volunteers, serving one year 
 in that organization. In 1804 he joined the Four- 
 te3nth Eegulars, in which organization he remain- 
 ed for three years, two of which was spent among 
 the Indians. At the expiration of his term of 
 service he returned to New York, coming thence 
 to Hartford and entering at once into business. 
 Shortly after he settled in Hartford he became 
 a member of that historical corps known as the 
 Putnam Phalanx, and in 1808 was elected to the 
 captaincy, a position he has held consecutively 
 up to the present and through live successive 
 terms. Mr. Case enjoys the entire respect and 
 confidence of the community, and is one of few 
 business men who have Imilt themselves up from 
 the smallest to the largest. 
 
 Allen Brothers (Albert L. & Irving W. 
 Allen), Dealers in Choice Groceries, etc.. No. 
 103 Main Street. — The business of the Messrs. 
 Allen Brothers was established by them at their 
 present location. No. 103 Main street, in the 
 year 1880. 
 
 The premises consist of a store 25 x 100 feet, 
 well stocked with choice groceries, fruits, wood, 
 ■willow and stone ware, etc. The amount of 
 business done amounts to 830,000 per annum, in 
 which the services of two clerks are required. 
 
 Both of the proprietors have been in the gro- 
 cery business in the city jirevious to commenc- 
 ing' here. They are both natives of Canterbury, 
 Conn., and came to Hartford in 1871. 
 
 Mr. Albert L. Allen is thirty-five years of age, 
 while his brother, Irving W., is thirty -two, and 
 were successful farmers in their native town be- 
 fore coming to Hartford to reside. They are 
 classed among the most active and enterprising 
 young business men in the Capitol City. 
 
 Tjiiiiis T. Fenu, Furniture, No. 205 Main 
 Street. — It may not be generally known that 
 this business was established in 1811, and has 
 continued uuinterrujitedly on the same site 
 since that time. 
 
 The founder, who T)uilt .so well, was j\Ir. Dan- 
 iel S. Dewey, who was succeeded by the firm of 
 Messrs. Elton & Deming. The senior member 
 of the firm, Mr. Elton, was the preceptor of Mr. 
 Fenn, the present proprietor. In 1873, Mr. 
 Fenn was promoted from a position in the 
 house to be a jjartner, and the firm became 
 Deming & Fenn. In 1877, four years later, the 
 sign of Linus T. Fenn was hung on the outer 
 walls where it has since remained, a recognition 
 of the success of the i^roprietor who has grown 
 from the lioy to the man, from an employee to 
 the proprietor of one of the oldest and largest 
 furniture establishments in the State of Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 The jiremises now occupied for this constantly 
 increasing business have long since outgrown 
 their original dimensions. Situated at No. 205 
 Main street, on the corner of MuUterry and o]}- 
 posite the Atheujeum, it extends down the latter 
 street 201) feet, and embraces two whole build- 
 ings, comprising six floors. The front of the 
 store has a fine display of elegant furniture, and 
 in the rear, besides display and store rooms, are 
 also workshops, where from twenty to thirty 
 skilled workmen are kept busy in the manufac- 
 ture and repairing of furniture. 
 
 Every conceivable kind of furniture for the 
 rich and for the poor is to be found in these 
 warerooms, including parlor, chamber, dining- 
 room and library suites. 
 
 Two elegantly aj^poii^ted double teams, the 
 finest for the purpose in Hartford, are engaged 
 in the delivery of furniture in the city and sur- 
 rounding villages, where the name of Fenn is 
 .synonymous with furniture. 
 
 Mr. Linus T. Fenn is a native of Plymouth, 
 Conn., and fifty-two years of age. He came to 
 Hartford when a youth of seventeen, since which 
 time this business has felt his infiuence in some 
 ca])acity. His career is a fitting example to every 
 youth who desires to achieve success without 
 having it thru.st upon him. 
 
 Commencing at the beginning, Mr. Fenn has 
 m-istered all the minutine of his luisiness, and 
 stands without a peer in Hartford, in his special 
 line, the architect of his own fortune. 
 
 Scott & Co., Fine Ai-t Dealers and Frame 
 Manufacturers, No. 8 Mulberry Street. — One of 
 the new enterijrises which were started during 
 the year 1882, in Hartford, for the public's fa- 
 vors, is that of Messrs. Scott & Co., who em- 
 barked in business in June of that year, at No. 
 8 Mulberry street, which is a store 20 x 30 feet in 
 size with basement, near the corner of Main 
 street. The general aiii^earance of the estab- 
 lishment is suggestive of success. The propri- 
 etors manufacture and deal in mirrors, pictures, 
 frames, paintings, engravings, stereoscopes, 
 views, and make a specialty of aU styles of gold 
 frames for framing large oil paintings, water 
 colors, fine engravings, etc. 
 
216 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Mr. P. Scott aud Mr. E. A. O'Gormau are ence in the service of the Colt Manufacturing 
 
 jiractical men in their business, pleasant and 
 ■courteous, deserving all the success which they 
 have achieved since their association has com- 
 menced. 
 
 L,. Tiffany & Co. (Xucian Tiflfany and E. 
 "W. Clark), Machinists aud Manufacturers of 
 light Machinery, No. 31 Wells Street. — 
 One of the busiest and most prosj^erous 
 among the machine shops in Hartford, is that 
 of L. Tiflfany cfc Co., at No. 31 Wells street. 
 The jn-esent tirm was established on April 1st, 
 1881, Mr. Tiflfany having previously conducted 
 the business on his own account for many years. 
 The shop is quite a spacious apartment, and 
 ■contains the usual assortment of lathes, drills, 
 planes, punches, presses, etc., found in estab- 
 lishments of this kind, and finds room and em- 
 ployment for an average of .six workmen besides 
 the proprietors, who are both practical machin- 
 ists. 
 
 The manufacture of light machinery, repair- 
 ing and jobbing, and the renovation of mowing 
 machines and lawn mowers form the jirincipal 
 part of the trade of the concern, which extends 
 to the outlving towns and amounts to about 
 •310,000 per annum. 
 
 Mr. Lucian Tiflfany was born in Southbridge, 
 JNIass., and is sixty-nine years of age. For forty 
 j'ears he has been a resident of Hartford, most 
 ■of that time engaged in his present bu.siness. 
 He is a thorough master of his trade and is 
 universally respected as a citizen. 
 
 Mr. E. W. Clark is a native of Boston, Mass., 
 ;twenty-eight years of age. He has resided in 
 Hartford for fifteen years, during! which time 
 he learned the trade of machinist, becoming a 
 member of the firm as above stated. He is a 
 first-class mechanic, and, like his partner, has an 
 •excellent reputation in the community. 
 
 Edwin W. Kenyon, Dealer in Tea, Coflfee, 
 Sugar, Sluices, etc.. No. 433 Main Street. — About 
 .ten years prior to 1883, Messrs. Degnau & Quinn 
 ■started in the tea, cofl'ee aud spice trade at the 
 location on Main street, near Church, now occu- 
 pied bv Mr. Keuvon, their successor, who pur- 
 chased the business on March 22, 1880. The 
 ■store has a commanding front of thirty feet, its 
 dspth, inclusive of the store-house and packing 
 Toom is about eighty feet. A general wholesale 
 and retail trade in teas, coffees, sugars, spices, etc., 
 lis done, extending in its scope throughout Hart- 
 lord and many of the adjoining towns. The 
 specialty of the establishment is the sale of teas 
 and coffees, tlie finer and medium brands of 
 "which are to be found here in great variety and 
 ■quantity. Four assistants and two delivery 
 "wagons are emjiloyed in the business, which on 
 an average stock of .'35,000. reaches a volume of 
 about 340,000, with indications of a large and 
 steady increase, it having been doubled l\v Mr. 
 ienyoa since its purchase from the original pro- 
 prietors. 
 
 Mr. Kenyon was born in Enfield, Conn., in 
 1853, but has resided in Hartford since infancy. 
 His education was acquired in the puldic and 
 liigh schools here, and his early business experi- 
 
 Co. , wherp he was bookkeei:)er for the ten years 
 preceding his entrance into his present business. 
 In the business and social circles of Hartford, 
 Mr. Kenyon is regarded as a rising man and a 
 citizen of undoubted worth. 
 
 The Hartford Hammer Co., Cushman 
 Street. — In the western part of the city, on and 
 near Caj^itol avenue, there are a number of 
 manufactories which have located there wiihin 
 a few years, comprising some of the largest in 
 Hartford. 
 
 Prominent among these establishments is the 
 Hartford Hammer Co., which was incorporated 
 in 1881, with a capital of $20,000 and the foUow- 
 ing-named officers: President, Samuel L. Way; 
 Secretary and Treasurer, Geo. W. Rogers. 
 The jjremises occu23ied consist of one building, 
 50x100 feet in size and two stories in height, and 
 the number of men employed is thii'ty. 
 
 Tiie specialty of the company is the maniifac- 
 ture of solid cast steel machinists' riveting, nail 
 and liorse-shoers' hammers, in which they are 
 the second largest in America. 
 
 All hammers are made of a superior quality of 
 cast steel, and the handles of the best .selected 
 hickory. They are thoroughly tested at the 
 factory. They are of an imj^roved shape and 
 superior finish. Their eye is so constructed as 
 to give greater strength to surrounding parts 
 aud allow hanging the hammer to suit any taste. 
 They have an elongated socket, which gives 
 greater bearing to the handle than the ordinary 
 trade hammer, and improves the ai:)pearance as 
 well as being of great advantage in its use. 
 
 They emi^loy commercial travelers in difierent 
 jjarts of the United States aud do quite an ex- 
 port trade. 
 
 Mr. Samuel L. Way, the president of the com- 
 l>any, is a well-known and long-established 
 wholesale and retail hardware dealer in this city, 
 where he was born in 1833, and, like his father 
 before him, is closely identified with the mer- 
 cantile aud manufacturing interests of Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Geo. W. Rogers, the secretary aud treas- 
 urer, is a native of Hartford, born in 1845, and 
 has since bis majority been engaged in mechan- 
 ical pursuits, and during the war was an en- 
 gineer in the U. S. Navy. 
 
 The 25roductions of this comisany rank liigh 
 with the trade, and "Hartford Hammers" are a 
 guarantee of reliability and artistic finish. 
 
 The Charter Oak City Shirt Co., 
 
 Manufacturers of Shirts, Collars, Cuflfs, etc.. 
 No. 42 Union Place. — The inceistion of this in- 
 dustry which takes its name and trade-mark 
 from the historic tree that figured so largely in 
 the history of Connecticut, dates from the year 
 1850, when H. Griswold & Co. began the manu- 
 facture of shirts, etc., on Asylum street. The 
 original firm was succeeded by C. A. Griffith A: 
 Co., who gave jilace to Case tt Rathbuu, they 
 being succeeded by McCuUougli A- Robertson, 
 aud then by Covey, Smith it McCullough. and 
 they by the present joint-stock comi>any, which 
 was fo"rmed in 1882, Jlr. W. E. Covey, being 
 chosen President, Mr. John H. Burr, Secretary 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 217 
 
 and Treasurer, and Mr. John McCiillough, Su- 
 perintendent. The ])remises occupied are in 
 the elegant brick building corner of Union place 
 and Allyn street, and consist of two floors, each 
 50 X 150 feet in size, where there are employed an 
 average of from fifty to sixty hands. Thirty sew- 
 ing machines, run by steam, are in constant 
 operation, and the goods turned out are num- 
 bered l)y the hundreds of dozens per month. 
 The comimny make a specialty of custom-made 
 shirts, and their trade in this line, as well as in 
 the other branches, extends all over New 
 England and jjortions of the Middle. Western 
 and Southern States, amounting in the aggre- 
 gate to about 1550,000 jier annum. In the base- 
 ment of the building and in connection with the 
 factory is situated a steam laundry where, in 
 addition to the company's work, there is done a 
 general laiindry business of from Sl"2,000 to 
 ^15,000 jier year. This factory is the largest 
 in Hartford and one of the largest in the State, 
 and its trade is increasing to such an extent as 
 to warrant the belief that a few years will place 
 it at the very head of the list. 
 
 Mr. J. M. Burr, the jiresident of the company, 
 is a native of Torrington, Conn., and is well 
 known in the business circles of the State. Mr. 
 John H. Burr, his son, the secretary and treas- 
 urer, is also a native of Torrington, and is about 
 twenty-two years of age, having been in the 
 comi)any since its organization. 
 
 Mi\ John McCullough, the superintendent, 
 ■was born in Pottsville, Penn. , in June, 1844, and 
 has been in the business of manufacturing shirts 
 since boyhood. He has resided in Hartford 
 about twenty years, and is thoroughly esteemed 
 by all who know him. 
 
 Aimer Clmroli, Manufacturer and Dealer in 
 nemp. Flax and Cotton Hope, etc.. Manufactory 
 and Office, No. 33 Morgan Street. — The manufac- 
 ture of rope is ovl^ of tlic oldest industries in 
 Hartford. 
 
 The first record we have of it is of one Everett 
 Bfujaniin, who was located at No. 46 Morgan 
 street, and of wh(jra the father of Aljner Churcli, 
 the sultject of this sketch, learned his trade, and 
 succeeded to tlie business in 178!). 
 
 When a lioy of ten years. Aljncr commenced to 
 learii tlie l)usme.ss of his father, James Churcli, and 
 for eleven years was a faithful apprentice and ;is- 
 sistant. In 18o~ he succeeded in turn to the busi- 
 ness, still remaining at the old stand, where he con- 
 tinued till Novemlier 7, 1882, when he removed to 
 No. 33 Morgan street, where he has a new building 
 erected for his constantly increasing Ijusiness. At 
 East Hartford he owns a rope-walk 900 feet in 
 length, where is produced a larger part of his 
 stock. Besides manufacturing hemp, ilax and cot- 
 ton ro])e, lines, twine, and rope belting, he deals 
 largely in tar, ])itch, rosin bhicks, scra|) iron, 
 metals, etc., doing a business amounting to $40,000 
 per annum. 
 
 That Mr. Cliurch is fond of old faces is attested 
 by the retaining in his em])Ioy the same assistants 
 for nearly thirty years. It is claimed, that pre- 
 vious to his removal on Novemljer 7, 188'', that 
 this business was the oldest in the State with one 
 
 continuous existence in the same family and at tlie 
 same location. 
 
 Mr. Church is one of Connecticut's most relialde 
 citizen*. He has been honored by tlie people by 
 electing him as alderman in the city go\'crnment 
 from the Sixth Ward, and in 18(il was a representa- 
 tive to the State Legislature. In both iiositions he 
 rejiresented his constituents with honor and fidelity. 
 
 E. B. Fariiliani, Dealer in Coal, No. 2r)3 
 State Street. — The history of the coal business in 
 Il.irtford would not be complete if the name of Mr. 
 Elias B. Farnham was omitted from the list. It 
 was in 18.5!) that he was first coni-ected with the 
 liusiness as bookkeeper for Mr. M. Lord. In 1861, 
 he embarked in lousiness on his own account, on 
 the opposite coiner from that on which he is now 
 located. In 1863, he removed across the street to 
 No. 2.")3 State, where, for twenty years, he has 
 built uj) a substantial reputation. Ilis yards con- 
 tain a stock of snflScient niagnituih^ to meet all de- 
 mands from his numerous customers, at short notice 
 and on the most reasonable terms. The site of Mr. 
 Faniham's office and yards is indentified with the 
 early commercial history of Hartford. 
 
 Jlr. Wm. II. Iiiilay. for a long time kept a store 
 here, and held extensive business relations with 
 people throughout the State. On making excava- 
 tions, not long since, an old fashioned, inijiorted 
 fire poker was unearthed, which is now in use by 
 Mr. Farnham, and which he exhibits with much 
 interest as a relic of more than fifty years ago, and 
 the one used by Mr. Imlay, who long since passed 
 away. Mr. Farnham sells about 1!3,000 tons of 
 domestic coal yearly, and makes a specialty of the 
 Franklin coal, claimed to be the l)est in the world. 
 He is a native of Connecticut, and has spent most 
 of his busy life in Hartford. In 1861, he was cap- 
 tain of the first military company wliicli drilled for 
 the war, and sjient much money in his effort to 
 keep them together till they could be mustered in. 
 It was in this comijnny tliat Gen. Ilawley drilled as 
 private, and it is with much interest that Mr. Farn- 
 ham relates the attending circumstances. Later 
 he was appointed Captain of Blarines in the Xavy, 
 but declined, jirefering the solid and substantial 
 life of a successful roal merchant to that of a roving 
 life at sea. He is a man of rare executive ability, 
 quick in action, of good liusiness qualifications, and 
 one jiossessing the respect and esteem of a large 
 circle of acquaintances. 
 
 Aiulrow K. Hull, Dealer in Meat, Poultry, 
 Game, Fruit and Vegetal>les, etc.. No. 70 Market 
 street. — The meat and fish market of Mr. Andrew 
 K. Hull, which is located at No. 70 ^tarket street, 
 was established in its jiresent location by that 
 gentleman in 1881. 
 
 He deals in meat, poultry, game, fruit, vege- 
 tables, fish, oysters, clams and lobsters, and de- 
 livers the same to his customers without extra 
 expense throughout the city. 
 
 His market is centrally located, expensively fitted 
 up with all the modern conveniences now found in 
 first class establishments of this kind, including a 
 cosey office, modern refrigerators, etc., etc. 
 
 Previous to embarking in business for himself he 
 served an aiiprenticeship as a butcher in this city, 
 
218 
 
 THE niSTOBICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 where the large acquaintence he made was of great 
 Ijenefit to him when he embarked in Ijusiness for 
 liimself. 
 
 Mr. Hull was born November :5, 1842, in 
 Cheshire, Comi., and came to Hartford in 1859. 
 
 He was a memljer of the Twelftli Connectici;t 
 Infantry, participating in all the battles in which 
 that veteran regiment was engaged up to that of 
 Winchester, Va., October 19, 1864, where he was 
 shot in the head and in the report of the Adjutant- 
 General was announced dead. The ball went in 
 near the eye and passed diagonally down coming 
 out in the necli, a very serious wound wliicli kept 
 him sick for two years. He is an active member 
 of the Tyler Post, G. A. K., of this city, and one 
 of the best-known marketmen in Hartfoid. By 
 diligence, industry, and perseverance he has earned 
 a first class trade, and is using every honorable 
 means to advance and extend it. 
 
 James H. A§I)mea<i & Son., Gold Beat- 
 ers, No. 41 Trumbull Street.— It was in 1839 
 that Mr. James H. Ashmead established this 
 business in Hartford. He continued alone 
 till 1867, when he took his son, Mr. Robert H. 
 Ashmead, into jjartnership, thereby forming the 
 firm of J. H. Ashmead k Son, and at the same 
 time removed .to their present location. The 
 premises occupied are two floors, each 60x25 feet 
 in size, and twelve people are employed. The 
 feature of the business is manufacturing gold 
 foil for dental purijoses, of which they are the 
 largest jiroducers in New England. They also 
 make gold leaf for gilding. In contrast to most 
 gold beater.s, this firm makes a sijeeialty of re- 
 fining gold, taking nothing for granted as to 
 quality. In the manufacture of their gold foil 
 and leaf they start right. This process of manu- 
 facture and principle of business was one of the 
 cardinal maxims of the founder, and which has 
 done much towards making the name "Ash- 
 mead " synonomous with purity, in the trade. 
 
 Mr. James H. Ashmead was a native of Ger- 
 mantown, Pa., born in 1810. He learned his 
 trade in Philadelphia, and came to Hartford to 
 reside in 1836. He some years ago was an alder- 
 man in the Citv Government. He died Decem- 
 ber, 1880. 
 
 Mr. Robert H. Ashmead was born in Hartford, 
 in 1844. He learned his trade of the father, and, 
 as above mentioned, became a jjartner in 1867, 
 and conducts the business as sole owner, under 
 the name of J. H. Ashmead & Son. 
 
 The business of this establishment extends in 
 a wholesale way throughout the Unitetl States 
 and to many parts of Europe. It is tlie .second 
 oldest uf its class in America. 
 
 it. The successors to Mr. Allen were Allen & Wil- 
 laid, who conducted it until September, 1872. Mr. 
 C. L.Willard was the next proprietor, and remained 
 so till Noveml)er, 1877, when the ijresent gentle- 
 men, Messrs. Olds & Whipple, assumed the proprie- 
 torshii). After five years of successful effort, dur- 
 ing which time a business aggregating $63,000 per 
 annum was built up, they, in February, 1882, 
 l)ought the stove Ijusiness of 5Ir. R. D. Allen, who 
 was located at 168 State street, next door, and con- 
 solidated it with llieir own. The venture proved a 
 success, as shown in the increase of Ijusiness done 
 in 1882, which amounted to !f82,000. Tiie prem- 
 ises necessary for the prosecution of the lousiness 
 consists of two buildings at numbers 164, 166, and 
 168 State street, each three stories witli attic, in 
 heiglit, and 40 x 80 feet ; also several storehouses 
 in different jjarts of tlie city. The business is 
 divided into tliiee departments — 1st. Stoves, Fur- 
 naces and Ranges ; 2d. Agricultural Imijlements : 
 3d. Fertilizer.'^. 
 
 In the stove, furnace and range department are 
 found a large stock of every conceivable style of 
 stoves and h'aters for the parlor, kitclien or office. 
 They make a specialty of Boynton's furnaces, 
 Barstow's wrought-iron furnaces and Gold's hy- 
 gean and liealtli heaters. About fourteen expe- 
 rienced workmen are found necessary in this 
 department. 
 
 In the agricultural implement line they are 
 agents for the Cham|)ion mowing machine and the 
 Mudgett hay feeder, horse rakes, Wiard's chill 
 Plow, and Kemp's manure spreaders. 
 
 As dealeis in fertilizers, they make a specialty of 
 the Quinnipiac fertilizer, manufactured at New 
 London, Conn., and tlie Castor pumice made in 
 St. Louis, 'Mo. 
 
 Mr. Alfred A. Olds, tlie senior mcmljer of the 
 firm, is a native of Danielsonville, Conn., and 
 thirty-one years of age. After receiving a prelim- 
 inary education in tlie schools of his native State, 
 and a thorough course in a business college of this 
 city, he commenced his business life in an insur- 
 ance office, from which he graduated to learn his 
 present business. 
 
 Mr. Frank H. Whipple was born in New Brain- 
 tre, Mass., in 1856. He was educated in tlie puljlia 
 schools and at a business college in Pouglikeejjsie, 
 N. Y., coming to this city on the formation of the 
 firm of wliich he is now a member. 
 
 It is safe to say that for so young a firm there is- 
 not a liouse in the city that excels them in growth, 
 credit, and volume of business done. 
 
 Conservative, yet enterprising ; cautious, yet 
 bold, they have won their way unolitrusively to 
 tlie first rank in the commercial world of their 
 adopted city, and fully deserve the liberal patron- 
 age which they now enjoy. 
 
 Olds & AVhipple (Alfred H. Olds and Freder- 
 ick H. Whipple), Hot-Air Furnaces, Ranges, Stoves, 
 
 Agricultural ImpllenisQts, Fertilizers, etc., Nos. 
 134 and 166 Siategtbreet— In 1858, Messrs. Backus 
 & Barstow, wlha) condacted, at that time, a stove 
 store in Norwict, Goon., saw in the growth of 
 Hartford an opening fo" their business. In the 
 spring of that year, t'.iey opened a store at Nos. 164 
 and 166 State street, in this city, under the charge of 
 Mr. Charles Allen as agent. For a time, the business 
 was conducted as above, when Mr. Allen purchased 
 
 Kibbe & Kobiiison (Elbert S. Kibbe & 
 Charles P. Robinson), Wholesale Grocers, Pro- 
 vision Dealers, and Commission Merchants, Nos. 
 232 and 234 State Street. — Occupying a con- 
 spicuous position among the whole.sale grocery 
 houses of Connecticut, the establishment of 
 KiVibe & Robinson is worthy of more thar % i^ass- 
 ing notice in this volume, both on account of 
 the high commercial standing of the gentlemen 
 who compose the firm and on account of the 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF GONNECTICUT. 
 
 219 
 
 extended scope of their operations. Some years 
 ago this business was carried on nndcr the firm 
 name of Kibbe, Wads'worth A: Miller, tliey being 
 succeeded by Kibbe, Bolles A: Co., who in turn 
 gave i)laee to Kibbe <fe Robinson, the j)resent 
 firm, in March 1, 1882. The building occupied 
 by this firm is a .spacious, substantial and ele- 
 gant edifice, and is an ornament to the Vnisiuess 
 section of the city. Its internal arrangements 
 impri'ss the visitor with the idea that a large 
 and i)r(>sperous business is transacted within its 
 walls and a cursory view of the immense stock 
 of merchandise is calculated to confirm that im- 
 pression. The commodious and elegantly fitted 
 counting room, with its crowd of busy clerks, 
 togetlier with the admirably arranged salesroom 
 with its force of energetic and aflable salesmen 
 present a sight of rare activity and are in them- 
 selves proof of the immense Ijusiness transacted. 
 In addition to this the firm has a large railroad 
 warehouse on Windsor street running through 
 to the track of the New York, New Haven and 
 Hartford road to and from which shipments are 
 directly made and received. 
 
 The trade of this hou.se is not confined by the 
 limits of the home State, but extends in various 
 directions and over a large territory. 
 
 Mr. Kibbe, the seniorpartner and the younger 
 man of the firm, wasboru in East Long Meadow, 
 Mass., in 18.51, and has lived in Hartford since 
 1868. Mr. Robinson is a native of Connecticut, 
 born in the town of Scotland in 1851. He re- 
 ceived a good education in the public scliools 
 there and in Hartford, in which latter jjlace he 
 took up his residence when he was just 18 years 
 of age. 
 
 Both members of the firm occupy high i^osi- 
 tious in business and social life and the firm is 
 looked upon as being one of the representative 
 vouug business houses of Hartford. 
 
 Horace H. Kiiisj, Dealer in Boots and Shoes, 
 No. 49.5 Main Street.— Tn April. 1840, Mr. Hollis 
 T. Chapin, in compauj with Mr. Horace 11. King, 
 established the boot and shoe business now carried 
 on by the latter gentleman, and located it next door 
 to the store now occupied. Six years later the firm, 
 then known as Chapin & King, purchased the 
 building in which the store is now situated and 
 moved their business into it. Tlie firm continued 
 until 1873, wlien Mr" Chapin died, his interest re- 
 verting Ijy purchase to Mr. King, who has since 
 conducted tlie Ijusiness on his sole account. The 
 store is 24x(i.5 feet in size, and is well-stocked with 
 boots, shoes, rubliers and the other articles that go 
 to make \ip tlie merchandi.se of a first-class estab- 
 lishment of its kind. The trade, which is entirely 
 retail, is confined to Hartford and the immediate 
 vicinity, liut is of large and satisfactory propor- 
 tions. For many years subsecjuent to tlie establish- 
 ment of the business the firm engaged in manufac- 
 turing, but the introduction of niacliinery and the 
 construction of large factories induced them to 
 abandon that branch, which they did aliout ten 
 years ago. 
 
 Mr. King is a native of Lyme. Conn., and was 
 born in l^i'i. He resided in tliat place until lie 
 was twenty-one years of age, learning there the 
 trade of practical boot and shoe maker. He came 
 
 to Hartford in 1843, and after working as journey- 
 man in a small shop for about six months, pur- 
 chased the l)Usiness, continuing it until he (Altered 
 into jjartnership with Mr. Cliapin. Mr. King is 
 regarded as one of the safe business men of the 
 Capitol City. 
 
 Kdward J. Ciisick, Brass Founder, No. 
 33 Wells Street. — It was some years ago that Jlr. 
 W. C. Marshall carried on the business of a 
 brass founder in this city. Later he was suc- 
 ceeded by Mr. Edward J. Gusick, on Trumbull 
 street, in 1864. The constantly increasing busi- 
 ness necessitated his removal to the i)resent hx'a- 
 tion at No. 31 Wells street, in April, 1880. 
 The foundry is situated in the rear, overlooking 
 the Park river, and is built of brick. It is 40 x fiO 
 feet, and is one of the largest and most complete 
 establishments of its kind in Conneeti<!ut. 
 
 He manufactures railway work, machine 
 work, ship work, spikes and rudiler braces, bab- 
 bit metal, red metal, yellow brass, and is the 
 t)nly foundry in Connecticut which furnishes 
 dry sand work. 
 
 All of the ljusiness is done in the ofiice situ- 
 ated on the street, and about seven people are 
 employed in its details. The amount of busi- 
 ness exceeds S30,000 per annum. A large part 
 of the works is engaged in the manufacture of 
 brass valves for several of the large establish- 
 ments in and aboTit this city. 
 
 Mr. Cusick is a native of New Haven, forty- 
 three years of age, and has been a resident of 
 this city about sixteen years. 
 
 His establishment is the largest of its class in 
 Hartford, and its productions have an enviable 
 reputation among the large manufacturing con- 
 o?rns in the State. 
 
 Fred. Kiiigsley, Proprietor of The Popular 
 Market, No. 272 Asylum Street, corner Ann. — 
 The finest, largest and most expensively fitted mar- 
 ket in Hartford is undoubtedly "The Popular- 
 Market " at tlie corner of Asylum and Ann streets, 
 of which Mr. Fred. Kingsley is the pro2Jrietor. 
 Mr. Kingsley started in busmess in 1873 on the op- 
 posite side of Asylum street and continued there 
 until the demands of his rapidly and steadily in- 
 creasing trade forced him to seek the more roomy 
 premises he now occujues. His traffic is mainly 
 among the better class of Hartford faniilics, and 
 hence, his stock of meats, vegetables, fruit, poultry, 
 etc., is selected with unusual care. So well has 
 Mr. Kingsley earned for his market the title "l)op- 
 ular," that his yearly trade, which is almost en- 
 tirely a retail one, amounts to the very respectable 
 figure of $75,000. 
 
 Mr. Kingsley is " native and to the manor- 
 born," and is about forty-one years of age. In 
 liusincss circles he enjoys an enviable reputation, 
 while his social qualities have won him hosts of 
 friends. 
 
 .v. W. Riinisdoll, Dealer in Flour, Grain, 
 Feed, and Hay, No. 60S Main Street. — The busi- 
 ness of Mr. Ramsdell was first established on 
 January 1, 1882, as A. W. Ramsdell .t Co., 
 which so continued till May of the same year, 
 when he succeeded to the business alone. A. 
 
220 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUS TRIAL 
 
 profitable business in flour, feed, gi-ain nncl hay 
 lias been built up against strong competition, 
 thus demonstrating the successful business quali- 
 fications of Mr. Ramsdell. He was born in Pe- 
 quonock, Connecticut, in 1858, and for so young 
 a man can be considered a good example for the 
 average youth who come to Hartford to seek 
 their fortune. Mr. R. , by uniform f)oliteness and 
 attention, has achieved a success which can be 
 pointed to with great satisfaction. 
 
 E. r>. Williams, Cigars and Tobacco, Manu- 
 facturer of the Paul Murphy. Pearl Queen, Wind- 
 mill, Nutmeg, and " 555 " Brands of Cigars, No. 
 555 Main Street. — Among the popular establishments 
 for the manufacture of cigars and the sale of other 
 articles for tlie comfort and pleasure of the smoker, 
 the store of Mr. Williams is rapidly taking a place 
 in the front rank. 
 
 Mr. Williams began his business in a small way 
 in 1875, at No. 4 State street, and remained there 
 until November, 1, 1882, when his rapidly increas- 
 ing trade compelled him to seek the more 
 commodious quarters he now occupies. Mr. 
 Williams' special brands of cigars have attained 
 such popularity that he keeps constantly employed 
 a half dozen skilled workmen in their manufacture. 
 His trade is largely wholesale, many of the saloons 
 and cigar stores in Hartford selling only the brands 
 manufactured by him. Mr. Williams is a native of 
 Brooklyn, Conn., and his birth dates from Novem- 
 ber 1, 1835. He came to Hartford in 1858, and 
 was for si.xteen years identified as salesman and 
 partner with the wholsale and jobljing tobacco 
 house of J. D. Burnham & Co. Mr. Williams is a 
 representative man in his line, and enjoys tlie 
 fullest esteem of the community. 
 
 S. G. Mo.se.s, Sportsmen's Goods and Drug- 
 gists' Sundries, No. 587 Main Street. — Mr. 
 Stephen G. Moses, the subject of this sketch, is 
 .one of the oldest and best known business men 
 in Hartford, having been in the drug business in 
 that city for a period of thirtv-tive years. Up 
 to the year 1881 Mr. Moses conducted the large 
 diTig .store at No. 605 Main street, now owned by 
 Messrs. Goodrich >t Kapelye, running his pres- 
 ent establishment as an adjunct. Mr. Moses' re- 
 tirement from business in 1881 was caused by 
 illness, but with recovery came the longing to 
 re-enter active life, and its result, the present 
 business. 
 
 Mr. Moses is a native of Simsbury, Conn., 
 and was born in 1818. He has lived in Hartford, 
 for about fifty years, during which time he has 
 attained to an enviable reputation as a thorough 
 and reliable business man. During his busy life 
 he has had but little time or inclination to seek 
 or serve in ofiiee, and was never induced to ac- 
 accept such burdens exce25t in the year 1877, 
 when he served one term as Water Commis.sioner, 
 3Ir. Moses is one of Hartford's respected citi- 
 zens. 
 
 The present firm was formed in 1859. The prem- 
 ises comprise one floor 50x100 feet, where four 
 power presses and twenty jjeople are employed. 
 Large quantities of work for insurance com- 
 jjanies, manufacturing establishments, and show 
 people are daily turned out here. 
 
 Mr. John H. Bingham was born in New York 
 city, in 1831, and Mr. Wm. H. Dodd in Hart- 
 ford, in 1826. 
 
 Both gentlemen have long been identified with 
 Hartford, where they have l)uilt up a business, 
 one of the largest of its kind in the State, are 
 regarded as a reliable and representative firm, 
 and their establishment is a credit to the in- 
 dustries of the citv. 
 
 Bingham & I><>(ld, Engravers and Litho- 
 -\gi'aphers. No. 80 State Street. — The general busi- 
 ness of engraving and lithogra23hing now con- 
 ducted by Messrs. Bingham & Dodd, at No. 80 
 .State street, was established about the year 1844. 
 
 Peerless Wire Mattress Co., Manufac- 
 turers of Woven Wire Mattresses of every Descrip- 
 tion, No. 287 Sheldon Street. — It goes without say- 
 ing that New England is the home of inventions. 
 
 In Hartford there are large and small establish- 
 ments which are producing the inventions of a busy 
 brain, each of more or less benefit to mankind. 
 
 The Peerless Wire Mattress Co. of which we 
 write produces a mattress which enables thousands 
 to say with great satisfaction, 
 
 " Tired nature's sweet restorer, 
 Balmy sleep." 
 
 Tlie company was organized in February, 1880, 
 with a capital of |5.00(), which was increased in 
 February, 1882, to SlO,000, with A. A. Hunt, Pres- 
 ident ; E. W. Fuller, Secretary ; H. P. Hitchcock, 
 Treasurer; and the following gentlemen as Direc- 
 tors : Governor ]\IarshaU Jewell, A. A. Hunt, H. 
 P. Hitchcock, C. A. Jewell, and E. W. Fuller. 
 
 The building occupied for the manufactory and 
 ofHce is 138 x 40 feet, one story, and the number of 
 peo|)le employed averages aliout twenty. The wire 
 mattresses manufactured by this company are made 
 under the patents of Mr. John Faruham, the orig- 
 inal inventor of woven wire mattresses, and are 
 claimed equal if not superior to any manufactured. 
 Only the best quality of steel-tempered, double- 
 tinned wire and thoroughly-seasoned, hard wood 
 lumber is used; the aim of the company being to 
 put upon the market a mattress that has strength, 
 durability and beauty conil lined, which will com- 
 pete with any manufactured sucessfuUy as regards 
 price, for the same quality of goods. 
 
 Two non-adjustal)le styles are made, called the 
 Peerless and Pefection, respectively, while the ad- 
 justable is called rightly the Excelsior, as it is 
 claimed to be " the handsomest bed in the market." 
 
 A very superior cot for sea-side cottages, hotels, 
 and other jjlaces is very handsome and luxurious, 
 being very strong and light, weighing only twenty- 
 eight pounds, and when folded can be put away in 
 a very small space. 
 
 Most of the trade of this company lies in New 
 England and New York State, with a considerable 
 export trade in Spain, Cuba, Jamaica, Chili and 
 other warm countries. 
 
 Mr. Asa A. Hunt, the president, is a n-itive of 
 Coventry, Tolland County, Conn., and was edu- 
 cated at Williston, East Hampton, Mass., and be- 
 came a resident of Hartford in 1808. In addition 
 to attending to being president of this company, he 
 carries on an extensive retail coal business here, 
 which was established about four years ago. 
 
hBVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 221 
 
 Jlr. Edgar W. Fuller, the secretary, ia a native 
 of East liaddam, and lias been in Hartford since 
 1.S07. He is thirty-four years of age. 
 
 The treasurer, Mr. Henry P. Hitchcock, is a na- 
 tive of Farniington, and al)out forty-two years of 
 age. He was educated at the Willjra!:am, Mass., 
 Academy, and was ft)rnierly of tlie firm of tlie well- 
 known clothiers and merchant tailors in this city, 
 Messrs. Kelsey & Hitchcock. He has licen a mem- 
 ber of the city government of Hartford, and occu- 
 pied other trusts of a public nature. 
 
 The officers and directors of this company rank 
 among the best known and most influential of 
 Hartford citizens, and its productions are recog- 
 nized as among the best if not superior to any of 
 its class now before the public. 
 
 Ludlow, Barker & Co., Dealers in Pianos, 
 Organs, Slieet Music, Musical goods, etc., Nos. 1.5li 
 and 15.5 Asylum Street. — Mr. Ludlow Barker, the 
 subject of this sketch, established himself in the 
 music business in Hartford in 1850, and located at 
 the corner of Main and Pearl streets, whence he 
 removed to the store he now occupies about thirteen 
 years ago. The premises now occupied are 50.\40 
 feet in size and are among the most ])leasant and 
 eligibly located in the city. The business done is 
 probably the most extensive in its line in Hartford, 
 or perhaps in the State of Connecticut, and em- 
 braces music and musical goods in every variety, 
 especial prominence being given to the Chickering, 
 Hazelton, Haines Brothers, Ivers and Pond's, and 
 Hardman pianos, and the Mason & Hamlin organ, 
 Mr. Barker having sold the latter instrument for 
 upwards of twenty-five years. Otlier lower priced 
 l)iano3 and organs are also sold. Besides these 
 there is a full assortment of musical instruments of 
 all kinds and the annual sale of violins, guitars, 
 banjos, flutes, accordeons, drums, etc., forms a 
 business of itself, larger than the entire trade of 
 some of the other houses in the same line in Hart- 
 ford. The house claims to carry the most extensive 
 stock and largest variety of sheet music, foreign 
 and domestic, in the State, a claim that inspection 
 seems to verify. Barker & Co.'s Musical Journal 
 is a si.xteen-page monthly devoted to musical mat- 
 ters and containing a vast deal of informution re- 
 garding the profession as well as copies of the 
 latest music. 
 
 Mr. Ludlow Barker is a native of New Brunswick, 
 about fifty years of age. He has l>een a resident of 
 Hartford for thirty-three years and has always been 
 identified with his present Imsiness. He is a 
 practical as well as theoretical musician, having 
 been a professor of music and piano tuner before 
 entering business here. He is leader of the Hart- 
 ford Male Chorus, and has been an organist in this 
 city for nearly thirty-six years. The last ten years 
 at the Centre Church, tlie richest and one of tlie 
 oldest church organizations in the State of Cim- 
 necticut. In business as well as in private life. 
 Mr. Barker is highly regarded, audit is due to him 
 to say that much of tlie musical taste for which 
 Hartford's jieojjle are noted, is due to his earnest 
 efforts and admiralile example. Mr. Barker's son, 
 W. L. B. Barker, has Ijeen with hini as assistant 
 for the past ten years, and thoroughly understands 
 the business. 
 
 W. H. Lathrop, Wholesale and Retail Gro- 
 cer, Dealer in Foreign and Domestic Fruits, Teas, 
 etc., Nos. 314, 810 and 318 Asylum Street.— This 
 business was liegun in 1807 at No. 11!) Pearl street, 
 under tlie firm name of Dow ia Latlirop. About 
 four years then'.ifter Jlr. Lathrop iiurchased Mr. 
 Dow's interest and continued tlie business at the 
 old stand until 1877, when he moved to his present 
 commodious and elegant stores on Asylum street. 
 
 The premises occupied by Mr. Lathrop consist 
 of a store and basement, each ISO x 100 in size and 
 running through from Asylum street to the small 
 street in the rear. Tlie business done rec^uires a 
 stock of groceries, teas, fruits, liquors, etc., amount- 
 ing to about $10,000 in value, and reaching a yearly 
 volume of S75,000, with a steady increase. The 
 trade of the house is both wlioh^sale and retail and 
 reaches far along the lines of all the railroads run- 
 ning out of Hartford, its bulk, however, being 
 transacted in the city. An average of six assistants 
 are employed, except in the holiday seasons when 
 tlie force is incri':i.sed to meet the demands of the 
 brisker trade. Mr. Lathrop does a very large trade 
 in fruits, and in this particular his shipments take 
 a very wide range, extending to all jjarts of the 
 New England States. 
 
 Mr. Lathrop is a native of Coventry in this State, 
 born in 1845, and has lived in Hartford most of 
 the time since 18i:l. In early life he learned the 
 trade of Ijank note printer, being employed in that 
 business both in Hartford and New York, in which 
 latter city he was for some time in the service of 
 the Continental Bank Note Company. 
 
 Mr. Lathrop has earned and enjoys the entire 
 respect of his l>usiness associates and patrons as- 
 well as the cordial liking of a large circle of per- 
 sonal friends. 
 
 Fraiiois & Co., Importers and Dealers in 
 
 Hardware and Metals, No. 343 Main Street. — The 
 establishment of the house of Francis «fc Co. dates 
 back to 1799, when Mr. C. Sigouruey laid the 
 foundation of the business, which was succeeded 
 to by Frauds & Gridley, and in 18(57 Ijy Francis & 
 Co. The firm formerly consisted of Messrs. Wil- 
 liam and F. A. Francis, but in 1S80 the latter gen- 
 tleman withdrew, and the business has since been 
 carried on by Mr. William P'rancis, the old firm 
 name being retained. The stock consists of a gen- 
 eral assortment of hardware, tools, cordage, metals 
 and wire, the latter aiticle being manufactured to 
 order. The trade of the liouse, which is both 
 wholesale and retail, is located in Hartford anil 
 its vicinity, and is one of tlie largest iu the hard- 
 ware line in the city. Tlie premises occupied are 
 on Main street, near Asylum street, and within a 
 short distance from the Post-office and City Hall, 
 in the heart of the business portion of the city. 
 The store is a spacious one, and, with the floor 
 above and a large storehouse in the rear, affords 
 room for carrying a very large stock. 
 
 Mr. Francis is a native of Hartford, born in 
 1824, and is a descendant of the old and well- 
 known Connecticut family l)y that name. He has- 
 been in his present location since 1843, and has 
 won and maintained an irreiuoachable business 
 reputation. 
 
222 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 C. A. Wright, Artists' Materials, No. 197 
 Main Street. — The founders of this house were 
 Messrs. Wriglit efc Burnham in the year 1837. Later 
 it was Mr. William L. Wright, the father of the 
 present proprietor, who conducted it up to the year 
 18G0, since which tinje the son, Mr. Cliarles A. 
 Wright, lias carried on the business. The father 
 died in 1871. For many years the business was 
 conducted on C'?ntral Row, and was removed from 
 there to the store ue.xt to tlie present location, and 
 to No. 197 Main street in August, 1882. 
 
 The premises are 18x50 feet in size, and the 
 stock consists of artists' materials in every variety. 
 English tube ])aints, artists' canvas, and Ijruslies, 
 water-colors, pencils, fine colors of every descrip- 
 tion, wax flower materials, crayons, pastels, engi- 
 neers, and architects' supplies, paints, oils, glass, 
 varnishes for painters and decorators, etc., etc. 
 
 In addition, a general business is done in house 
 and sign painting, from four to fifteen people be- 
 ing engaged, according to the season of the year. 
 
 Mr. C. A. Wright is a native of Hartford, and 
 lorty years of age. He has always Ijeen identified 
 with this l)usiness from boyhood, and does a safe 
 and lucrative trade. 
 
 H. C. Judd & Root (H. C. Jildd, J. H. 
 Root, C. H. Owen and L. A. Barbour), Commission 
 Wool Meichants, corner Allyn and Higli Streets. — 
 The very extensive wool commission house of H. C. 
 ■ Jiadd & Root dates its formation from the year 
 1869, when Messrs. Henry C. .Judd, Judson H. 
 Root, E. II. On-en and G. Wells Root entered into 
 a cupartnersliip and laid the foundation of what is 
 now one of the largest houses of its kind in New 
 England, and the only commission house of any 
 magnitude in the State of Connecticut. In 1872 
 Mr. G. Wells Root withdrew from the firm, and in 
 1831 Mr. E. H. Owen was removed Ijy death, his 
 place as special partner being filled Ijy his son, Mr. 
 C. H. Owen, of the present firm, who, with Mr. L. 
 A. Barbour, constitutes tlie special branch in the 
 concern. The premises occupied by the firm prior 
 to the completion of their new building, was at No. 
 90 Asylum street, where three large floors and a 
 basement were used for sales and storage. Besides 
 all this space the needs of the business required 
 most of the room afforded by several large ware- 
 houses situated in different localities in Hartford. 
 All this has proven insufficient, and in the spring 
 of 1883, the firm removed its business to their 
 elegant new six-story Ijuilding on the corner of 
 High and -VUyn streets, one of tlie largest and most 
 costly Ijusiness structures in Hartford. The Iniild- 
 ing has a frontage on High street of 93 feet, while 
 that on Allyn street is 141 feet, there being seven 
 stores on the ground floor, three of which, as well 
 as the entire upper part of the Ijuilding, being de- 
 signed for occupation by the firm. 
 
 The selling trade of the house covers a large 
 area of territory, and although immense quanti- 
 ties of wool are consumed within a radius of 
 twenty -five miles from Hartford, the trade of the 
 house is not confined to that section, but reaches 
 to other points in New England and the more 
 remote Middle States. Some idea of the busi- 
 ness done by this house may be gained from the 
 fact that the annual business requires the hand- 
 ling of seven millions of pounds of wool, amount- 
 
 ing in value to about two and one half million of 
 dollars. 
 
 Blr. Henry C. Judd is a native of Northampton, 
 Massachusetts, and has resided here more than 
 forty years. He is now about fifty-five years of 
 age. In the business world he occupies a prom- 
 inent position, and in addition to the afl'airs of 
 his house finds time to attend to the duties of 
 director in various financial and insurance insti- 
 tutions, among which is the Hartford Bank. 
 
 Mr. Judson H. Root is a native of Hartford, 
 born in 1840. He has been in the wool business 
 for twenty-two years, eight of them being spent 
 in learning its minutiiB and the other fourteen in 
 building ujj a business fin- himself and partners, 
 the magnitude of which is indicated by the fig- 
 ures mentioned in this article. Mr. Root is a 
 director in the Mercantile National Bank and the 
 Hartford Sanitary Plumbing Company, and is 
 otherwise identified with the business and finan- 
 cial interests of his native city. 
 
 Messrs. Owen and Barbour, the special partners 
 in the concern, are recognized as among the 
 leading citizens and are men of considerable 
 weight in the commercial world. 
 
 George S. Burnham & Co., Dealers in 
 Paints, Oils, Glas.s, etc.. No. 23 Central Row.— 
 Fifty-eight years ago was in 182G. On January 1, 
 this year, the business of which Col. Geo. S. Burnham 
 is now proprietor was established l)y liis father, 
 George Burnham, Esq., and his successors con- 
 ducted it nj) to January 1, 1869. He died Octoljer, 
 1868, at the age of sixty-nine years. For thirty- 
 three years he was a prominent merchant in Hart- 
 ford, in the same line of business which is now 
 conducted by his son. The premises occupied are 
 22 x 110 feet, and in addition to dealing in a large 
 stock of ])aints, oils, varnishes, window-glass, 
 Ijrushes, painters' supplies, etc., a numl^er of men 
 are kept busy as painters, glaziers and grainers in 
 different parts of the city, and surrounding 
 country. 
 
 Col. Geo. S. Burnham, the proprietor, claims the 
 prouci distinction of being the first man in the 
 State of Connecticut to enlist for the suppression 
 of tlie Rebellion. He is a native of Hartford, born 
 in 1 828, and has been clerk and jiroprietor at this 
 location for thirty-five years. 
 
 It was on April 1.5, 1861, the day that Lincoln's 
 proclamation for seventy-five thousand men was is- 
 sued, Col. Burnliam was sitting in the office of the 
 ' ' Daily Post " when it was received. He immediately 
 went to the office of .1. D. Williams, Adjutant-Gen- 
 eral of the State, and enlisted. A company was 
 formed, and he elected cajjlaiu of the first volun- 
 teer company organized in Connecticut that was in- 
 dependent from any military organization. 
 
 Although elected Captain and recognized by the 
 State as such, by orders from the Adjutant-General, 
 he did not receive his commission. Events crowded 
 thick upon each other in the rush for war, and when 
 the First Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry 
 was organized, of which Dan. Tyler was made Col- 
 onel, Captain Burnham was commissioned Lieut. - 
 Colonel April 20, 1861, and on the same day, 
 Joseph R. Hawley, tlien First-Lieutenant in Rifle 
 Company A. and now United States Senator from 
 the State of Connecticut, and editor of the Hart- 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 223 
 
 ford " Cournnt," was promoted to the Captaincy. 
 On tlie promotion of Colonel Dan. Tyler, May 10, 
 ISOl, to a Hrigadier-Generalcy, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Burnhani w.as ])romoted to the Colonelcy of the 
 re<;iinent, Ciime home with it, and was mustered out 
 July lilst of till' same year. 
 
 On t lie organization of the Twenty-second Connect- 
 icut Infantry for nine month.s' .service he was com- 
 missioned as Colonel and came home as such after 
 ten montlis" service. Later he was made City Cleik, 
 and in April, If^'U, he was attain called to the 
 service as Captain and Actin'4-(Juarter-Master, 
 United States Army, until Septemlx-r 1, 180."), when 
 he returned to Hartford, and accepted the position 
 of Town Clerk. Pievious to the war Ik; was in 
 command of one of tlie numerous independent mil- 
 itary organizations of wliicli Conni-cticnt has lieen 
 so long famous. 
 
 Colonel Burnham is well-known througliout the 
 State in social and business circles, and history 
 records liim as foremost to respond to tlie call of 
 liis country in her hour of adversity. 
 
 Willis Thrall & Son, Hardware, No. 10 Cen- 
 tral Kow. — One of the best known hardware 
 stores in Hartford is the establishment of Messrs. 
 Willis Thrall A- Son, who started in business at 
 this location in the year 1858, afterwards remov- 
 ing to -Asylum street, where they were for sev- 
 eral year.s, returning to their original place about 
 ten years ago. The store is located directly op- 
 posite the new Post-office and City Hall, at No. 
 10 Central Row, and is one of the most central 
 business stands in Hartford. It is 20x80 feet, 
 and is stocked with all of the varieties of hard- 
 ware, a specialty being made of joiners' tools. 
 The inisiueas, which amounts to aliout $25,000 
 per year, extends throughout the city and to ad- 
 joining villages. 
 
 Mr. Willis Thrall is proloably the oldest hard- 
 "ware dealer in active business to be found in the 
 State. He is a native of Vernon, Conn., and 
 was eighty-two years of age January 14, 1383. 
 In his early life he was a manufacturer of wood 
 screws, and later acquired an extended reputa- 
 tion as the pxrblisher of a valuable map of the 
 United States. He has always been a resident of 
 this city from early manhood, whei'e he is highly 
 esteemed as a gentleman of the old scliool, for 
 which Hartford is so generally noted. 
 
 Mr. Edward B. Thrall, the son and junior 
 memlier, is forty-six years of age and a native of 
 Hartford. He has always lieen an active, un- 
 demonstrative business man, pur.suing the even 
 tenor of his way, careful and conservative in 
 business, spontaneous in his friendships, and 
 taking rank as a valuable acquisition to the social 
 and business world. 
 
 The firm enjoys good credit and stands high 
 in the estimation of the public. 
 
 Allyii, Blanohard & Latimer, Steam 
 Coffee and Spice Mills, and Wholesale Dealers in 
 Teas, Coffees, Spices, Tobacco, Cigars, Grocers" Sun- 
 dries, etc., Xos. .34-38 Market Street.— The history 
 of this tirm illustrates how a large profitable busi- 
 ness by a re])rcsentative house grows and develops 
 from a comparatively small l>eginning. 
 
 It is twenty-seven years since the senior partner, 
 Mr. O. II. Blancliard, conducted the business of a 
 retail grocer at No. 203 State, corner Front street. 
 After a j)rotital)lc business for several years, he, in 
 18(')0, Ijccame a member of the firm of Park, 
 Fellows & Co., which continued till the year 1878, 
 when the firm name was cliunged to Allyn & 
 I51anchard. 
 
 In February, 1881, Mr. Latimer was admitted, 
 making the firm name Allyn, Blancliard it Latimer. 
 Tlie ])remises occupied for their extensive business 
 consists of an imposing building five stories in 
 height, 85 x 33 feet, at Nos. 34, 36, and 38 Market 
 street, with coffee and spice mills in the rear, three 
 stories in height, 25 x 20 feet. The large stock 
 carried consists of the liest grades of teas, coffees, 
 spices, tobaccos, cigars, and a large line of 
 grocers' sundries. 
 
 Their steam coffee and spice mills arc one of the 
 largest and most complete in New England, and 
 the reputation of the goods produced extends to 
 adjoining States. 
 
 A large wholesale trade is conducted in every 
 State in New England, a corps of commercial sales- 
 men l)eing a factor in this result. 
 
 Mr. O. II. Bianchard is a native of Centerville, 
 N. Y. Burn in 1834. and came to Hartford when 
 he was twenty-two years of age. He is and always 
 has been oue of the most active, hard working men 
 in the trade. Our reporter found him with over- 
 alls on, acting as a porter in the rush and hurry of 
 active business. Tliis hearty co-operation in all the 
 departments has done niuoli toward the success of 
 the tirm. 
 
 Mr. Noyes B. Allyn is a native of Ledyard, Conn. 
 Born in 1838. on September 29. He was educated 
 at that well-known educational institution, the 
 Providence Conference Seminary at East Greenwich, 
 R. L 
 
 He, previous to his settling in this city five years 
 since, was in business at New York, and at Middle- 
 town, Conn., where, at the latter place, he built 
 up the largest retail grocery business in the State, 
 aggregating in one year 8280,000. 
 
 Later, he was cultivating his farm in the town of 
 Ledyard. Conn., from which he was sent as a 
 representative to the Legislature. He is a man of 
 rare executive aliility, quick of perception, active, 
 and enterprising — all factors in the unexampled 
 success which he achieved in Middletown, as before 
 mentioned. 
 
 Blr. Richard R. Latimer was born May 23, 1831, 
 at ^lontvillc. New London County, Conn. He was 
 educated at Colchester, Conn., and for fifteen years 
 previous to his connection with this firm, was a 
 traveling salesman for the old wholesale grocery 
 house of W. R. Mitchell & Co., in New York. 
 During that time he built up a business in New 
 England which has probaljly never lieen excelled 
 by any other wholesale grocery re|)resentative. On 
 the retirement of W. R. Mitchell & Co. from the 
 trade he became a resident of Hartford, and a 
 member of this firm. As made up, this house 
 possesses all the elements of the success which they 
 have attained. Straight-forward and honorable busi- 
 ness men, they are to be highly recommended for 
 the vigor with which they prosecute their business. 
 The mercantile community recognize their merit 
 and give substantial encouragement which years of 
 
224 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 persistent toil aud lionust effort have brought 
 forth. 
 
 Geniinill, Biiriihaiii & Co. f.IohnGemmill 
 and Edgar F. BLirnham), Importers and Taihirs, 
 Manufacturers of Fim: Keady-made Clothing, Nos. 
 64, 66 and 68 Asjdum Street. — The finest store in 
 the city of Hartford devoted to the sale of clothing 
 is that occupied by the firm of Gemmill, Burnhani 
 & Co., and situated on Asylum Street witliin a 
 minute's walk from the Court-house, Post-oflBce 
 and the business centre. The building, which was 
 erected in 1883, is the property of the firm and was 
 built with a view of accommodating tlieir business. 
 It is an elegant structure of brick with a frontage 
 of thirty-seven and a half feet by a depth of eighty 
 feet, and is three stories in height. AH this space 
 is occupied, the ground floor as a salesroom, the 
 second floor Iiy the custom department and the top 
 floor as a manufactory. On each side of the build- 
 ing are alleyways, and numerous windows opening 
 thereon from all its sides render it one of the 
 lightest and most pleasant business edifices in the 
 country. The immense plate-glass show-windows 
 are probably the largest in Hartford and were con- 
 structed at a great expense. The interior finisliing 
 is all in unpainted ash, producing an effect at once 
 pleasing and elegant. The business of this firm 
 gives constant and profitable employment to about 
 seventy-five people, the majority of whom are 
 engaged in tlie manufacturing department making 
 a class of fine goods for the ready-made trade that 
 has won for the house the reputation of being the 
 producers of tlie most stylish ready-made clotliing 
 to be found in the State. In addition to this there 
 is a very large business in the custom department 
 the needs of which compel the employment 
 of a large number of skilled workmen and the 
 carrying of an iiiunense stock of flue goods, large 
 quantities of which are directly imported Ijy 
 the house, on favorable arrangements with Euro- 
 pean manufacturers, to whom Mr. Burnham makes 
 periodical visits. The trade of tiie liouse extends 
 throughout the surrounding country, but is largely 
 local and among the better classes of Hartford's 
 citizens. Wliile all branches of the business are 
 given due attention, a specialty is made of the 
 manufacture of ready-made clothing, after tlie same 
 models used in custom work and hy the same work- 
 men, and it is claimed tliat tlie stock, of this house 
 comes nearer the prevailing styles, and is better in 
 finish than that of any similar establishment in the 
 State. This business was estaljlished in 1871, l)y tlie 
 present firm, tlieir quarters lieing on Asylum street, 
 about eight doors al>ove their present location. 
 Here they remained until 1883, when their rapidly 
 growing business and the impossibility of renting 
 such premises as they needed, compelled the erec- 
 tion of their present quarters. 
 
 Mr. John Gemmill was born in Suffleld, Conn., 
 and is about forty-three years of age. He has re- 
 sided in Hartford for twenty-five years, and was 
 one of the patriotic citizens who shouklered musk- 
 ets and went forth to do l>attle for their country. 
 Mr. Gemmill served for three years in the Sixteenth 
 Connecticut Volunteers, holding tlie position of 
 orderly sergeant, and earning a very creditable re- 
 cord as a soldier. On liis return from the war he 
 joined the City Guard, and is now a member of 
 
 the veteran corps of that organization. Mr. Gem- 
 mill is active in religious and charitaljle matters, 
 and is one of the deacons of the South Baptist 
 Church, enjoying tlie hearty esteem of its members, 
 as well as of tlie community in general. 
 
 Mr. Edgar F. Burnham is a native of Willi- 
 niantic. Conn., and wasl)ornin 1849. He has been 
 a resident of Hartford for about eighteen years, 
 all of which time has been spent in the clothing 
 business. He was elected a member of the Com- 
 mon Council from the Seventh Ward in 1880, and 
 in the two following years was sent from tlie same 
 ward to the Board of -Vldermeu, in both bodies 
 serving with zeal the interests of his constituents 
 and the good of the community. Mr. Burnham is 
 prominent in the Masonic Order, being a member 
 of Washington Commandery, Knights Templar, 
 and of St. John's Lodge. Like his partner, he is 
 highly regarded in Imsiness aud social life, and 
 enjoys the distinction of being a member of the 
 largest purely retail clothing-house in the State. 
 
 J. W. Starkweather & Co., Lumber Deal- 
 ers, No. 25 Front Street. — For more than twenty 
 years a large number of the citizens of Hartford 
 and surrounding towns have drawn their sup- 
 plies of lumber from the well-known yard of 
 which Messrs. J. W. Starkweather k Co. are 
 now the proprietors. The originator of the house 
 was Mr. J. G. Chase, who came from Springfield, 
 Massachusetts, in 1860, and emliarked in the 
 lumber business at the present location. In 
 1863 Mr. J. W. Starkweather, who was not yet 
 of age, became the bookkeejjer for Sir. Chase, 
 with whom he continued until 1878, when Mr. 
 Chase retired and the business was purchased 
 by Mr. Starkweather, who continued sole pro- 
 prietor till 1881. The rapid increase of the 
 business necessitated more capital, which was 
 furnished by Mr. T. J. Boardman, of William 
 Boardman & Sons, the well-known and long-es- 
 tablished tea, coifee and .spice house of this city, 
 who, in the above-named year, became a partner. 
 
 The yards cover an area of 300x160 feet and 
 the stock carried is valued at about §50,000. It 
 consists of hard and soft wood lumber, shingles, 
 lath, timber, Michigan i)ine, spruce, hemlock. 
 Southern pine, flooring, ceiliiig, mouldings, 
 whitewood, ash, cherry, white oak, red oak, 
 butternut, black walnut, mahogany, curly maple, 
 Spanish cedar, with all kinds of sawed and turned 
 work done to order. The trade extends to the 
 neighboring villages and cities. 
 
 The growth of the business since Mr. Stark- 
 weather bought it in 1878 has been steady and 
 reliable. The business for 1882 was over 400 car 
 loads, or 4,250,000 feet of lumber. The history 
 of this business illustrates what a poor boy with 
 a good constitution, strong character and earnest 
 eijort can do in the battle of life. 
 
 Mr. Starkweather, the main partner, is a native 
 of Hartford and thirty-eight years of age. He was 
 educated on a farm and afterwards at the Hart- 
 ford High School, from which excellent institu- 
 tion of learning he graduated. 
 
 In the possession of the lumber business he 
 was particularly favored — one of those tides in 
 the afl'airs of men which ho took at the flood and 
 has led on to fortune. Opiiortuuity alone was 
 
ME VIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 226 
 
 not the cause of his present success, but the 
 possession of those traits of honesty auil a correct 
 business training enabled him to make the most 
 of the opportunity, and are the reasons for his 
 present standing in the business world. By an 
 honorable and straightforward course he arose 
 from an assistant to be the proprietor of the 
 business which he now so successfully conducts ; 
 from comparative obscurity he has arisen to 
 prominence as a leading and representative man 
 in the lumber business of his native city and is 
 truly the architect of his own fortune. 
 
 Tin' A. I>. Voree Coiiipaiiy, Importers 
 and Dealers in Oil Paintings. Water Colors, 
 Etchings, Engravings, etc.. No. 276 Main street. — 
 The artistic taste and the love of art in a com- 
 munity is generally shown in the number and 
 completeness of its art stores. 
 
 The stranger in Hartford cannot faii to be 
 impressed with evidences of wealth and refine- 
 ment which are illustrated liy the art galleries, 
 where are on exhibition selections from the best 
 artists in this and other countries. The largest 
 and best known of these art stores is that of The 
 A. D. Vorce Company, located at No. 276 Main 
 street. 
 
 The business was established by Messrs. 
 Glazier & Co. in the year 1858, who were suc- 
 ceeded by Messrs A. D. Vorce &■ Co., which, in 
 1880, for the convenience of the two partners, 
 was incorporated, under its present title, in 
 April, 1880, with a cash capital of $15,000. The 
 premises embrace a store twenty-five by one 
 hundred feet, in the rear of which is an art gal- 
 lery with a double skylight, while adjoining is 
 a picture frame factory, where are produced 
 some of the very best gilt and bronze frames for 
 framing oil paintings, water colors, etc., known to 
 the trade, at which six skilled workmen are kept 
 constantly employed. 
 
 The specialty of this company is the collection 
 of rare and expensive oil paintings of the French 
 and German schools, etchings, engravings, rare 
 metals. Oriental and Continental porcelains, bric- 
 a-brac, curios from Japan, etc., all of which they 
 import under the direction of Mr. A. D. Vorce, 
 who ransacks Europe and Oriental countries 
 yearly to select for his art gallery the most rare 
 and valuable works which the past ages have 
 produced. 
 
 No art establishment east of New York equals 
 in their collections the display of rare works to 
 be found in the The A. D. Vorce Company's art 
 gallery of this city, and Goupil is the only one 
 in the metrojiolis who ranks with them. 
 
 Mr. Allen D. Vorce, the art critic and active 
 member of the company, is a native of Peun 
 Yan, N. Y., and forty-six years of age. For 
 twenty years of his life ho has been identified 
 with "art matters, and during his business resi- 
 dence in this city has been regarded as an able 
 and conscientious connoisseur in art matters. 
 The homes of the more wealthy Hartford citizens 
 bear witness to this, as well as those of other 
 cities. Previous to his engaging in art matters 
 he was a banker in the service of the Govern- 
 ment under Chase, Fessenden and McCullongh 
 respectively. The issue of the '81'b, 5.30's and 
 
 7.30 bonds, amounting to hundreds of millions, 
 passed through his hands during this important 
 period in the nation's history, from 1861 to 1865. 
 Mr. Silas W. Robbins, the other member of the 
 company, isa native and resident of Wethersfleld, 
 and sixty years of age. His interest in this 
 comi^any is not so much for financial gain as it 
 is to lielpthe development of art in Hartford and 
 vicinity. He is largely identified with the in- 
 terests of Hartford and Wethersfleld. At the 
 latter place he has a large fancy stock farm, and 
 expensive bams, where are to be found the 
 largest herd of imported cattle in New England. 
 He is also at this place the main partner in the 
 great seed house of Messrs. Johnson, Robbins & 
 Co., whose name is a familiar household word in 
 every farmer's home in America. In Hartford 
 he is a director in the City National Bank, and 
 for nearly thirty years has been a director in the 
 American National Bank of this city. The A. 
 D. Vorce Company rank among the first art 
 dealers in America. 
 
 Alonzo Wliite, Paper Dealer and Stationery, 
 No. I'i Central Row. — W'hen Hartford was a vil- 
 lage and long after, the business of the surrounding 
 country centered at Central Row, in wliich the 
 paper and stationery store of Mr. Alonzo White is 
 now located. The Row is as central now as of 
 yore, but the business of the city and country has 
 extended up and down Main and Asylum streets 
 and intruded itself even into side streets, leaving 
 Central Row, opposite the new Post-office and the 
 City Hall. 
 
 Tlie business which Mr. White now conducts wag 
 established by his uncle, Mr. Cyrus White, twenty- 
 three years ago. Seven years later Mr. Alonzo 
 Wliite bought the establishment in which, during 
 that time, he had been a valuable assistant, and 
 soon after removed his business to Asylum street 
 in 1869, where he was for seven years, and then to 
 State street, and after nine years he returned to his 
 present location where he has now been five years. 
 
 The store is 23x100 feet and is arranged for the 
 prosecution of a large business. 
 
 The stock carried embraces all the different 
 kinds of fine and coarse writing and wrapping 
 jjaper, twines, paper bags, etc., used by mercliants, 
 stationery printers' supplies, etc., etc. 
 
 The business extends throughout the State and 
 New England, a commercial traveler being kept 
 on the road for that purpose. In addition to the 
 wliolesale trade a large retail trade centers here, the 
 result of twenty-three years' acquaintance. 
 
 Mr. Wliite is a native of Franklin, Franklin Co., 
 Vermont, and is forty-one years of age. He has 
 been a resident of Hartford for over twenty years, 
 and during his business career has built up a repu- 
 tation of which one ought be proud, and as a 
 progressive and thoroughgoing business man he 
 has no superior. 
 
 Horace W. Stetson, Dealer in Fresh and 
 Salt Meats, Vegetables and Poultry, No. 142 Main 
 Street. — In every city there are well-known business 
 men who have always been identified with a special 
 line of business and located for a long time in one 
 place. 
 
226 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 The years come and go Ijut the familiar face still 
 is seen going the rounds and attending to the active 
 duties of liis chosen pursuit. 
 
 It is perliaps not too mucli to say that Mr. Horace 
 W. Stetson is a representative of this class in Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 As long ago as 1848 he became known at the 
 Franklin Market at 143 Main street, and the inter- 
 vening years have added to his acquaintance a host 
 of customers who at that time were not born. 
 
 The Franklin Market is a well-known business 
 stand, centrally located and very popular with the 
 representative citizens of this city. 
 
 Mr. Stetson occupies one-half of the same, which 
 includes about 2-5 x BO feet. It is furnished with 
 all the latest improvements usualh' found in a flrst- 
 class establishment of this kind, including an ex- 
 tensive ice-house and a cosy office. Three com- 
 petent assistants and two delivery teams are kept 
 busy supplying his numerous customers which are 
 found in all parts of Hartford. Whatever is to be 
 had in his line is sure to be found at his place, 
 fresh and salt meats, vegetables, poultry, game, 
 and all delicacies in their season. 
 
 Mr. Stetson is a native of Lisbon, Conn., and was 
 born in 1821. He has been a resident of Hartford 
 since 1845, and from early manhood has been in his 
 present business. He is a stockholder in more or 
 less of the numerous incorporated companies for 
 which Hartford is noted, and is closely identified 
 witli its welfare, as a property holder and mer- 
 chant. 
 
 The esteem in which he is held by his fellow 
 citizens was shown in his election to represent them 
 one term as alderman, and two terms as councilman 
 in the city government of Hartford. 
 
 George S. Lincoln & Co., Proprietors 
 Phoenix Iron Works, Nos. 54 to 60 Arch Street. — 
 The history of this establishment is closely identi- 
 fied with that of Hartford. Founded by the late 
 Levi Lincoln, father of the present proprietors, it 
 has grown from comparative insignificance to one 
 of the largest, as it is the oldest, of its class in the 
 State. 
 
 In 1834 the facilities for transportation and the 
 number of population were not as great as at the 
 present day, and as a consequence the "compara- 
 tive insignificance" of the Phosnix Iron Works 
 in those clays reflected more credit perhaps on its 
 founder than on the present owners. 
 
 To estaljlish a business like this fifty years ago 
 required much practical experience, executive abil- 
 ity and force of character. 
 
 Levi Lincoln was by nature an inventor, his 
 active mind grasped the principles and possibilities 
 of an invention, and shaped it to active practical 
 results. He and William Rogers experimented in 
 the discovery of electro plating. In an old 
 directory published by Messrs. Jocelyn. Darling it 
 Co., of New York, in 1882, a record is made of 
 the Hartford Card Manufacturing Company, of 
 which Levi Lincoln was the agent. They made 
 sheet and filleting cards for cotton and wool, also 
 card setting machines. He invented a card setting 
 machine which consisted of tlie sheet card and tlie 
 setting of the teeth therein by machinery, a great 
 saving of time and money. Previous to the using 
 
 of this valuable invention, it was the custom of 
 the wives and children of the farmers surrounding 
 to insert these teeth by baud, thereby earning con- 
 siderable money, which constituted in the aggregate 
 quite an income. This invention of Mr. Lincoln's 
 did away with all this, and one more imj^ortant 
 step made towards the manufacture of cotton 
 and woolen goods in this country. Mr. Lincoln 
 was also the inventor of the first machine for the 
 manufacture of hooks and eyes, which he made 
 for the Norths at New Britain, Conn., who, by 
 the way, were enabled by the inventive genius of 
 Mr. Lincoln to be the pioneers of that business 
 in America, if not in the world. 
 
 In a cursory review of the life of Mr. Lincoln 
 one is impressed with the amount of good a man 
 can do even during a short life. It is too often 
 that, in the rush and hurry of this generation, 
 we forget the memory of those who by their 
 inventive genius have done so much for our 
 comfort and happiness. It is the jorovince and 
 agreeable duty of the historian to record the 
 acts and aiiproximate the results of such a life 
 as Levi Lincoln. 
 
 On his death the business was so arranged 
 that his sous George S. Lincoln and Charles L. 
 Lincoln succeeded and the firm of George 8. 
 Lincoln & Co. has since been one of the best 
 known in New England. 
 
 In "Webb's New England Railway and Manu- 
 facturers' Statistical Gazetteer " which was pub- 
 lished in 1869, the Phoenix Iron Works was 
 classed as one of the reijreseutative manufac- 
 turing establi.shments. Since that time it has 
 rather added to its capacity and extended repu- 
 tation. The works face on Parks Kiver and 
 Arch Street and comprise sis large buildings, 
 embracing an area of two acres used as machine 
 shoj^s, foundry, etc., etc., and fitted with all the 
 latest and most aiJi^roved apijliances known to 
 the trade. 
 
 They make a sj^ecialty and i^ride themselves 
 on the manufacture of the latest designs of 
 architectural iron work, consisting of building 
 fronts, columns, lintels, girders, vaults, jail 
 doors, shutters, railings, balconies, fire-escajies, 
 etc. They also make large quantities of ma- 
 chinists' tools and Lincoln's molasses gates, the 
 latter being an indisi^ensable article for and used 
 in every retail grocery in the country, which is 
 also an invention of Levi Lincoln, improved and 
 repatented in 1848 by the sons. 
 
 The architectural beauty of hundreds of stores 
 and building fronts in our New England cities 
 is largely due to the artistic productions of this 
 firm, they having furnished the ironwork for 
 most of the prominent public and private build- 
 ings in the State and for many outside of it. The 
 average number of skilled artizans employed is 
 about 115. 
 
 The senior member of the firm, Mr. George S. 
 Lincoln, while he was born in Boston has been 
 a resident of Hartford since 1826, at which time 
 he was eight years of age. He has grown ■with 
 the city and its institutions. 
 
 He represent ?d his ward as alderman in the 
 City Government for ^ght years and for twenty- 
 three years has been a director in the Hartford 
 Bank, also director in the City Fire and Orient 
 
UEVIEW OF THE STATE OP CONNECTICUT. 
 
 227 
 
 Insurance companies. For several vears he -was 
 au active memlier of the State mOitary forces, 
 serving as Brigade Major on the staff of General 
 Waterman. 
 
 Mr. Charles L. Lincoln, the junior memVier of 
 the firm, is also a native of Boston, born in 1H25, 
 and eanio to Hartford when lie w:!s tliree years 
 of age. Like his brother his ambition has been 
 to enlarge and perfect the immense business, 
 the germ of which was left to them as a legacy 
 by the father. He occupies the resjjonsible 
 position as director in the Mecluiuics' Savings 
 Bank and is also a director in one or more of the 
 horse railway companies of this city. 
 
 The Messrs. Lincoln are well known through- 
 out New England and rank among the ablest 
 business men of to-day ; and in Hartford among 
 her leading citizens, representative manufac- 
 turers and promoters of its best interests. 
 
 St. John Appo, Draper and Tailor, No. 
 2.54 Main Street. — Among the more prominent 
 merchant tailors of the Caintol City who have 
 done much towards shaping the city's fashions 
 in the matter of dress is Mr. St. John Appo, 
 whose chambers are located at No. 254 Main 
 street, "Times" Building, and who first embarked 
 in business at No. 266 Main street, in the year 
 1879, removing to his present location in the 
 spring of 1881. The premises embrace a part 
 of the second floor, and are 30 x 100 feet, and 
 well adapted and arranged for the business. 
 
 The stock consists of cloths of every descrip- 
 tion for suitings, etc., jiiece goods of all kinds, 
 cassimeres and vestings, a specialty lieing made 
 of imported English woolens, of which Mr. Appo 
 is a direct importer. 
 
 The services of thirteen skilled workmen are 
 employed, and the amount of business done 
 amounts to S20,000 per annum. 
 
 Mr. Appo is a native of Philadelphia and 
 thirty-three years of age. He came to Hartford 
 in 1871, and jirevious to 1879 was cutter for the 
 house of Saunders, another artistic merchant 
 tailoring establishment in Hartford. The family 
 of Appo had its origin in a French colony of 
 Hindoostau. Mr. St. John Appo's grandfather 
 was a Brahmin, a man of birth and education, and 
 took high rank in his native country, where he 
 was converted to Christianity by the French- 
 Jesuit priests, au act which exiled him from his 
 native land. This was during the time of the 
 first French Revolution. He left Hindoostan in 
 a French ship, was captured by an English 
 cruiser and taken to Portsmouth, England. 
 Here he found friends, in a to him new country, 
 and adapted himself to the circumstances which 
 surrounded him by learning the art of confec- 
 tionery. He married in England and soon after 
 embarked for America, and settled in Philadel- 
 phia, where he lived and died. 
 
 His youngest son (William) was the father of 
 the present Mr. Appo. He was sent in early 
 life to Hayti, where he received a military educa- 
 tion was a prominent oflicer in the Haytien 
 army, and an intimate friend and associate of 
 the President of the Republic, John Peter 
 Boyer. 
 
 During one of those potty insurrections which 
 are often occurring in the West Indies he be- 
 came involved and again an Appo wa.s exiled, 
 tlms illustrating the old adage that life and his- 
 tory repeat themselves. The numerous medals 
 that he received for bravery are still in possession 
 of the Appo family. Mr. Joscjih Appo, a brother 
 of Mr. St. John Appo's father, was at one time a 
 resident of Jamaica, and was the first man to 
 import manila grass into the United States for 
 the purpose of roj)e making. His sister married 
 Mr. Frank Johnson, a famous musician of the 
 day in Philahelphia and a leader of Frank John- 
 son's Band, a very popular miisical organization, 
 bringing the whole town on the streets when it 
 made a parade. After his return to Amei'ica, 
 Mr. William Appo adopted the musical ]>rofes- 
 sion, following it till he died. In the latter part 
 of his life he was instructor of singing in the 
 public schools of the City of New York. His 
 son, William Ajipo, Jr., was an officer in the 
 Thirtieth N. Y. Volunteers during the war of 
 the Rebellion, and was killed at the battle of the 
 second Bull Run. 
 
 Few families there are whose history embrace 
 .so much of romance and adveutiu-e, covering 
 such a wide range, and fuU of such daring and 
 interesting situations. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, in contrast to his 
 ancestors, has made himself prominent in busi- 
 ness pursuits while they were so in a military, 
 religious and professional sense. 
 
 He is regarded as an fait in matters pertaining 
 to dress, and a valuable acquisition to the social 
 and business circles of Hartford. 
 
 H. N. Jones & Co. (Henry N. Jones and 
 Fanklin Lewis), Manufacturers and Dealers in Sash, 
 Doors and Blinds and Dealers in Paints, Oils, Glass, 
 Colors, and Plate-Glass, No. 1G3 Main Street.— 
 Tlie door, sash and blind manufactory of Messrs. H. 
 N. Jones it Co. was first known under that name in 
 the year 1879, at which time the firm was formed, and 
 the ])remi9esand machinery formerly used by Mr. K. 
 Joslyn at Manchester, Conn., for the same purpose, 
 rented. The factory, at 163 Main street, IJartford, 
 embraces one floor, 80 x 120 feet, of the building, 
 where are employed, on an average, sixteen skilled 
 workmen turning out doors, sash, blinds, mould- 
 ings and other work of a kindred nature — a spe- 
 cialty being made of hardwood work of all kinds. 
 In addition to their factory, they have a store at 
 No. 1.50 Main street, where is kept on hand a large 
 stock of paints, glass, oils, colors — a specialty 
 being made of plate-glass. 
 
 Mr. Henry N. Jones is a native of Glastonlmiy, 
 Conn, and is forty-five years of age. He has been 
 identified with the door, sash and blind business 
 for sixteen years, previous to which he was a car- 
 ])enter and builder, on quite an extensive scale. 
 Mr. Franklin Lewis was born in Manchester, Conn., 
 in 1834. For twenty-eight years jjrevious to 1879, 
 the time which he became a partner with Mr. Jones, 
 he was engaged in other pursuits. 
 
 The firm are rated as able business men, reliable 
 dealers, and enjoy the confidence and respect of the 
 entire business community. 
 
228 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Hamlin Pump Co., Manufacturers of Ham- 
 lin's Patent Elastic Rubber-Bucket Pump, No. 20 
 Potter Street. — There are pumps and pumps. After 
 years of experiment and invention, it has been 
 demonstrated that the rubber-buclvet pump, for 
 general use, is the most simple and effective of 
 any. The records of the Patent Office in Wash- 
 ington, show that twenty-three separate patents 
 have been issued to parties who have a claim to a 
 rubber pump. The Hamlin Pump Co., of this city, 
 after many years of experience and carefully study- 
 ing the use of the same, has at last succeeded in 
 producing an expansive rubber Ijucket, which makes 
 their pump the best in the market. 
 
 The company was incorporated in 1879, with a 
 capital of $10,000, and Gov. George S. Gill, as 
 President, and Mr. Richard E. Rose, as Secretary 
 and Treasurer. The company occupy a one-slory 
 wooden building, 150 x 70 feet, situated at No. 20 
 Potter street, wliich is supplied with all the im- 
 proved machinery necessary for the manufacture of 
 pumps and ])acking cases, the latter being turned 
 out in large numbers. 
 
 It is not generally known that the original in- 
 ventor of a rubber-bucket pump was a native of 
 Vermont, and the patent granted about forty years 
 ago. Since then it has been improved upon and 
 perfected. The Hamlin Pump Co. producing the 
 latest and best results. Tlieir pump is the most 
 simple and durable, having the only expansive 
 bucket which can be expanded as much or little as 
 may be desired by tlie parties using it, without 
 opening the chain, and without the use of tools. 
 The drip is cut in the thin edge of the rubber, 
 allowing the water to all drain out to prevent freez- 
 ing. Finally, its advantages over all others is, 
 that it throws a constant strearfi of water, it purifies 
 the water liy keeping it in motion, the water is 
 drawn from the bottom of the well and is always 
 fresh, the tube does not wear, tlie wear of the 
 bucket is replaced by its self-expansion, and last, 
 but not least, every bucket is guaranteed satisfac- 
 tory. A fifteen-horse power engine furnishes the 
 motive power for tlie factory. Commercial travel- 
 ers are kept busy throughout New England, Eastern 
 New York, and New Jersey, establishing agencies 
 for the sale of this pump, and tlie number of manu- 
 facturing estalilishments using it are many. The 
 Willimantic Linen Co. has twenty-five, Windham 
 Manufacturing Co., twelve ; Warren Cotton Mills, 
 ten; Ponemah Manufacturing Co., twenty-two ; » 
 while the Hazard Powder Co., P. Jewell & Sons, 
 and numerous other establishments, school-houses, 
 hotels throughout tlie surrounding country are 
 using them with entire satisfaction. 
 
 They can be put in wells of any depth, the 
 deepest as yet being eighty-four feet. A five-eighth- 
 incli bucket will pump thirty-two gallons a minute, 
 and the largest size, four-iucli bucket, 200 gallons, 
 both with slow or hand motion. 
 
 Gov. George S. Gill, the president of the com- 
 pany, is a well-known lawyer in Hartford, and was 
 Lieutenant-Governor of the State under Governor 
 LngersoU. 
 
 Mr. Richard E. Rose, the secretary and treasurer, 
 is a native of Hartford, and forty-two years of age. 
 He was, previous to investing in this company, a 
 prominent music dealer in this city, giving up that 
 business on account of his health. He was a 
 
 member of the Twenty-fifth Connecticut Volun- 
 teers during tlie war of the Rebellion, serving at 
 first as a private, and later offered a lieutenancy, a 
 position he could not fill on account of a wound 
 received in battle. The origin and foundation of 
 the company is due to him, and the practical re- 
 sults achieved are very flattering to his ability as 
 an organizer and successful business man. 
 
 G. A. Hayden, Dealer in Fresh, Salt and 
 Smoked Meats, Poultry, Game, Vegetables, Oys- 
 ters, etc.. No. 134 Main Street. — One of the old- 
 est meat markets in the city of Hartford is that 
 of which Mr. Geo. A. Hayden is proprietor. It 
 was first known in that connection in 1851, when 
 it was opened by Mr. A. L. Sisson, who retired 
 from active business in the year 1880. 
 
 On September fifteenth of that year the present 
 proprietor took possession, since which time he 
 has had an unexampled career of prosperity. 
 
 The premises are centrally located and are 30x; 
 110 feet, v^dth every modern convenience for the 
 successful prosecution of his business. 
 
 In the front part of the market is a cozy office, 
 where the bookkeeper is engaged, while in the 
 rear is Mr. Hayden's private office. 
 
 One of the largest refrigerators for retail trade 
 in the State, holding five tons of ice, is conspicu- 
 ous and has a capacity for holding twenty car- 
 cases of beef at one time. 
 
 All kinds of fresh and salt meats, smoked 
 meats, poultry, game, vegetables and fish are 
 dealt in, a specialty being made of oysters at 
 wholesale and retail. 
 
 Ten competent assistants are employed in the 
 sales and delivery of stock, with the aid of two 
 delivery teams. 
 
 Mr. Hayden is a native of Hartford, and thirty 
 years of age. From the time he was twelve years 
 of age he has been in active business for himself, 
 conducting the sale of fish and oysters at his 
 present location as an adjunct to his predeces- 
 sor's meat business. As before-mentioned, when 
 he bought out Mr. Sisson in 1880, he combined the 
 two which he has since conducted so successfully. 
 
 Mr. Hayden belongs to an old ahd well-known 
 family. He is a nephew of General Wm. Hay- 
 den, who was a man of note in his day, and 
 whose name figures conspicuously in the history 
 of the events of fifty years ago. 
 
 Mr. Hayden is a good illustration of what an 
 enterprising young man can do in the battle of 
 life, as he has one of the largest businesses in its 
 line in the city, enjoys good credit, and is de- 
 servedly respected by all with whom he comes in 
 contact. 
 
 Edward H. Jiidd, Engineer and Machinist, 
 Nos. 18 and 22 Mechanic Street. — In the year 1870 
 this well-known house was established by Messrs. 
 Sawtelle & Judd, at its present location. After 
 an uninterrupted success for ten years, the senior 
 member, Mr. Sawtelle, died in 1880, and in 1881 
 Mr. Judd succeeded to the business. He is a well- 
 known mechanical engineer, master mechanic and 
 manufacturer of all kinds of complicated machin- 
 ery requiring the experience of an educated me- 
 chanical engineer. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OP CONNECTICUT. 
 
 229 
 
 The works comprise the ground floor of the suli- 
 stantial l)ri(k l)uikling situated at Nos. 18 and 23 
 Meclianic street, 150 x 200 feet, and tlie business 
 done amounts to $;iO,000 per annum. Hamilton's 
 Independent Air Pump and Condenser for steam 
 engines is huilt liere, and mill work and castings 
 of all descriptions are furnished, a specialty being 
 made of engine repairing, and dealing in A. 8. 
 Cameron's steam pumps, for which he is the agent. 
 The details of the business requires the work of 
 aliout twenty skilled artizans. 
 
 Mr. Edward H. Judd is a native of New Britain, 
 Conn., and forty five years of age. He came to 
 Hartford in 18.50, since which time he has been 
 prominently identified with its interests. The es- 
 teem in wliich he is held by his fellow citizens has 
 lieen shown in electing him to represent them in 
 botli branches of the City Government of Hartford, 
 was a water commissioner, also a commissioner in 
 the City Fire Department. From his nsidcnce of 
 several years in Hartford,, and the leading part he 
 has always taken in his endeavors to promote the 
 wellfare of his adopted city, he has gained a prom- 
 inent rank in the list of her representative profes- 
 sional and business men. 
 
 Leonard Bailey & Co., Manufacturers of 
 Patent Adjustable Iron Bench Planes, Try 
 Squares, Bevels, Copying Presses, etc.. No. 133 
 Sheldon Street. — This well-known establishment 
 to the hardware and stationery trade was 
 founded in the year 1875 by Mr. Leonard Bailey, 
 who transacts business under the firm name of 
 Leonard Bailey & Co. The premises occupied 
 comprise one floor 150 x 40 feet, and the number 
 of people employed is twelve. 
 
 The specialty of the house is the manufacture 
 of mechanics' tools, try squares, bevels, patent 
 adjustable iron bench planes, spoke shaves, 
 box scrapers, etc. 
 
 The tools are made under the direct super- 
 Tision of Mr. Leonard Bailey, the original in- 
 ventor, and are fully warranted. 
 
 The reputation of Mr. Bailey as an inventor 
 of mechanics' tools is well known. His latest 
 and most successful invention is that of a new 
 style copying press, which will, as soon as made 
 more public, supersede all other copying jiresses 
 in the market. The water dish and brush, 
 which accompanies all other presses, are with 
 this done away, and better results are produced 
 mth the Bailey press with less time and trouble 
 than with others. 
 
 In the plane department no less than thirty- 
 seven different styles of planes are manufac- 
 tured, besides several styles of box scraj>ers, 
 spoke shaves, etc. 
 
 The suggestive name of Victor is given to all 
 of the planes made here, and they are claimed to 
 be the most simple, compact and practical ad- 
 justable plane ever yet produced, and the natu- 
 ral outgrowth and result of a quarter of a cen- 
 tury's exclusive experience of Mr. Bailey in the 
 production of imtent planes. 
 
 All opportunities for the improvement of 
 these tools have been sought, and no device that 
 could add to their usefulness has been neglected, 
 and it is the rigid policy of the house to produce 
 nothing but the best goods, keeping the quality 
 
 at the highest attainable point of perfection, and 
 selling at a low, but reasonable jirofit. 
 
 The productions of this establishment are, and 
 have been for many years, exjiorted to Kussia, 
 Germany, Great Britain, East and West Indies, 
 and other foreign countries, where they are 
 recognized as standard in the trade. 
 
 Mr. Leonard Bailey, the inventor, is a native 
 of Hollis, N. H. , and fifty-six years of age. Pre- 
 viou.i to his becoming a resident of Hartford, he 
 residi'd in New Britain, Conn., Boston, Mass., 
 starting in business at Winchester, Mass. , twen- 
 ty-eight years ago. He is regarded as a most 
 successful inventor and business man, two quali- 
 ties which are rarely combined in one person, 
 and his numerous inventions are found in every 
 hardware store in America. 
 
 G. W. AVoolley & Son (Geo. W. Woolley 
 and Geo. H. Woolley), Furnishing Undertakers, 
 Dealers in Undertakers' Supplies, and Manufac- 
 turers of Coffins and Caskets, No. 164 Main 
 Street. — The name of Woolley has long been known 
 in connection with the business of undertaking — 
 longer perhaps than any other name in Hartford. 
 It is just forty years since Mr. Geo. W. Woolley 
 embarked in this business. W. P. Woolley, his 
 brother, associated himself a few years afterwards, 
 and it was carried on uninterruptedly till the year 
 1870, when Jlr. William P. Woolley retired, and 
 Mr. Geo. H. Woolly, a son of Mr. Geo. W., was 
 admitted, and the firm name changed to Messrs. 
 G. W. Woolley & Sou. 
 
 In addition to the business of furnishing under- 
 takers, they do an extensive business as dealers in 
 undertakers' supplies, and are also well-known to 
 the trade as manufacturers of cofiios and caskets, 
 keeping twenty-five people at work jiroducing the 
 latter. 
 
 The establishment embraces three large buildings, 
 and the motive power for the manufactory is fur- 
 nished by a forty-horse power engine. 
 
 Commercial travelers represent them in many of 
 the New England States, where most of their trade 
 lies. 
 
 Mr. Geo. W. Woolley, the senior member of the 
 firm, is a native of Glastonbury, Conn., and was 
 sixty-one years of age, February 22, 1883. He has 
 long been identified with church matters, being 
 vestryman and warden for many years of St. John's 
 Church. He is one of Hartford's oldest citizens, 
 and is endeared to all for his many social qualities 
 and for his fund of sympathy which always re- 
 sponds to those bereft of relatives and friends. 
 As in most pursuits, undertakers are born, not 
 made, and this well-known fact applies in the 
 case of Mr. Woolley, and has done much towards 
 his achieving preferment in his chosen pursuit. 
 
 Of late years the details of this business has been 
 left to the care of the junior member of the firm, 
 Mr. Geo. H. Woolley. He is a native of Hartford, 
 and is thirty-seven years of age. He received a 
 liberal and preparatory chissical education at the 
 Brookfield Academy with the intention of entering 
 college, but one of those tides in the affairs of men 
 carried him at once into the business world, for 
 which he fitted himself at a commercial school in 
 his native city, and received his early business 
 education in the American National Bank. For a 
 
230 
 
 THE msTOUTCAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 time he was a resident of a Western State, resuming 
 his residence about the time he became a partner 
 with his father. For the last four years lie has 
 made a study of the art of embalming, in which he 
 takes great interest. 
 
 The firm are well-known, long-estalilished, and 
 preserve the excellent reputation for reliability and 
 financial success, the foundation of which was so 
 long ago commenced by the senior member. 
 
 himself and to his constituents. Later he de- 
 clined further political preferment as alderman, 
 finding it necessary to give his entire attention 
 to his growing business. 
 
 John Otis, Moulding and Planing Mill, Man- 
 ufacturer of Pine and Hardwood Mouldings, No. 
 133 Sheldon Street. — Tlie extensive moulding lius- 
 iness of Mr. John Otis was established by that 
 gentleman at its present location about six years 
 ago, and has grown from modest dimensions until 
 the business transacted now amounts to about 
 $30,000 annually, and gives employment to ten 
 people. The pl^nintc and moulding mill occupies 
 the greater portion of a building 23.5 x 24 in size. 
 Here are manufactured all the different patterns of 
 pine and hardwood mouldings known to the 
 trade, and here, also, the great steam planing 
 machines turn out vast quantities of dressed lum- 
 ber for the numerous lumber dealers of Hartford 
 and vicinity. The large steam engine which diives 
 the numerous planers, saws, moulding machines, 
 etc., is kept constantly busy, and the mill presents 
 a scene of unusual activity and l)usiness bustle. 
 The office, in its fitting, is a model of the carpen- 
 ter's skill, and is a fitting place in wliich to transact 
 so large a business. In addition to the cares of 
 his own business, Mr. Otis has the management of 
 the extensive manufacturing property in which 
 his works with others are situated, he being the 
 agent for the American Screw Company, who are 
 its owners. 
 
 Mr. Otis is a native of New York, about forty- 
 five years of age, and lias resided here for over fif- 
 teen years. Since his advent in tlie business world, 
 he has been unusually successful. From a busi- 
 ness requiring comparatively but little capital, he 
 has established one of large dimensions which 
 ranks among the first in the State. 
 
 A. C. Hills, Pealer in Flour, Grain and 
 Feed, Hay and Straw, No. 126 Main Street.— On 
 March 1st, 1875, Mr. Augustus C. HiOs estab- 
 lished his jjresent business at No. 126 Main street, 
 where he has since enjoyed a large degree of 
 prosperity. In addition to his ofiice and sales- 
 room, which is 30x125 feet, he has a large store- 
 house ia the rear and one on the line of the N. 
 Y., N. H. & H. Railroad. 
 
 The amount of business done in flour, grain, 
 feed, hav and straw amounts to about $175,000, 
 and the trade extends throughout the city and to 
 the surrounding villages. 
 
 Mr. Hills is a native of East Hartford, Connec- 
 ticut, born in 1845, and for eleven years has Vieen 
 identified with his jjresent business, previous to 
 which he was a weU-kuown grocer in Hartford. 
 
 He is essentially, and always has been, a thor- 
 ough business man, without ambition for i)oliti- 
 cai honors, but was prevailed upon to represent 
 his fellow citizens, on the Republican ticket, as 
 a member of the City Government from the third 
 ward in 1876-7, which he did with honor to 
 
 W. F. Whittelsey & Co., Merchant Tailors, 
 Men's and Boys' Fine Ready-made Clotliing, Nos. 
 34, 3(j and 38 Asylum Street.— Mr. W. F. Whittel- 
 sey, doing business under the firm name that heads 
 this article, is probably tlie oldest in his line of 
 business in Hartford, and ])erhaps in the State of 
 Connecticut. The store occupied by him is on the 
 ground fioor of a liuilding owned by the AUyn es- 
 tate, and known as Whittelsey's Block, and is 
 about 40 X 70 feet in size. The trade is entirely 
 retail, and consists largely of custom work, al- 
 though there is carried a stock of ready made goods 
 amounting in value to about §40,000. An average 
 of fifteen people are constantly employed, the larger 
 portion being engaged in the manufacture of cus- 
 tom work in a large room located in the second 
 story of the building. Mr. Whittelsey originally 
 established himself in business about forty years 
 ago, being then located on MuU>erry street, moving 
 thence to Main street. After carrying on business 
 in these locations for some years, he sold out and 
 went to Sandusky, Oliio, remaining there for tliree 
 years. He then returned to Hartford, and re-estab- 
 lished himself in liusiness on State street, where he 
 remained for eight years, removing thence to his 
 present quarters about twenty-two years ago. 
 
 Mr. Whittelsey is a native of East Windsor, 
 Conn., and was born on Novemljer 4, 1822. Hs 
 came to Hartford when he was fifteen years of age, 
 and after serving for two years as clerk in a gro- 
 cery store, apprenticed himself to the firm of H. 
 S. Larkum & Co., then prominent in the clothing 
 trade, going into business for liimsclf at the expi- 
 ration of his term of apprenticeship. Although 
 frequently solicited to l:)ecome a candidate for of- 
 fice, Mr. Wliittelsey has ]iersistently declined, pre- 
 ferring to give his undivided attention to his growing 
 business. He is regarded as one of tlie most solid 
 merchants of Hartford, and is universally respected. 
 
 R. P.Ivenyou & Co., Manufacturers and Jol)- 
 bers in Hats, Caps. Furs, etc., No. 337 Main Street.— 
 Thii house of R. P. Kenyon &, Co. was established 
 in 1874, by Mr. R. P. Kenyon. who does business 
 under the firm name at the head of this notice. For 
 four years prior to going into business on his own 
 account, Mr. Kenyon liad been a memlier of the 
 firm of Stillman & Co., and had been in the employ 
 of tlieir jiredecessors, Messrs. Daniels & Priest, 
 from lioyhood. The store occupied as a salesroom 
 by Kenyon & Co., is situated on the northerly side 
 of Main street, near Asylum street, and in close 
 contiguity to the business centre of Hartford. It is 
 20 x 85 feet in size, but forms only a portion of the 
 space occupied by the business, there being besides 
 a basement almost tlie entire size of the building, a 
 two-story factory in the rear, and two floors of a 
 large liuilding on Asylum street, known as Whittel- 
 sey's Block, wliere the wholesale stock of hats are 
 stored, and from whence they are sold and shipped. 
 In addition to the three or four salesmen constantly 
 on the road, Mr. Kenyon employs an average of 
 sixteen men, and from ten to sixty girls, .according 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF VONNECTICVT. 
 
 231 
 
 to the season. The business is both wliolcsale and 
 retail in huts, Mr. Kenyon beinj]; the .sole local 
 agent for Diinlai) of New York, and C!liristie of 
 Loudon, the celi-inatod hat nianufaeturers, while 
 the trade in tlie finer classes of furs is probalily the 
 larj^est iu Hartford or its vicinity. Tlie extent of 
 territory covered l)y tlie operations of this liou.se 
 embraces all the New England and many of tlie 
 adjacent States, and the yearly volume of business 
 foots up to aliout $200,000. Mr. Kenyon makes a 
 specialty of fine furs, making an annual visit to 
 Europe to secure the high class of goods demanded 
 bv his trade. This liouse carries a stock of from 
 140,000 to SGO.OOO, and is the only jobbing con- 
 cern of its class of any size in the State of Connecti- 
 cut. 
 
 Mr. Kenyon is a native of Plainficld, Conn., and 
 was born in 1st7. In 1804 lie entered tlie navy as 
 Paymaster's (Uerk, and served in tliat capacity until 
 1807. Otv liis return home in that year he stopped 
 in Hartford, takiiiii a course in tlie Bryant & 
 Stratton Business College, after which he entered 
 the service of Messrs. Daniels & Priest, working 
 himself from tlie position of errand boy to the 
 enviable jiosition he now occupies in the business 
 world. Mr. Kenyon has been for ten years a mem- 
 ber of the Putnam Phalanx, in which time-honored 
 organization lie now holds the position of Sergeant- 
 IMajor. He is one of Hartford's leading business 
 men. 
 
 Smith, Northam & Co. (James A. Smith, 
 Chas. H. Northam, E. V. Mitchell), Flour, 
 Grain and Feed, No. 129 State Street.— The 
 business carried on by this firm was established 
 in 1855, as an agency for a Bridgeport flouring 
 mill. The original firm was W. Hawes & Co., 
 they being succeeded in 1860 by Hawes k Smith, 
 in 1866 by Smith, Northam k Robinson, and 
 finally, in July, 1882, by Smith, Northam Jt Co. 
 Since its inception this business has grown from 
 an agency with annual sales of about §75,000, 
 until it is now the leading grain business iu New 
 England. The new mUl, the largest meal mill in 
 the country, lately erected on Windsor street, 
 has a capacity of aliout 6,000 bushels of meal jJer 
 day, about twelve car loads, and is furnished 
 with all the latest improved machinery and ap- 
 pliances for the lightening and ex^jediting labor. 
 So complete, in fact, are these, that four men are 
 enabled to unload, grind, sack and reload a car 
 of corn iu two liours. The warehouse, adjoin- 
 ing the mill, is situated between the tracks of 
 the New York, New Haven and Hartford and the 
 New York and New England Railroads, thus en- 
 abling the firm to ship goods direct from the 
 warehouse, saving the trouble and expense of 
 teaming. Cars are unloaded by machinery, and 
 everything that is possible to be done by the aid 
 of steam is so accomplished. It is frequently 
 the case that an order for an assorted car load of 
 grain, meal and feed is filled in fifteen minutes 
 after its receipt. Besides the immense business 
 done at the warehouse, the firm delivers to any 
 station in New England car hjads of grain, from 
 300 to 500 of which are constantly on the road, 
 moving annually more than 5,000,0110 liushels of 
 grain, about 15,000 tons of bran, middlings and 
 rye feed, and nearly 100,000 barrels of flour. 
 
 This extraordinary business is the outgrowth of 
 a fair ijeginning and a result of energetic busi- 
 ness methods and fair dealing. 
 
 Mr. James A. Smith, tlie senior member of the 
 firm, was lioru in Glastonbury, Conn., about 
 forty-four years ago, but has lived in Hartford 
 .since 185(1, lieing educated in and graduating 
 at the high school here. He is a director in the 
 jFitna Insurance Co. as well as in the Pheenix 
 National Bank. 
 
 Mr. Charh's H. Northam is a native of Wash- 
 ington Village, R. I., liorn on March 9th, 1842. 
 He has resided in Hartford for a long time, and 
 is justly regarded- as one of her leading citizens. 
 Mr. Northam's education was finished at Suffield, 
 a short time prior to his entering active business 
 life. 
 
 Mr. E. V. Mitchell, the junior member of the 
 house, was born in Sangerville, Me., and is 
 twenty-eight years of age. He has been a part- 
 ner iu the house only since July, 1882, but was 
 connected with it about eight years iu a confi- 
 dential eajiacity. Mr. Mitehellis a graduate of 
 the Framiugham, Mass., high school, also Bry- 
 ant k Stratton Business College iu Boston, and 
 demonstrates in his business the benefits to be 
 had iu that admirable institution. 
 
 The firm of Smith, Northam & Co. stand in 
 the very first class as regards extent and 
 credit. 
 
 Lester, Pope & Co. (Henry and C. H. 
 Lester and F. B. Pope), Interior Decorators, No. 43 
 Asylum Street. — The firm of Lester, Pope & Co., 
 interior decorators, at No. 42 Asylum street, is one 
 of tlie youngest in its line 'in Hartford, but has 
 already won its way to a large and profitable busi- 
 ness wliich is increasing in such rapid ratio as to 
 warrant tlie belief that a very few years will see the 
 house among the foremost in its line. The firm was 
 formed and the business established on the 15th of 
 September, 1882, and, owing to the long connec- 
 tion of all the partners with the trade in other 
 houses, sprang at once into favorable and jjrofit- 
 able notice. The members of the firm, save the 
 senior partner, are practical men, and with their 
 assistants are able to turn out a large quantity of 
 work iu their line. The staple of their stock "con- 
 sists of wall-paper, shades, draperies, lambrequins, 
 rugs, ornaments of all kinds, etc., while the finer 
 grades of carpets are sold by sample. All interior 
 furnishing is done and a specialty is made of sup- 
 plying everything needed for comfort and elegance, 
 taking a house from the builder and rendering itto 
 the owner completely finished iu all the details of 
 furnishing. Mr. Henry Lester is a native of East 
 Hartford, about sixty-three years of age, and has 
 resided in Hartford since his birth. 
 
 Mr. C. H. Lester, his son, is a native of 
 Hartford, and was born in 1844. He has been in 
 the pres-'ut business for eighteen years, most of 
 that time with the house of Hart, Merriam & Co., 
 and is regarded as one of the best and most 
 tasteful workmen in the business. 
 
 Mr. F. B. Pope was born in Woodbury, Conn., 
 and is about twenty-six years of age. He has 
 been resident in Hartford since boyhood, and, 
 like Mr. Lester, served a long term with Hart, 
 Merriam k, Co. The house is well regarded iu 
 
232 
 
 THE UISTORfCAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 business circles and promises to have a prosperous 
 future. 
 
 inent member of the South Church, in the welfare 
 of which he takes much interest. 
 
 Chauncey B. Boardman, Hack, Livery and 
 Sale Stables, No. 104 Main Street. — It is something 
 more .than twenty-five years ago since Mr. C. O. 
 Gilbert started a livery stable at this location. After 
 a time it was Messrs. Gilbert & Co., and then again 
 Mr. Chas. O. Gilbert. 
 
 In 1860, Maj. C. B. Boardman inaugurated a sim- 
 ilar establishment on State street, removing from 
 there to his present location in 1875, purchasing the 
 stock and good-will of the same from Mr. Gilbert, 
 and combining the two establishments, made the 
 business one of the largest of its class in the State. 
 
 The stable has from thirty to thirty-five horses for 
 livery and hack purposes, and from ten to fifteen 
 boarders. 
 
 Quite a business is transacted in the sale and ex- 
 change of horses, which is one of Mr. Boardman s 
 specialties. 
 
 There is, probably, no other stable in the city 
 which runs as many hacks as this, the number being 
 thirteen. 
 
 Mr. Boardman is a native of Hartford, and forty- 
 three years of age. He has since a youth taken 
 great interest in military matters, having enlisted in 
 the First Governor's Horse Guards as far back as the 
 year 1855. His zeal and energy have been illus- 
 trated in the fact that, from that time to this, a 
 period of nearly thirty years, he has never missed a 
 training or parade, an appreciation of which is 
 shown in his being elected major, an oflice he has 
 held for thirteen years. 
 
 Major Boardman started in life as a carpenter and 
 builder, having served an apprenticeship to that 
 end, but his love for horses led him into this, his 
 life pursuit, in which he is classed as one of the 
 most popular in Hartford. 
 
 He has been an alderman and member of the City 
 Council from the Fourth, now the Eighth Ward, of 
 his native city, which is one of the evidences of the 
 popularity he enjoys among his fellow-citizens. 
 
 A. H. Tillinghast, Dealer in Choice Gro- 
 ceries, Provisions, etc., No. 93 Main Street. — One 
 of the most extensive, well-known and reliable 
 retail groceries in Hartford is that of Mr. AJva 
 H. Tillinghast, located at No. 93 Main street. 
 
 Tlie business was established by Mr. Henry B. 
 Rhodes, in the adjoining store, and jjurchased by 
 Mr. Tillinghast April 1st, 1868, who continued in 
 the same place till three years since, when he re- 
 moved to his present location. Both of these 
 stores are old business stands of thirty years 
 record. No. 93 Main street is 22x75 feet in size, 
 and contains a large stock of choice groceries, 
 provisions, fruit, wood, willow and stone ware, 
 the sales amounting to $50,000 per annum, re- 
 quiring the service of four experienced assistants. 
 
 Mr. Tillinghast is a native of Plainfield, Con- 
 necticut, and fifty years of age. He has been a 
 resident of Hartford since 1864, and for four 
 years was well known in insurance circles, which 
 business he conducted. Previous to this he was 
 a successful merchant in Attleboro, Massachu- 
 setts, which place he left on account of ill-health. 
 He is well-known in church circles and a prom- 
 
 Charles Soby, Fine Cigar Manufacturer, 
 No. 349 Main Street. — Tlie largest cigar manufactory 
 in Hartford, and, with two exceptions, the largest in 
 the State of Connecticut, is owned and operated by 
 Mr. Cliarles Soby, at No. 349 Main street. This 
 business was established by Mr. Soby in 1875, at 
 No. 10(5 Asylum street, where he remained for 
 tliree and a half years, removing thence to No. 64 
 on the same street, where he remained for four 
 years, and on April 1, 1882, to the elegant quarters 
 he now occupies. 
 
 Besides his store, which is about 20 x 50 feet 
 in size, Mr. Soby occupies a portion of the second 
 story of the building, where the stripping of 
 tobacco leaves is accomplished and a large factory 
 in the rear where the cigars are made. An average 
 of thirty skilled cigar-makers produce the million 
 cigars that are made yearly in this establishment, 
 and the services of about a half dozen girls are 
 required in the stripping department. Mr. Soby's 
 tratle is botli wholesale and retail, and extends to 
 various parts of New England as well as, in a lesser 
 extent, to portions of the Western States. 
 
 The choice brands of cigars for which Mr. Soby 
 has become famous are retailed by drug stores and 
 the better classes of hotels, and are in sucli active 
 demand that an enlargement of the factory and 
 the working force will soon become an absolute 
 necessity. Among the more prominent of the 
 favorite brands made are : "Elegantes," "Henry 
 Clay Conchas," "Speckled Beauties," "Hazel 
 Kirke," "Sports," " Old Bachelors," " Blue Rib- 
 bon, " ' ' Old Mill, " " Seal of Connecticut, R -galia, " 
 " Seal of Connecticut, Opera, "and others too numer- 
 ous to mention. Private lirandsare made to order, 
 and many leading houses have their cigars made at 
 Mr. Soby's factory. 
 
 Mr. Soby is a native of Suffield, Conn., born in 
 1854. He has been a resident of Hartford since the 
 establishment of his l)usiuess, and has w(m his 
 way to a first class position in the mercantile 
 world. He is a practical cigar-maker, and it is 
 largely due to his capable supervision tliat his 
 goods meet with the ready and extensive sale 
 accorded them. 
 
 Edward B. Dix, Hatter and Furrier, No. 347 
 Main Street. — The business now carried on by Mr. 
 Edward B. Dix was established about twenty years 
 ago by his uncle, Mr. C. R. Dix, and was con- 
 tinued l)y him until 1878, when the present propri- 
 etor succeeded him. The business is among the 
 largest in the retail line in the city and is carried 
 on in a store about 20x60 feet in size, eligibly located 
 on the westerly side of Main street, in the very 
 midst of the Ijusiness section and on the fasliionable 
 promenade. Tliree salesmen, besides a number of 
 workmen and girls are employed, and the seal 
 sacques, dolmans and other furs turned out have 
 won an enviable reputation among the l)etter classes 
 of Hartford's society. Mr. Dix also does a large 
 trade in hats, making the finest grades a specialty. 
 Mr. Dix is a native of Newington, Conn., and was 
 born in 1857. He has resided in Hartford for the 
 greater part of liis life and bears the reputation of 
 being one of its worthy and pushing business men. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 233 
 
 The Hartford Chemical Works, Manu- 
 facturers of Lavine, 30 Union Place. — The word 
 •' LaWne " has obtaineil such a world-wide celeb- 
 rity that no history of the manufacturing in- 
 dustries of the State of Connecticut would l>e 
 complete without a somewhat detailed account 
 of the place where it was manufactured, and a 
 sketch of the men who has done so much to 
 lighten the labors of thousands of weary men 
 and women tbroughout the civilized world. 
 
 The factory where this admirable substitute 
 for soap and other cleaning agents is prepared is 
 situated in Union Place, opposit? the railroad 
 depot, and occupies an elegant five-story and 
 basement brick building, in which all the difl'er- 
 ent processes of mixing, drying, labeling and 
 packing ara performed, and whence issues the 
 vast amount of pictorial and other advertising, 
 for which the enterprising i)roprietors expend 
 thousands of dollars yearly. Here also are made 
 all the paper boxes used for packing "Lavine," 
 the imjjroved machinery known as the Cleveland 
 Paper-i)ox Machines being used for that purpose . 
 Beginning with the basement, we find a huge 
 boiler of sixty-horse power, furnishing steam to 
 a large stationary engine of about the same 
 capacity, which drives, in addition to the nu- 
 merous and complicated machines used in the 
 business, a patent safety elevator, running from 
 basement to garret. In the front of this floor is 
 the tool, pipe and machine shop, where are 
 stored the various implements and parts of ma- 
 chines necessary for repairs and the new work 
 which is being constantly done to meet the de- 
 mands of the increasing trade. On the ground 
 floor is the office, salesroom and packing room, 
 in the latter of which is contained much of the 
 machinery for making boxes as well as for tilling 
 them. In the salesroom are piled, tier upon 
 tier, thousands of cases of "Lavine," their great 
 number attesting the claim of the manufacturers 
 that they are already making and selling more 
 than one million pounds of "Lavine" per annum. 
 The machinery for making the boxes for pack- 
 ing the one-pnuud packages of the preparation 
 is operated by a boy and girl, and turns out 
 with astonishing rapidity the comjjlete boxes f.t 
 the rate of 6,000 per day. The upper floors are 
 used for mixing — a process which is a secret — 
 drying and boxing, in which departments a 
 large number of hands are given constant and 
 profitable employment. 
 
 The growth of this business from its compar- 
 atively recent start in 1879, and its ramifica- 
 tions embracing, as they do, not only the United 
 States, England, South America, Au.stralia, and 
 all parts of the civilized world, where an ea.sy 
 attainment of cleanliness is deemed desirable, 
 prove the truth of the old .saying "good wine 
 needs no bush," although Mr. Oillett has pro- 
 vided his "wine" with a very considerable 
 "bush" in the matter of extensive and judicious 
 advertising. 
 
 Mr. Gillett, the creator and supervising spirit 
 of this great business, is a native of Ellington 
 in this State, and is still a young man, having 
 first seen the light in the year 18-16. He has 
 made Hartford his home for about thirty years 
 of his life, and has grown to be favorably known 
 
 in the business and social communities. During 
 the war of the Kebellion he served in the Pay- 
 master's Department of the navy for two years, 
 resigning his position when the war was practi- 
 cally at an end, and thereafter embarking in the 
 manufacture and wholesaling of spices and gro- 
 cers' sundries, a business he continued until 
 August, 1882, when the growth of the Lavine 
 interest compelled him to dispose of the other 
 branches to Messrs. Allyn, Blanchard & Latimer, 
 and give his entire attention to his specialty. 
 
 Mr. Gillett was a member of the City Council 
 in 1873, and in that capacity won the liearty re- 
 spect of his constituents and the public, a 
 respect he continues to enjoy and merit. 
 
 The sudden rise of this industry is a i^leasing 
 proof that its founder is pi'ominent among those 
 of whom it is said: " They are wise, for they 
 knew their opportunities." 
 
 Since the above was 2>ut in type, this business 
 has been changed from an individual to a cor- 
 porated enterprise under the name of the Hart- 
 ford Chemical Company, with a capital of 
 S30,000, and the following-named officers : Pres- 
 ident, A. B. Gillett ; Secretary and Treasurer, 
 Koswell W. Brown. 
 
 Mr. Brown is a native of Hartford, and about 
 forty years of age. He has been for yp.nrs first 
 selectman in the Hartford Town Government, 
 and is a weU known successful business man. 
 The change in the lousiness administration was 
 necessitated on account of the rapid growth of 
 the sale of Lavine which extends to every State 
 and territory in the Union. 
 
 Tlie Hartford Maehiiie Serew Com- 
 pany, Capitol Avenue. — The most recent addi- 
 tion to the more important manufacturing 
 establishments in Hartford, is The Hartford 
 Machine Screw Co., the works of which were 
 built in 1880. They are situated in the neigh- 
 borhood of the Weed Sewing Machine Co., The 
 Pratt A- Whitney Co., The Billings & Sjjencer 
 Co. , and others, with them forming a coterie of 
 successful establishments, which are the back 
 bone of the manufacturing industries of the 
 Capitol City. The company was incorporated 
 July, 1876,' with a capital of 8100,000 and has 
 the following-named officers : 
 
 President and Treasurer, G. A. Fairchild ; 
 Secretary, Daniel Morrell ; Superintendent, 0. 
 M. Spencer. 
 
 These works are the result of the inventions 
 of Mr. C. M. Spencer, the superintendent, and 
 are the largest of their class iu the world. (See 
 illustration p. 1.59). They are built of brick in the 
 form of a hollow square, and cover about 45,000 
 square feet of surface. This company have now 
 iu operation from 300 to 500 automatic screw 
 machines with which they are enabled to pro- 
 duce more uniform results than by hand ma- 
 chinery. With these machines are manufactured 
 all of the better grades of machine screws, from 
 the smallest watch screw to the largest screws, 
 usediu mill work, together with a great variety 
 of fancy turned work used in the construction 
 of guns, pistols, sewing machines, clocks, shears, 
 etc. The mechanical departments are a model of 
 neatness and comiJleteness. The business 
 
234 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 offices are finished in ash, elegantly furnished, 
 and the whole plant has an imconscious atmos- 
 phere of stability and success. 
 
 The machines which produce such wonderful 
 results have been adopted by some of the largest 
 sewing machine companies and gun manufactur- 
 ers, and are giving daily entire satisfaction. The 
 practical workings of the inventions of Mr. 
 Spencer, so far as these machines are concerned, 
 have been of recent date, and the results have 
 been immediate and more than satisfactory. The 
 attention of manufacturers in this and foreign 
 countries, where the comijany is fully i^rotected 
 by patents, have been attracted to this company 
 and its processes and pi'oducts. So much in- 
 terest is excited in the minds of inventors and 
 others interested in machinery that visitors are 
 entertained daily and hospitality shown to all 
 who wish to inspect the works. 
 
 Mr. G. A. Fairfield, the President, is a native 
 of Lansingburg, N. Y., born in 1834, and has 
 been a resident of Hartford for twenty-five or 
 more years. He was formerly a contractor at 
 Colt's Armory and later, president and superin- 
 tendent of the Weed Sewing Machine Co. , and 
 was the flrf^t man in their employ. He invented 
 the " F. F." or Family Favorite machine, " G. 
 F." or General Favorite, and " M. F. " or Manu- 
 facturers' Favorite. Before the war he was em- 
 ployed by the American Machine Works in 
 Springfield, Mass., making drawings and ma- 
 chinery for the manufacture of guns at Harper's 
 Feri-y, Va. , which were afterwards burned. At 
 one time he was engaged in the manufacture of 
 fire arms at Windsor, Vt. , in connection with 
 the Bobbins & Lawrence Co. , who were filling 
 large contracts for the English Government dur- 
 ing the Crimean war. He was selected Ijy the 
 United States Government to write wp the his- 
 tory of sewing machines for the Vienna exhibi- 
 tion. 
 
 He was a member of the city government of 
 Hartford for two terms and is a director in the 
 Mechanics' Savings Bank, Cedar Hill Association 
 and other institutions in his adojited city, as 
 well as president of the Western Automatic 
 Machine Co. of Elyria, Ohio. 
 
 Mr. Daniel Morrell, the Secretary, is a native 
 of Canajoharie, N. Y., and forty-six years of 
 age. He is a retired capitalist and for many 
 years was a member of the well-known brok- 
 erage firm of David Groesl)eck & Co., New Y'ork. 
 He has been a resident of Hartford for about 
 seven years and takes but little interest in the 
 business world. 
 
 Mr. C. M. Silencer, the Superintendent, is 
 a native of South Manchester, Connecticut, 
 born June 20, 1833. In addition to his interests 
 here, he is one of the founders and a stock- 
 holder in the Billings & Silencer Co., the works 
 of which are situated near by. His first ven- 
 tures in mechanical pursuits were with the 
 Cheney Bros. , silk manufacturers. He is prob- 
 ably one of the most prominent and successful 
 inventors in America. He is the inventor of the 
 celebrated Spencer rifle, which is i>erhaps his 
 most successful effort. It is a new relocating 
 shot gun and rifle and is said to be the most 
 rapid gun ever produced. A company is now 
 
 being formed for their manufacture, to be 
 located at Windsor, Conn. 
 
 The automatic screw machine, the jjatents of 
 which are owned by this company, are a me- 
 chanical wonder, and the works of The Hart- 
 ford Machine Screw Co. are a model of elegance 
 and architectural beauty. 
 
 The Hartford Manila Company, No. 1 
 
 South Ann Street. — The works of this company are 
 situated at Woodhmd, in the town of East Hartford, 
 on the Hockanuni river, two and a half miles east 
 of the New York and New England Railroad Sta- 
 tion. The office is at No. 1 South Ann Street, in 
 this city. The company was incorporated in 1881, 
 with •S100,000 capital, and the following-named 
 officers: President, M. S. Chapman; Vice-President, 
 H. .I.Wickham; Secretary, C. H. Wickham ; Treas- 
 urer, L. B. Plimpton. The works produce about 
 six tons of Manila paper daily ; about one-third of 
 which is used in the United States Stamped En- 
 velope Works in this city, of which the president 
 of Tlie Hartford Manila Co., Mr. M. S. Cliapman, is 
 superintendent. He is a native of East Haddam, 
 Conn., and forty-four years of age. He has been a 
 dealer in and manufacturer of pajier and envelopes 
 for the p;ist twenty yeais, commencing his business 
 career as a commercial traveler for the Plimpton 
 Manufacturing Company of this city, of which he 
 is now vice-president. He resides in South Man- 
 chester, wliich town he represented in the Legisla- 
 ture in 1881. In addition to his interests here he is 
 a director and large owner in the Kanawlia Wood 
 Pulp Company, at Parkersliurgh, W. Va. 
 
 Altliough a business man in Hartford, his home 
 is as above stated. 
 
 Mr. H. J. Wickham, the vice-president and 
 General Superintendent, is a native of JIanchester, 
 and about forty-six years of age. He is a practical 
 macliinist, and inventor of tlie machinery now used 
 in making stamped envelopes and news[japer wrap- 
 l^ers. 
 
 Mr. C. H. AVickham, the secretary, is a son of 
 the vice-president of tlie company, Ijorn in Man- 
 cliester, aud about twenty-three years of age. 
 
 Mr. L. B. Plimpton, tlie Treasurer, is also presi- 
 dent of the Plimpton Manufacturing Company, one 
 of the largest envelope manufactories in this coun- 
 try. As will be seen, the principal customer of this 
 company is the United States Stamped Envelope 
 Works, in which its principal officers are financially 
 interested. 
 
 The Hartford Daily Times, Burr Bros. 
 
 (A. E. Burr, F. L. Burr & \V. O. Burn, Publishers, 
 No. 254 Main Street. — On the first day of .January, 
 1883, sixty-six years had jjassed and left their 
 impress on the history of the " Times." Sixty-six 
 years ago, on .January 1, 1817, Mr. Frederick Bolles 
 issued the first number of the "Hartford Weekly 
 Times," edited by Mr.' .Tolm M. Nilcs, who after- 
 wards attained to national celebrity as United 
 States Senator, and as Postmaster-General during 
 the Presidency of Martin Van Buren. 
 
 The '■ Times " was established in the interest of 
 what was then known as the " Toleration " party, 
 and advocated principles nearly akin to those it 
 maintains to-day. In 1837 Mr. Bulles was suc- 
 ceeded by Norton >fc Russell, as publishers, and in 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 235 
 
 1829, by Mr. John Russell, who still ran the paper 
 as a weekly, and in the same general tone as regards 
 politics. In 1M41 Mr. A. E. Burr succeeded to tlie 
 proprietorsliip, and began the publication of a 
 daily, issuing in tlie aiteruoons. Under Mr. Burr's 
 control the paper ha.s always been distinctly Demo- 
 cratic in i)oiitics, and early won tor itself a fore- 
 most ])lace among the Democratic journals in New 
 England. Mr. Burr continued as sole proprietor 
 of tlie " Times " until 1878, in which year the pres- 
 ent firm was formed by the admission of Messrs. 
 F. L. and W. O. Burr, his brother and son, respec- 
 tively. 
 
 In circulation and influence, the " Times " stands 
 on an equal footing witli the best and largest 
 papers published in New England, excelled in the 
 former resjiect by few and the latter by none. 
 This journal is a living ijroof that consistent hon- 
 esty coupled with ability will win respect for a 
 uewspa])er, and that respect is the first essential 
 to the foundation of its influence. The head of 
 the firm, Mr. A. E. Burr, under whose sole pro- 
 prietorship the foundations of the paper's present 
 prosperity and influence were laid, has never been 
 else in politics than a consistent and outspoken 
 Democrat, refusing office and emolument for him- 
 self, but laboring with zeal and patience to elevate 
 the good men of liis party to the rule of the 
 State, and his party itself to power in the nation. 
 It is, perliaps, not too much to say that the result 
 of the Fall election of 1883, in Connecticut, was 
 largely due to the Messrs. Burr and their paper. 
 
 The " Times " is published every afternoon 
 excepting Sundays, and is delivered by carriers and 
 sold by newsboys and dealers in Hartford, and 
 sent l>y mail all over the United States. It has a 
 particularly large circulation in its own State, and is 
 looked upon as the leading Democratic paper of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 About forty people are constantly employed, and 
 it is a matter of general knowledge that the 
 " Times " office retains its employees for very long 
 terms. 
 
 Mr. A. E. Burr, the senior partner, is a native of 
 Hartford, born on March 27, 181.5. He received 
 the rudiments of his education in the public 
 schools, the intermediate course in private schools, 
 and the finish in the printing office. He is a prac- 
 tical printer and newspaper man. 
 
 Mr. F. L. Burr is also a native of Hartford, and 
 was born on December 27, 1827. His education 
 was aecjuired in the same manner as that of his elder 
 brother, and he is likewise practical in all branches 
 of newspaper work. 
 
 Mr. W. O. Burr, the junior member of the firm, 
 like his seniors, is a native of Hartford, his birth 
 occurred on September 27, 1843. He is a practical 
 printer and newspaper man. 
 
 The success of the "Times" is proved by the 
 fact of its already great circulation and influence, 
 and is emphasized by the recent addition of one of 
 Hoe & Co.'s web-perfecting presses, of the latest 
 improved pattern, with a capacity of 12,000 double 
 sheets per hour, and an enlargement of the paper to 
 an eiglit-page daily. 
 
 market combined, in tlie western part of the city, is 
 that of Mr. William .1. Tolhurst, located at No. 55 
 Maple avenue, corner of Retreat .street. 
 
 The business was estaljlished about the year 1859, 
 long before it had reached its present proportions, 
 and before this part of the city had become so 
 thickly ]jopulatcd. The first gentleman to show 
 his enterpiise in the establishing of this house was 
 Mr. Lyman JI. Bacon ; next, the firm was Messrs. 
 Bacon tfc Rowley, then Mr. William R. Rowley, 
 and on July 1, 1879, the present owner became 
 proprietor. 
 
 The location is all that could be desired ; situ- 
 ated on the line of horse cars, a prominent corner, 
 and facing two streets, it commands the attention 
 of the public going either way. 
 
 The premises are loOxGO feet in area. The front 
 is used as the grocery department, where is carried 
 a large stock of teas, coffees, dried fruits, spices, 
 c.mned goods, sugars, farinaceous goods, soaps, 
 candles, salt, crackers, brooms, brushes, pails, etc., 
 while in the rear is the meat and fish market, where 
 all kinds and varieties of meat, i)oultry, game, 
 vegetaljles and fish are found in abundance. To 
 transact this large retail business requires the ser- 
 vices of seven employees and two delivery wagons, 
 the sales amounting to about .$50,000 per year. 
 
 Mr. Tolhurst is a young but experienced busi- 
 ness man, thirty-two years of age, a native of 
 Headcorn, England, and a resident of this country 
 since he was a few inonf.hs of age. He spent most 
 of his boyhood on a farm near Middletown, Conn., 
 and came to Hartford in November, 18(j:l Since 
 that time he has been identified with the grocery 
 and meat business, and for five years previous to 
 1879 was a member of the well-known firm of 
 Messrs. Barrows & Tolhurst, in this city. He is a 
 progressive and pojjular merchant, with a first class 
 trade which is constantly increasing. 
 
 Williani J. Tolhurst, dealer in Groceries, 
 
 Provisions, Meat, Fish, Vegetables, etc.. No. 55 
 Maple Avenue. — The largest grocery store and meat 
 
 Hartford Cement Tile Co., Manufacturers 
 of Tile, Chiuniey Tops, etc.. No. 69 Commerce 
 Street. — Prominent among the many industries of 
 Connecticut and peculiar in its line is the one 
 whose name heads this article. Tlie company was 
 incorporated on March 14, 1H7:3, with a capital of 
 SlO.OOO, and immediiitely began, on a large scale, 
 the manufacture of the durable and beautiful tile 
 and chimney tops, the excellence of which has won 
 a wide reputation and an extensive patronage. Mr. 
 John R. Hills, the w._-ll-known builder, is President 
 of the company, while the Secretaryship is in the 
 able hands of Mr. James S. B 'Iden, of the firm of 
 iSeth Belden & Son; dealers in flagging stone, at 
 whose office the business of the company is trans- 
 acted. The goods manufactured by this comp.any 
 find a ready market, and many of the finer build- 
 ings in Connecticut and other States are adorned 
 with them. An average of about eight men are 
 given constant and profitable employment with a 
 prospect of lai'gely increasing the force in the near 
 future. 
 
 Molcomb & Sperry ii. R. Holcomb .and 
 E. K. Sperry I, Manufacturers and Dealers in Brushes 
 aud Feather Dusters, No. 177 .Vsylum Street. — The 
 firm of Iloloomb & Sperry, brush and duster manu- 
 facturers and dealers, are tlu^ successors to Messrs. 
 C L. W. Baker & Co., whom they succeeded in 
 
236 
 
 THE HISTOBICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 1872. The business has been in its present location 
 since its establishment, and lias grown therein from 
 a very small beginning to among the leading in- 
 dustries of the State. The premises occupied con- 
 sists of three floors, one in front and two in the 
 rear, wliere there are employed from twelve to 
 thirty-five people, the number varying with the 
 season. All kinds and varieties of brushes and 
 dusters are manufactured here, a specialty being 
 made of machine and scratch wire brushes, the trade 
 in which latter articles is chiefly confined to this 
 liouse. While the factory turns out quantities of 
 goods for the New England trade, by far the greater 
 jjortion of the l)usiness is done in the West, where 
 the firm's traveling salesmen are constantly engaged 
 and where many thousands of dollars' worth of the 
 celebrated Holcomb & Sperry brushes are annually 
 sold, those goods being especially prominent in 
 California and the other extreme Western States 
 and territories. 
 
 Mr. J. R. Holcomb is a native of Elizabethtown, 
 N. y., born in 1827, and has been a resident of Hart 
 ford since 1850. In its society and business he has 
 held a prominent place, having been a memljer of 
 the Common Council for four years, and an active 
 meml)er of the old Governor's Foot Guard, in which 
 historic organiEation he was a lieutenant and is now 
 a veteran. In the Masonic fraternity he is an old 
 and prominent memlier, and has held all the offices 
 possible to hold. He is now a Knight Templar, a 
 memljer of the Grand Coinmandery, and Deputy 
 Grand Commander. Before entering his present 
 business he was junior partner in the old "Bee 
 Hive " dry goods store, and in that business laid the 
 foundation of the very excellent commercial 
 reputation he now enjoys. 
 
 Mr. E. K. Sperry is a native of Hartford, and 
 forty three years of age. He is of the well-known 
 familv of that name, who have been prominent in 
 the history of Connecticut for many years, one 
 brother having been mayor of New Haven, and 
 another postmaster in the same city. 
 
 During the administration of Mr. Lincoln he 
 held the appointment of United States Consul for 
 Barbadoes, W. I., and its dependencies. 
 
 A. O. Dole, Grocer, No. 72 Park Street.— 
 As a city grows, the demand for stores from 
 which the surrounding inhabitants get their sup- 
 plies increases, and is supplied as made. One 
 of these representative stores relying entirely on 
 the immediately surrounding trade is that of 
 which Mr. Augustus O . Dole is jiropnetor, lo- 
 cated at No. 72 Park street, corner Hudson. It is 
 18 X 50 feet in size, and stocked with a well se- 
 lected assortment of first-class groceries, in 
 which the sales amount to 5515,000 per annum. 
 
 Mr. Dole, the proprietor, is a native of Buck- 
 land, Franklin County, Mass., born in 1844. 
 Previous to his locating here in June, 1881, he 
 was a successfvil and well-known commercial 
 traveler. 
 
 During the war he served three years in the 
 Thirty -seventh Massachusetts Infantry, and most 
 of that time was a clerk in the Sixth Corps' Hos- 
 pital, where he was instrumental in securing 
 the names and preserving the identity of thou- 
 sands of the killed and wounded, which but for 
 him would have been lost forever. Modest and 
 undemonstrative in his methods, he has achieved 
 that success which true merit always wins. 
 
 George Marchant, Harness, etc.. No. 109 
 Main Street. — The harness and saddle business of 
 Mr. George Marchant was established at No. 86 
 Main street sixteen years ago. 
 
 In 1876 he removed to No. 109 Main street, which 
 is his present location. 
 
 He manufactures and deals in harness, saddles, 
 bridles, collars, whips, brushes, coniljs, fly nets, 
 etc., and makes a specialty of dealing in the cele- 
 brated vacuum oil blacking. He does a small but 
 safe business, employing three workmen, and 
 turning out superior work. Some of the sets of 
 harness used in the most stylish turnouts in Hart- 
 ford are evidence of his handiwork. 
 
 Mr. Marchaut is a native of Braghlang, Sussex, 
 England, born in 1837. He came to America in 
 18.52, and to Hartford, learning his trade here in 
 the same year, and where he has since enjoyed an 
 enviable reputation as a good workman and excel- 
 lent citizen. 
 
 J. J. Poole & Co., Wholesale and Retail 
 Dealers in Anthracite and Bituminous Coal, No. 
 278 Main Street. — Mr. J.J. Poole commenced busi- 
 ness in Hartford, under the style of J. J. Poole & 
 Co., on the first of July, 1876, succeeding to the 
 old-established trade of G. B. Linderman & Co. 
 The business done is both wholesale and retail, the 
 latter predominating, and is the largest of its class 
 in the city. 
 
 Tlie office is centrally located on Main street, 
 while tlie yards, which have a storage capacity of 
 5,000 tons, are located on Commerce street, em- 
 bracing the numbers from 172 to 180, inclusive. 
 While all descriptions of coal are handled and sold, 
 the house makes a specialty of the celebrated 
 " Sugar Loaf " (Lehigh) coal, of which there are 
 annually many thousands of tons passing through 
 their hands, and which has attained a very high 
 reputation in Hartford and the surrounding coun- 
 try where the trade of the house extends. 
 
 Mr. Poole is a native of Baltimore, Md., and 
 has been a resident of Hartford since 1876. He is 
 regarded as an energetic and reliable business man, 
 and as a desirable acquisition to the mercantile 
 community. 
 
 The Hartford Evening Post, Nos. 23, 
 25 and 27 Asylum Street. — Hartford supports two 
 evening papers, "The Post," which is Republican 
 in politics, and " The Times," Democratic. 
 
 " The Post," which has a weekly edition called 
 " The Connecticut Post," was established in 1856, 
 by Mr. J. M. Scoville. The present proprietors of 
 both papers is The Evening Post Association, with 
 Mr. H. T. Sperry, President and managing editor, 
 and Mr. .1. A. Spaulding as Secretary, Treasurer 
 and business manager. The Evening Post Build- 
 ing is an imposuig structure situated in the centre 
 of business on one of the principal thoroughfares. 
 It is 40x70 feet in area, four stories in height, with 
 an annex for press room and composing room 40x 
 40 feet, two stories, the whole premises being of 
 
HE VIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 237 
 
 brick. The demands of the business necessitate 
 the constant employment of forty-two men and 
 twenty-seven boys as carriers during tlie afternoon. 
 The circulation of "The Evening Post" in tlie sur- 
 rounding cities and villages is very large, while the 
 numl>er of carriers employed in a city of 45,000 
 people indicates the extent of its circulation in 
 Hartford. 
 
 Mr. H. T. Sperry, the president and managing 
 editor, has been engaged on " The Post " for 
 twelve years. While seeking to ignore all politi- 
 cal preferment, he was at one time member of the 
 city government of Hartford. He was born in 
 Hartford, and is forty -seven years of age. 
 
 Mr. J. A. Spaulding, the secretary, treasurer and 
 business manager, was born in Killingly, Conn., 
 forty-nine years ago, and has been connected with 
 " The Post '■ for nearly five years. He is well 
 known as an experienced journalist, having been 
 proprietor of the Killingly (Conn.) " Transcript " 
 for five years, the Webster (Mass.) "Times" for 
 seven years, the Rockville (Conn.) " Journal " for 
 eight years, and the Worcester (Muss.) "Press" 
 for five years. 
 
 With an existence of over twenty-five years "The 
 Post " has done great service to the Republican 
 party. Its influence is felt in every section of the 
 State, where its circulation is rapidly increasing. 
 
 The Tun.xis Worsted Co., Worsted Yarns 
 and Tops, No. 66 State Street; Mills at Poquonock, 
 Ct., and 
 
 The Dunham Hosiery Co., Hosiery, Ze- 
 phyrs and Yarns, No. 06 State Street; Mills at Nau- 
 gatuck, Ct. — This city is the centre for the manu- 
 facturing districts surrounding it. Nearly every 
 water-power is the site of a mill of some kind, 
 with the houses of the superintendent and opera- 
 tives in close proximity ; the whole forming a good 
 sized village. The headquarters are generally in 
 Hartford, where the owners live, and from which 
 they communicate their orders by telephone. 
 
 Among the most important manufacturing es- 
 tablishments are Tlie Tuuxis Worsted Co. and Tlie 
 Dunham Hosiery Co., who have their headquarters 
 at No. 66 State street. 
 
 The first-named was incorporated .Tune 21, 1880, 
 and has a capital of $160,000, and a surplus of 
 $60,000. The officers are : President, S. G. Dun- 
 ham ; Treasurer, A. C. Dunham ; Secretary, Henry 
 Osbom. 
 
 The mills, two in number, are situated at Po- 
 quonock, Conn., about twelve miles from Hartford, 
 on the Farmington river, one of the best water 
 powers in Connecticut; the number of feet fall 
 being nine feet eight inches, and six feet three 
 inches, respectively. The capacity of the estab- 
 lishment i« 200,000 pounds of raw wool per month, 
 the manufactu;e of combed tops and fancy colored 
 worsteds being made a specialty. 
 
 The combs here were patented by Mr. Samuel 
 Metcalf, and are not excelled or duplicated in the 
 United States. 
 
 The officers of the company speak in a very com- 
 plimentary manner of the Risdon Turbine Wheel, 
 made at Mount Holly, N. .!., which is in use here. 
 About three hundred people are employed in the 
 
 manufacture of worsted yarns and topi?, which 
 have an extended reputation with the trade. 
 
 hi the same oflSce, at No. 66 State street, is the 
 headquartera of The Dunham Hosiery Co., W'hich 
 has for its officers the same gentlemen who are offi- 
 cers of The Tunxis Worsted Co. The Dunham 
 Hosiery Co. was incorporated June 21, 1880. The 
 capital .stock is $42,.500, with a surplus of $:i0,000. 
 The officers are: President, Austin C. Dunham; 
 Treasurer, Samuel G. Dunham; Secretary, Henry 
 Osbom. 
 
 The estaVilishment, which consists of one mill, 
 is located on a tributary of the Naugatuck river at 
 Naugatuck, Conn., and tlie company are successors 
 to Messrs. Theo. Lewis & Co., who made fancy cas- 
 simeres. About two hundred people are employed 
 in the manufacture of shirts and drawers, of which 
 21,000 dozen aie turned out annually ; also manu- 
 facturiug 60,000 pounds of zephyr yarns per year. 
 
 In addition to a National Turbine Wheel a steam 
 engine is relied upon at intervals. The sales agent 
 for both The Tunxis Worsted Co. and Dunham 
 Hosiery Co. is Mr. A. S. Haight, No. 48 Howard 
 street. New York. 
 
 The Messrs. Dunham are the sons of Austin Dun- 
 ham, Esq., who was one of the pioneers in estali- 
 lisliing large and successful industries in different 
 localities in Connecticut. He established, in 1870, 
 the business to which The Tunxis Worsted Co. 
 succeeded. He was the originator and projector of 
 The Willimantic Linen Co., and prominently iden- 
 tified with the leading banks and insurance com- 
 panies of his native State. He died in the year 
 1877, leaving behind him as a heritage to his sons 
 a name that is gratefully spoken by thousands, and 
 that stands at the head of a long list of Connecti- 
 cut's pioneer philanthropic manufacturers. 
 
 Mr. Austin C. Dunham, president of one of the 
 above-mentioned companies and treasurer of the 
 other, is a native of Hartford, Conn., and about 
 fifty-two years old. He is a graduate of Yale, in 
 the class of 18.54 ; a director in the ^iitna Fire In- 
 surance Co., The Travelers Insurance Co., The Ex- 
 change National Bank, The Willimantic Linen Co., 
 president of the Rock Manufacturing Co. of Rock- 
 ville, Conn., and largely interested in real estate, 
 and other matters identified with the interests of 
 his native city. 
 
 Mr. Samuel G. Dunham is an officer in The 
 Tunxis Worsted Co. and The Dunham Hosiery Co., 
 being president of the former and treasurer of the 
 latter. He is also a native of Hartford, and thirty- 
 three years of age, a director in the Ji^tna Life In- 
 surance Co., the Phoenix National Bank, the United 
 States Bank, and the Rock Manufacturing Co. of 
 Rockville. He learned the business of manufactur- 
 ing from his father, and is one of Connecticut's 
 representative citizens. 
 
 Mr. Henry Osbom, the secretary of l)oth compa- 
 nies named in the title lines of this sketch, was 
 born in Willimantic in 1847, and received his edu- 
 cation in the i)ul)lic schools of his native town. 
 He has also been connected with the Dunhams, di- 
 rectly and indirectly, for the past seventeen years. 
 
 The companies above named are conspicuous 
 among the reliable and well-known establishments 
 which go to make up the reputation Connecticut 
 enjoys as a manufacturing centre. 
 
238 
 
 TME HISTOltlGAL, STATISTICAL AND IXDVSTHIAL 
 
 Way & Co., Importers and Wholesale Dealers 
 in Hardware, Cutlery, Agricultural Implements, etc., 
 No. 344 Main Street. — It is a well-known fact that 
 repetition is advertising. The French claim that an 
 advertisement is seen seven times before it is read, 
 and read many times before it is indelibly fixed in 
 the memory of the reader. If this is so, the name 
 of the hardware house of Way must be unusually 
 familial' to the present generation of Hartford 
 people. 
 
 More than half a century has passed since George 
 M. Way emliarked in tlie hardware trade. From 
 the year 1831 to 1883 the sign of "Way Hardware " 
 has lieen conspicuous on the main thoroughfare of 
 Hartford, one being synonymous with the other. 
 After a long life of business activity and prol)ity, 
 he died in October, 1883, the business passing to 
 Samuel L. Way, his son, who conducts it under the 
 firm name of Way ifc Co. 
 
 The store is conspicuous for its originality of 
 interior construction ; the ceilings are very high, 
 and openings through the several floors, around 
 which are railings, offer an uninterrupted view 
 from the ground floor to the upper story, a pleasing 
 contrast to most hardware stores in this and other 
 cities. 
 
 The stock consists of all kinds of hardware, cut- 
 lery, agricultural implements and tools, manufac- 
 turers' and mechanics' supplies, iron, steel, wooden 
 ware, etc., etc., wliich are sold at both wholesale and 
 retail, the trade of the house extending throughout 
 the State, and jjarticularly among the large class of 
 manufacturing establishments which cluster in and 
 around Hartford. 
 
 The main store and salesroom is located at No. 344 
 Mainstreet, threestories in height; this, witli a four- 
 story building directly in the rear, and one on a side 
 street, comprise the l)uildings devoted to the trade. 
 
 Mr. Samuel L. Way, the proprietor, is a native of 
 Hartford, born in 1833. He is one of the most 
 enterprising and progressive merchants of tlie 
 Capital City, and his long experience has made him 
 familiar witli every detail of the business. 
 
 Pond & Cliild.s, Booksellers and Stationers, 
 No. 801 Main Street. — For several years previous 
 to 1860, Mr. Charles G. Geer and Mr. DcWitt 0. 
 Pond were conducting book stores on their own 
 accounts and in different localities in this city. In 
 that year they formed a co-partnership under the 
 name of Geer & Pond, and located in the old Post- 
 office building at No. 3.')(i Main street. Mr. Geer died 
 in 1874. Mr. Pond has been in tlie bonk business 
 for over twenty-five years, and is well known as a 
 connoisseur in such matters. On tlie death of Mr. 
 Geer, Mr. Edward C. Hamlin became a partner, and 
 the firm was called Pond & Hamlin, which con- 
 tinued till 1876, when Mr. Hamlin died, the busi- 
 ness in the mean time having been transferred to its 
 present location, DBCember 1, 1875. Soon after the 
 death of Mr. Hamlin, and in 1877, Mr. Charles R. 
 Childs became a member of the firm in tlie place of 
 Mr. Hamlin, and tlie name changed to Pond & 
 Childs, which has since continued. 
 
 The store is located in the Phcenix Bank Build- 
 ing, a marble front structure and one of the finest 
 buildings in the State. The store proper is 35x90 
 feet in size, and a general business in books, 
 
 stationery, newspapers, and periodicals is conduct- 
 ed, necessitating the employment of four clerks. 
 
 BIr. DeWitt C. Pond is a native of Poultney, 
 Rutland County, Vermont, born in 1834, and has 
 been a resident of Hartford since 1850. He learned 
 the trade of a jeweler, but his love for literature and 
 of books led him into the business which has 
 proven so profitable to him. His long residence 
 here lias identified liim closely with the interests of 
 the city and its institutions. 
 
 He has served two terms as a member of the City 
 Council, five years as alderman, representing the 
 Second Ward, and is now President of the Board of 
 Aldermen. 
 
 He is also an active worker in the Congregational 
 Churcli, and has been a member of the Governor's 
 Foot Guard — Ijoth active and a veteran member — 
 since 1860. 
 
 Mr. Charles R. Childs is a native of Springfield, 
 Mass., born in 1846, and has resided in Hartford 
 thirty-four years, where he received his education, 
 previous to 1877, when he became a partner with 
 Mr. Pond. 
 
 The house of Pond & Childs do a large retail 
 business, and its members rank among the city's 
 most respected citizens. 
 
 Pitkin Brother.s & Co., Iron F(nmdei-s, 
 Steam Engineers, Contractors and JIanufacturers of 
 Steam Engines, Boilers, etc.. No. 153 State Street. 
 — The history of this house is closely identified 
 with the history of the manufacturing industries 
 of Hartford, and is one of the oldest in its line in 
 New England. 
 
 It was first, Bidwell, Pitkin & Co., in 1849, at 
 which time the Inisiness was established. In 1859 
 the firm was clianged to Pitkin Bros. & Co., and 
 has so continued up to the present. During the 
 past tliirty-three years the business and reputation 
 of the house has extended through Canada and to 
 every State east of tlie Mississippi River, the busi- 
 ness amounting annually to §300,000. 
 
 The establishment consists of the following de- 
 scribed buildings, situated at No. 153 State Street, 
 viz.: A one-story building 100x30 feet, a five-story 
 building 300x60 feet, and a one-story boiler and 
 workshop 100x100 feet. They employ about 
 seventy-five skilled artisans in the manufacture of 
 steam engines, boilers, heating apparatus, all de- 
 scriptions of iilate work, steam, water and gas 
 pi|)e and fittings. They are also steam engineers 
 and contractors for anything under that head. 
 
 Mr. Albert P. Pitkin, the senior memlier of the 
 firm, was born in Hartford fifty-four years ago, 
 and after serving at his trade, was one of the 
 original founders of the house. 
 
 He is one of the leading representative business 
 men of his native city and a director in the Farm- 
 ers and Mechanics' Bank. 
 
 Mr. Norman T. Pitkin was born in Hartford 
 forty-nine years ago, and after a thorough prelim- 
 inary education and the mastering of the jirofes- 
 sion of steam engine builder, he became one of the 
 firm, with his brother. He has always been, like 
 his brother, a steady-going, conservative business 
 man, refusing all opportunities for political ad- 
 vancement, and seeking only to enlai'ge and per- 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 239 
 
 feot the already extensive business iirquired ))y liis 
 firm. 
 
 Mr. (.'liarlcs A. Pitkin, the junior partner, is also 
 a native of Hartford, and is forty-two years of age. 
 He is and has been for several years a resident of 
 San .lose, Cal. The nieml>ers of this house, in- 
 dividually and collectively, rank ainoni^ the first 
 of New EngU nd representative manufaeturers and 
 as leading representative citizens of Hartford. 
 
 T1h> BhMlg-ett & Cliiiip Co., Importers 
 and Dealers in everv desox'iption of Iron and 
 Steel, Nos. 47, 49, 5i and 53 Market Street.— 
 History does not record to a certainty who es- 
 tablisiied the house of The Blodgett * Clapp 
 Co.. iron and steel dealers at Nos. 47, 49, 51 and 
 53 IMarket street in this city. The first name on 
 record, as proprietor', is that of Mr. Philip Kip- 
 ley, who was disijeusiug iron and steel in 1790, 
 as successor to some one. of whom there is no 
 mention. It is safe to say, that the horrse is as 
 old, if not older, than the Constitution of the 
 United States, and would have lieeu justified in 
 celebrating its centennial in conjunction with 
 the Union in 1876. Owing, no doubt, to the in- 
 herent modesty of the present officers, who were 
 at that time, members of a firm which the pres- 
 ent company succeeded, they did not. 
 
 They will certainly be perfectly justified in 
 celebrating their centennial most any year now, 
 nudif when 1890 arrives they do not honor Philip 
 Kipley for leaving a business card to posterity, 
 so that historians can write of the house to a 
 dead certainty, we shall be sorry that we ever 
 went into their history at aU. 
 
 After Philij) Eiijley, came Kipley & Cone ; 
 Eiplev, Roberts ct Co. ; Eiplevs & Talcott ; E. 
 G. Kipley & Co. ; E. G. Talcott & Co. ; R. F. 
 Blodgett k Co. ; Blodgett k Clapp, resjjectively, 
 and on January 1st, 1880, The Blodgett & Clapp 
 Co., the present proprietors, came into posses- 
 sion, as an incorporated com2)anv, with Mr. R. 
 F. Blodgett, President ; Mr. J.'O. Phelps, 3d, 
 Treasurer ; Mr. J. B. Clapp. Secretary. 
 
 Their office and principal salesroom occupies 
 a three-story buildmg 125x50 feet, with an L. 
 Several buildings are employed for storage pur- 
 poses in diflerent parts of the city. 
 
 The stock consists of every description of iron 
 and steel, nails, chains, bolts, nuts, anvOs, vises, 
 springs, rivets, fire brick, spokes, rims, hubs, 
 wheels, shafts, and every description of carriage 
 materials. The business done amoiuats to 
 $150,000 per annum. 
 
 The officers of the comj^any rank among the 
 progressive business men of Hartford, and are 
 largely identified with its manufacturing inter- 
 ests. Mr. R. F. Blodgett, the President, is a 
 native of this city, where he was educated in its 
 public schools. He is forty years of age, and 
 secretary of the Pratt & Whitney Co. , a very ex- 
 tensive manufacturing establishment in Hart- 
 ford, to which he gives most of his time. 
 
 Mr. J. O. Phelps, 3d, Treasurer, is a native of 
 Simsbury, Connecticut, and twenty-seven years 
 of age. Although much younger than the other 
 officers of the company, he is looked upon as a 
 true representative of such a house as this of 
 necessity must have. 
 
 The Secretary, Mr. John B. Clapj), is a native 
 of W'ethersfield, Connecticut, and forty years of 
 age. He also is an educational product of the 
 public .schools of the State. During his active 
 business life he has found time to repi-esent his 
 ward for two years in the City Council of his 
 adopted city. He was also port warden for one 
 year, and a member of the board of fire commis- 
 sioners for nine years. 
 
 During the war he enlisted as a private in the 
 Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteers, serving with 
 honor and bravery, and came home as brevet 
 captain and assistant adjutant-general. 
 
 The gentlemen w^ho are the officers of The 
 Blodgett & Clapj) Co. are liberal and progres- 
 sive in all affairs for public good, of excellent 
 judgment, and enlarged experience in financial 
 matters and of men. 
 
 Goo. P. BissoU & Co., Bankers, No. 307 
 Main Street. — The oldest and largest private bank- 
 ing house in Hartford, if not in New England, is 
 that of Geo. P. Bissell & Co., in the handsome 
 marble building at No. 307 Main street, near Asylum 
 street, and in the very centre of the business dis- 
 trict. Tlie house was established in 1 8.54, and has 
 been for twenty-nine years in business in one loca- 
 tion, and under one firm name and management. 
 During all this time it has done an inunense busi- 
 ness, has met with no reverses, been uninfluenced 
 l)y financial panics, and has never put tlie interests 
 of its customers in jeopardy. It luiys stocks, dis- 
 counts commercial paper, allows interests, fur- 
 nishes letters of credit, and has a safe-deposit vault. 
 Mr. Bissell owns the building in which the bank is 
 situated. At the foundation of the business, he 
 had for partners, Calvin Day and D. F. Robinson. 
 The latter gentleman has since died, and Mr. Day 
 has retired. Mr. Albert H. Olmsted is now the 
 partner. He wag born in Hartford forty-five years 
 ago, is wholly devoted to Inisiness, and neither 
 seeks nor has held any imblic office. Col. George P. 
 Bissell was ))orn at Rochester, N. Y., fifty-five 
 years ago, and has resided in Hartford for the past 
 thirty-five years. During the war he was the com- 
 mander of the Twenty-fifth Connecticut Regiment, 
 and during the administration of Governor Jewell, 
 was Paymaster-General of the Stale. He is a 
 director of the Insane Retreat, and executor and 
 trustee of the H. A. Perkins' estate. For many 
 yeare he has taken a prominent place in all public 
 enterprises in the city and State. 
 
 Boacli & Co. (George Beach, J. Watson 
 B'dach, Cliarles M. Beach), Nos. 300 and 311 State 
 Street. — The organization of this reputal)le house 
 dates back to in 1836, when Messrs. George Beach, 
 Sr., and George Beach, Jr., were the first j)artners. 
 
 In 1849, the present firm of Messrs. Beach & 
 Co. was formed, and is composed of Mr. George 
 Beach, Mr. J. Watson Bsach and Mr. Charles M. 
 Beach, who conduct the business of manufactur- 
 ing dye stuffs, and the importing of chemicals, dye 
 woods, etc. 
 
 The maiutfactory, which is situated on Potter 
 street, in tliis city, is a three-story building 30C •^ 
 Go feet, fully supplied with all of the most improved 
 machinery, necessary for the production of ground 
 dye woods. The salesrooms at Nos. 309 and 311 
 State street, consist of a three-story building 40 x 
 
240 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 65 feet, with one in the rear four stories, same di- 
 mensions. 
 
 Tlie business is one of tlie most extensive in New 
 Enaland, as it is one of tlie oldest. 
 
 Tlie thousands of manufacturing establishments 
 tributary to this city, contribute to the large sales 
 of this house. About twenty-five peojile are em- 
 ployed, and the amount of business done per an- 
 num exceeds one million of dollars. 
 
 Mr. George Beacli, the senior member, is a native 
 of Hartford, and aljout seventy years of age. He 
 has held several important trusts during his busy 
 life, among which was the office of State Senator. 
 
 Mr. J. Watson Beach was born in Hartford in 
 1824, and besides attending to many of the active 
 duties devolving on a member of a house having 
 such extensive connections, he has found time to be 
 prominently identified with the manufacturing and 
 financial interests of his native city. He is presi- 
 dent of the Mercantile National Bank, jiresident of 
 the extensive Weed Sewing Machine Company, and 
 director in other incorporated institutions too nu- 
 merous to mention. 
 
 Mr. Charles M. Beach is a native of Hartford, 
 and fifty-six years of age. Like his brothers, he is 
 conspicuous in tl^e business circles of the State. He 
 is president of the Home Woolen Mills Company, 
 and a director in the Phoenix National Bank, 
 Phoenix Fire Insurance Company, Connecticut 
 Mutual Fire Insurance Company and Steam Boiler 
 Insurance Company. 
 
 There is, probably, not a firm in the State doing 
 such an extensive business, whose members are so 
 largely and actively interested in its financial and 
 manufacturing industries as Messrs. Beacli ifc Co. 
 
 The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Com- 
 pany, Printers and Bookbinders, corner of Pearl 
 and Trumbull Streets. — This business, now grown to 
 vast proportions, and to a position among the lead- 
 ing printing and bookbindins houses of tlic United 
 States, was established in 1836, by Newton Case, 
 Edwin D. Tiffany, and Alanson D. Waters, under 
 the firm name of Case, Tiffany & Co. Their office 
 was provided with eight Wells' hand presses, one 
 Ramage press, and a considerable quantity of tyjie, 
 there being few stereotype and no electrotype plates 
 at that time. Shortly after their estaljlisliment the 
 firm purchased an Adams press, of the first (latent, 
 which for more than two years was run by hand- 
 power. 
 
 In 1838, Mr. Waters retired from tlie firm, and 
 Leander C. Burnham was admitted. At this time, 
 the largest printing office in the State, owned by 
 Pliilemon Canfield, was offered for sale, and Case, 
 Tiffany & Co., eff^ected its purchase. Tliis office 
 was equipped with five power and nine hand presses, 
 a large amount of type and a steam-engine. In 
 order to unite the two estalilisliments, the premises 
 on the corner of Pearl and Trumbilll streets, known 
 as the " old jail" was leased for the purpose. This 
 building, erected in 1793 for a county jail and tav- 
 ern, required many alterations to adapt it to the 
 business. In April, 1838, the firm commenced 
 operations in their new quarters and tliree years 
 later purchased the property. In 1848, Mr. Burn- 
 ham died, and the remaining partners continued 
 the business at the old stand until 1850, in which 
 year they erected a building on Trumbull street, 
 
 south of the old corner structure, the main part 
 being 50 x G4 feet, five stories high. In the base- 
 ment was placed a new engine, and a portion of 
 the building was fittid up for a bookbinder}'. In 
 1853, James Lockwood and Albert G. Coohy, were 
 admitted to the firm. In 1857, Mr. Tiffany and 
 Mr. Cooley both retired, and tlie business was con- 
 ducted liy Messrs. Case and Lockwood as Case, 
 Lockwood & Co. On tlie 1st of January, 1858, 
 Lcverett Brainard was admitted as a partner. 
 
 It had been apjiarent to the firm for several years 
 that the constantly increasing business must of 
 necessity be accommodated in more commodious 
 quarters; and it was decided that the "old jail'' 
 building must be demolislied and a new building 
 erected on its site. Accordingly, in 1865, a brick 
 building was erected just west of the old one on 
 Pearl street, to be occupied during the work of 
 demolition and construction. 
 
 Early in the spring of 18G(; the last stone of the 
 "old jail" was removed. Work on the new build- 
 ing was immediately begun, and in April 1867, it 
 was ready for occupancy. On the 1st of January, 
 1868, the firm name was changed to represent the 
 three partnei-s — Case, Lockwood & Brainard. After 
 six years of business under that name, tlie firm 
 organized, under a charter granted by the Connec- 
 ticut Legislature, "The Case, Lockwood & Brain- 
 ard Co.," dating from January 1, 1874. In 1875 
 auiniportaiitadditionwasmadeto the establishment 
 by the admission of the "Hutchings Printing 
 House " entire. This house had acquired a repu- 
 tation for good work, and was well equipped in 
 thj departments conducted. The consolidation, 
 wliile permitting tlie continuance of any style of 
 work peculiar to that establishment, naturally 
 proved an advantage to its former customers, who 
 were alike benefited by tlie enlarged facilities 
 afforded, and the experience of the older house. 
 
 The building at present occupied by the Case, 
 Lockwood & Brainard Co., is of l)rick, with brown- 
 stone trimmings. It is one hundred and thirty-five 
 feet long by forty feet wide, exclusive of an L 
 containing stairways, elevators and closets — and 
 five stories high, besides the basement. All kinds 
 of printing, as well as electrotyping, bookbinding, 
 and other branches of the Ijusiness are carried on. 
 Hundreds of thousands of pounds of type, as well 
 as book and job presses in inconceivable variety 
 and in great number, together with all the machinery 
 used in bookbinding and for other purposes give 
 employment to nearly three hundred persons, and 
 tuin out work that has placed the name of the Case, 
 Lockwood & Brainard Co., at the very head of the 
 list of printers, not only in Connecticut, but 
 throughout the entire country. 
 
 The Kellogg & Bulkeley Co., Lith- 
 ographers, No. 175 Pearl Street. — It is rare that a 
 lithographic establishment so large as tliis is found 
 in a city the size of Hartford. The cause of its 
 growth is found in the demands of various insur- 
 ance comiianies and manufacturing establishments 
 in and around this city. 
 
 It was over a half century since Messrs. E. B. & 
 E. C. Kellogg commenced the lithographic busi- 
 ness from which this company grew. To be exact, 
 it was in 1831, and the place. No. 245 Main street. 
 Establishments did not grow as fast in those days 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 241 
 
 as in this. The facilities were not as many and the 
 demand so great. But the tirm improved every 
 opportunity and grew witli the city and State. In 
 1808 tlie tirm was clianged to Messrs. Kellogg & 
 Bulkelcy, and in 1870 new and larger quarters were 
 fouud iu their present location, an incorporated 
 company formed with a capital of S33,000 and the 
 following-named gentlemen elected as officers : 
 William' H. liulkeley, President ; Wallace T. 
 Fenn, Secretary and Treasurer. Tlie jiremiscs oc- 
 cupy two floors of a substantial lirick building at 
 No. IT.j Pearl street, 125,\40 feet in size. A large 
 Inisiness as lithographers, steam printers and wood 
 engravers is done, a specialty being the manufac- 
 ture of metallic show cards in colors, and gold-leaf 
 agency signs, in which they are one of the first in 
 the country. The officers and directors are some 
 of the representative men of Hartford. 
 
 The president is Geu. Wm. II. Bulkelcy, one of 
 the city's leading dry goods dealers. General 
 Bulkelcy is a native of East Iladdam, Conn., and 
 was born on March i, 1840. He is a descendant 
 of one of the oldest of tlie ancient families of New 
 England, the fouuder of which iu this country was 
 the Rev. Peter Bulkelcy, a distinguished Non- 
 Conformist divine who was compelled to seek 
 refuge iu America with the Puritans, and who 
 settled in Concord, Mass., in 1084. Since tliat 
 time the history of the Bulkelcy family has l)ecn a 
 part of the history of New England. When the 
 subject of this sketch was but seven years of age, 
 his father, lion. Eliphalet A. Bulkelcy, a prominent 
 lawyer in his time, then holding the office of school 
 fund commissioner, removed to Hartford and con- 
 tinued his residence here until his death, which 
 took place a few years since. General Bulkcley 
 acquired an education in the schools of Hartford, 
 after which the young man entered the employ of 
 Thatcher, Goodrich it Stillman, then one of the 
 leading drygoods houses in Hartford. Iu 1857 he 
 went to Brooklyn, N. Y., and a few years there- 
 after established himself in the dry goods Itusincss 
 on Fulton street, in that city, conducting it suc- 
 cessfully for about six years. In 1808 General 
 Bulkelcy returned to Hartford and organized this 
 company, of which he has always been president. 
 He has been vice-president of the ^tna Life In- 
 surance Company, and is now a director in that 
 organization, besides holding a similar position iu 
 the Orient Fire Insurance Company, the American 
 National Bank and the United States Bank. For 
 five years he was a member of the Common Coun- 
 cil, serving one year as vice-president and one year 
 as president of that body. He has served for three 
 terms as a member of the Board of Street Com- 
 missioners, and in the election of 1880 was chosen 
 Lieutenant-Governor of the State on the I{epul)li- 
 cau ticket, an office he filled witli rare ability and 
 with thorough satisfaction to his constituents. 
 General Bulkeley's war record is a creditable one, 
 he having been one of the first as a meml)er of the 
 Brooklyn City Guard, Co. G, loth Regiment of the 
 New York State National Guard, to respond to the 
 first call for troops. After a service of four 
 
 months in that organization. General Bulkelcy or- 
 ganized Co. G, of tlie .^Oth N. Y. S. N. (!., and 
 was engaged in the Pennsylvania crisis of 180;J. 
 During the New York riots tlie regiment was or- 
 dered home, and at the subsidence of that troul)le 
 was dislianded. General Bulkelcy is an active 
 memlier of the Grand Army of the Republic and 
 of the .Vrmy and Navy Club, as well as of other 
 associations purely civic iu their character. He is 
 one of the few men whose lives go to make up the 
 real and interesting history of the State, and is 
 eminent in the class who can point witli pardona- 
 ble pride to their records and their standing with 
 their fellow citizens. 
 
 Mr. Wallace T. Fenn is a native of New Haven, 
 born in 1848, and has been a residiait of Hartford 
 siuce 186.5, and secretary and treasurer of this com- 
 pany since its formation. 
 
 He was a memlier of the City Council from the 
 Second Wardm 1880-81, and is conimis.sary on the 
 staff of Col. L. A. Barbour, of tlie First Regiment 
 Connecticut National Guard. 
 
 To his rare executive ability and financial man- 
 agement is due in no small measure the success of 
 this company. 
 
 Tlic New York Sewiiis Machine Co., 
 
 Manufacturers of the New York Sewing Machine. — 
 Tliere are sewing machines and sewing machines. 
 The latest candidate for public favor is the New 
 York Sewing' Machine, which is manufactured in 
 this city at Colt's West Armory. Tlie company was 
 incorporated in 1881, with a capital of .ilOO,000, 
 and the following-named officers : President and 
 Treasurer, Hon. E. A. Wilkinson, of Newark, 
 N. J. ; Vice-President, Mr. R. W. Lundy, of New 
 York City; Secretary, Mr. T. C. Woodward, of 
 New York City ; Superintendent, Mr. J. B. Mc- 
 Cune, of Hartford. 
 
 The aim of the company is to produce the best 
 that money and skill can procure. Special and 
 standard machinery of the most approved kind 
 has been purchased to insure perfect construction. 
 The machines are manufactured upon the inter- 
 changeable system, each machine in detail l)eing a 
 complete duplicate of the original perfected model ; 
 an important feature, as it saves the troulile of 
 sending machines a great distance for repair, and 
 being without its use often for many days, and 
 also cost of repairs. 
 
 The comjiany claim for their machine a superior 
 beauty of design, elegance of finish, and' that it is 
 the most beautiful and elegant sewing macliine of 
 the day. In its details it differs materially from 
 other machines, and its simplicity is at once ap- 
 parent. 
 
 The premises occupied by tlie factory of this 
 company is 200 x 00 feet, and tlie number of em- 
 ployees is from fifty to sixty. The salesroom and 
 office is at No. 43 East Fourteenth street, New 
 York, where all the business of the company is 
 conducted. 
 
NEW BRITAIN. 
 
 New Britain is situated in Hartford County,ab(iut 
 ten miles soutliwesterly from Hartford, on tlie line 
 of tlie New York and New England JRailroad. It 
 has Ijeen a city since 1870, and a borough since 
 1850. The city proper comprises about three 
 quarters of the town of New Britain aud contains 
 about seven-eighths of the population, which is 
 estimated at between seventeen and eighteen thou-, 
 sand for tlie entire town, it having grown since 
 1880, from a census enumeration in that year of 
 13,978 and of only 3,039 in 1850. The government 
 of the town and city are two distinct organizations, 
 the former being composed of three selectmen, a 
 town clerk, town treasurer, and town comptroller, 
 three assessors, a board of relief, school committee, 
 justices of the peace, constables, etc., while the 
 city is governed l)y a mayor, and a common coun- 
 cil, consisting of four aldermen aud sixteen council- 
 men, one of the former and four of tlie latter being 
 elected annually from each of the four wards com- 
 prised in the city. The city officers are : city 
 clerk, treasurer, collector, auditor, street commis- 
 sioner, city attorney, and sealer of weights and 
 measures. There are also tiie Ijoard of water commis- 
 sioners, consisting of three members ; the board of 
 sewer commissioners, three members ; and the Ijoard 
 ■of street commissioners, six members. The police 
 department consists of a chief and five regular patrol- 
 men, assisted by quite a large force of specials, many 
 of whom are uni formed aud do regular duty, the 
 larger proportion, however, being employed as 
 ■watchmen in the various manufacturing establish- 
 ments of the city. The flre department embraces 
 a chief and one assistant, with a working force 
 of one hundred men, all of whom are paid by 
 the city, which is also the owner of the 
 apparatus, consisting of one steamer, six hose 
 carriages and one hook-and-ladder truck. The 
 water supply of the city is obtained from Sliuttle 
 Meadow Lake, two and a half miles southwest from 
 the city, the works being the property of the people. 
 "Water is furnished to families at a cost of aliout $4 
 per year, while manufacturing establishments are 
 charged according to the quantity used. Tlie gas 
 company, a private corporation, furnishes a good 
 quality of illuminating coal-gas at a charge of 
 $3.50 per tliousaad feet. Tliere are about eighteen 
 hundred dwelliug-liouses in the city, as well as a 
 very large number of business structures, manu- 
 factories, etc., the assessed valuation of real estate 
 being in the neighborhood of $5,000,000. The 
 streets in the central portions of the city are 
 macadamized, the work having been Ijegun about 
 four years ago. Something more than a mile of 
 macadamizing has been done since the beginning, 
 and the annual outlay has been $10,000. About 
 thirty-three thousand feet of lirick and tile sewers 
 carry off the drainage of the city, the main sewer 
 
 being eight feet in diameter, and emptying into a 
 brook in the northwestern part of the town. These 
 have cost 8300,000, of which $70,000 have been 
 jiaid in cash, the remainder being in the shape of 
 a Ijonded indebtedness. The ])oor of the city are 
 taken care of by the town, a few lacing permanently 
 located at the town-farm, the majority being 
 assisted with temporary relief at tlieir homes. 
 There are nine churclies in tlie city, of which one is 
 Adventist, two are Baptist, two Congregational, one 
 Kpiscopal, one Methodist, one Roman Catholic and 
 one Universalist. The schools of the town occupy 
 ten buildings, employ about forty teachers, and 
 range from the primary to tlie high-school grade. 
 Tliere is also- the St. Mary's Parochial school, 
 attached to the Roman Catholic Cliurch of that 
 name, which has an attendance of from nine hun- 
 dred' to one thousand pupils daily. The State 
 Normal School is also located here, the new 
 building being far toward completion. The manu- 
 facturing industries comprise a very large nuniljcr 
 of extensive estalilishments, the most of which are 
 devoted to the production of some form of hard- 
 ware. There are two banks, one national and one 
 savings ; tliree hotels, tlie Strickland House, the 
 Humphrey House and the City Hotel, aud a num- 
 ber of secret and benevolent societies, clul)S and 
 social organizations. The post-office has not yet 
 attained to the dignity of a carrier system, but is 
 otherwise satisfactory. Four newspapers are pub- 
 lished, "Tlie Herald" being the only daily. 
 Among the notalile buildings liere may be men- 
 tioned the Soutli Congregational Church, said to have 
 the largest memliership of the churches in New 
 England; the Masonic Hall, Odd Fellow's Hall 
 and tlie recently constructed opera house, pro- 
 nounced the most beautiful of its kind to be found 
 in New England, outside the larger cities. A com- 
 plete telegraph system, telephone lines, electric fire- 
 alarm, and the other conveniences of modern civil- 
 ization are all enjoyed here, and the constant 
 whirr of machinery, giving employment to a very 
 large proportion of the population, is a satisfac- 
 tory evidence that prosperity walks hand in hand 
 with thrift. The traveling facilities afforded by 
 the New York and New England Railroad are sup- 
 plemented by a branch of the New York, New 
 Haven and Hartford Road, which connects with 
 the main line two miles away, and furnislies com- 
 munication with the outside world almost hourly. 
 The situation of the city is beautiful in tlie ex- 
 treme, being about 130 feet higher than the track 
 of the New Haven Road and occupying a natural 
 amphitheatre among the surrounding hills, which 
 in the gentler seasons wear robes of many-tinted 
 flowers and of emerald green, in charming contrast 
 to the smoky factory region that environs it about 
 and makes the beauties of its setting the more ap- 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 243 
 
 parfiit. New Britain can be justly classed amon>^ 
 the prosperous and pleasant 2Jlaces with wliich 
 Connecticut abounds. 
 
 From the early days, when brass andirons were 
 made liere, and carried on liorscl)aek over the liills 
 to Albany, and when the first tin-ware made in the 
 country was carried from house to house in a 
 basket, manufacturers have ever rendered New 
 Britian a place of world-wide reputation. One can 
 but admire the energy and perseverance of those 
 men wlio have converted a dreary swamp into one 
 of the most important industrial cities in the 
 country. The amount invested in manufactures is 
 about "$7,000.1)00. 
 
 Elihu Burritt, "the learned blacksmith," was 
 born inNew Britain, December 8, 1811. llereceived 
 only a common scliool education ; but while 
 devoting himself to his trade he acquired several 
 ancient and modern languages, and liecame re- 
 nowned as a scholar and reformer. He died March 
 7, 18:9. 
 
 Ethan A. Andrews. LL. D.. was liorn in New 
 Britain in 1787, and graduated at Yale College in 
 1810. He studied law, and practiced for several 
 years. In conjunction with Prof. Solomon Stoddaid, 
 he published a Latin grammar, which has passed 
 
 The Stanley Works are an illustration of what 
 has been done by inventive genius, of tlie triumph 
 of mind over matter, bringing practical results in 
 the .shape of improved productions and wealth to 
 tlie proprietors. These works are among the oldest 
 and largest of their class in the world, and their 
 prosperous career furnishes a fitting conmientary 
 on the many advantages New Britain ))ossesses as a 
 manufacturing point, and is of itself the most 
 fitting evidence of the high quality of tlie goods 
 they liave made. As a producer of Ijuilder.s' and 
 cal)inet hardware, tliis estaljlisliment stands pre- 
 eminently aliove all competitors. It is forty years 
 since Mr. F. T. Stanley, now president of t he com- 
 pany, began the manufacture of bolts, witli a few 
 workmen, in a small shop in this city. It is from 
 this small beginning has grown tlie great works, 
 covering an investment of about lialf a millisn 
 dollars, and with 500 people as operatives. 
 
 Ths company was incorporated in 18.'53, with a 
 capital of $30,000. The chief business at that time 
 was the manufacture of strap and T hinges. Tlie 
 business of manufacturing wrought iron door bolts 
 was added in 1857. In 1800, the business was still 
 further increased by the addition of a complete line 
 of wrought iron butts, and since then other articles 
 
 —^7 .., i« 
 
 f 
 
 THE STANLEY WORKS, NEW BRITAIN CONN. 
 
 through some seventy editions. He also issued 
 several other popular works of instruction in Latin 
 He died March 25, 1S58. 
 
 John Smallev, D. D., bora in Lebanon, Conn., 
 June 4, 1734, was settled over the First Congre- 
 gational Church in New Britain, April 19, 1758, 
 where he remained until his death, June 1, 1820. 
 He was one of the most celebrated New England 
 divines of his day. 
 
 Tlu' Stanley "Works (Established 1843), 
 Manufacturers of Wrought Iron Butts, Strap and T 
 Hingeg, Door Bolts, Handles, etc., Myrtle Street.— 
 The great success of American manufacturers is 
 largely due to the use of machinery specially 
 adapted to the rapid and perfect ])erformance of 
 certain specific work. While the manufacturers of 
 the old world are cimtent to follow in a rut as old 
 as their trade, performing some tedious part of 
 their work Iiy the slow process of hand lalior, tlie 
 genius of the American mechanic prompts him to 
 devise a machine which will accomplish better 
 results and tlius materially improve the quality, as 
 well as greatly cheapen the cost of his productions. 
 
 of builders" and cabinet makera' hardware have 
 been added. 
 
 It has been the province of The Stanley Works 
 to take the primitive iron hinges, as made forty 
 years ago, invent machinery for the manufacture, 
 design new styles, and bring the standard up to a 
 point commanding the patronage and admiration 
 of the trade. 
 
 The company's new works were erected in 1871. 
 The buildings are mainly of brick, consisting of 
 the main Iniilding three stories in heiglit and 325 x 
 40 feet in area, an engine and boiler house 65 .\ 40 
 feet, and a storehouse 108 x 35 feet, and other 
 smaller buildings necessarily found in large estab- 
 lishments. 
 
 Tlie company own tracks connecting with the 
 New York and New England, and the New York, 
 New Haven and Hartford Railroad.s, enabling them 
 to ship direct from their own yards in car lots, and to 
 receive in the same manner the raw material in any 
 quantity. The arrangement of the works is such 
 that the iron goes in at the western end, and on its 
 journey eastward passes through the different pro- 
 cesses necessary until it arrives at the eastern end 
 ready for shipment in a finished production. 
 
244 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 In building their new works, and knowing the 
 imperfections of the old, every detail was attended 
 to, to facilitate the manufacture of goods, and 
 every move gives an indication tliat the projectors 
 knew by experience the advantage of "Heaven's 
 first law." 
 
 In the prosecution of the Isusiness no false econ- 
 omy is a factor. Lil)erality and excellence better 
 explains their motto. Liberality towards their cus- 
 tomers and employees and excellence in their pro- 
 ductions. 
 
 This is, perhaps, better illustrated in the com- 
 plete system witli which their wares are packed, 
 lal^eled and jirepared for the market, nothing being 
 omitted tliat will make them more acceptable and 
 valuable to their customers. 
 
 Tiie iron used has to be of tlie best, and the in- 
 ventive genius of several iron mills is continually 
 striving to produce a superior iron, knowing that, if 
 successful, the patronage of the Stanley Works is 
 assured. Over 400 different sizes of iron and iron 
 wire are carried in stock, and orders are given to 
 replenish the same several mouths in advance. 
 
 A loO-liorse power Brown engine furnishes the 
 motive power and a comjjlete system of hydrants 
 and a fire pump are ready for immediate use for 
 tire purposes. They are connected with an inde- 
 pendent set of pipes, and with tlie city water- 
 works. So that in the event of a failure of eitlier 
 source the other may be used. 
 
 The lower floors of the building are laid in 
 concrete, all other floors are five inches thick, 
 with thresholds raised and pipe holes scuppered, 
 allowing the flooding of either floor without 
 damage to the others. A system of Brush Elec- 
 tric lights furnishes the illumination for' the 
 works run by the company. 
 
 In the spacious yards, which have a capacity 
 for a long train of cars, there are buildings for 
 l^ickHng iron, and fire-proof buildings for japan- 
 ning, bronzing, nickel plating ; boiler room with 
 extra room for new boilers where required, car- 
 penter shops, etc. 
 
 By a visit to the workshops ooie sees hundreds 
 of busy workmen and scores of intricate ma- 
 chines, each bent on the particular duty assigned. 
 The endless variety of jjrocesses through which 
 a piece of iron goes cannot be in detail ex- 
 plained here, but true economy seems to be the 
 pervading idea, as nothing goes to waste. We 
 say economy, for that, after all, is liberality and 
 excellence. In the tower are stored the expen- 
 sive dies used, which are doubly protected from 
 fire with a system of sjirinklers connected with a 
 stand pipe extending to the top. The toilet con- 
 veniences for the help have been neatly arranged, 
 a thoughtful foresight greatly appreciated. It 
 must not be inferred that this great establish- 
 ment has grown to its present projjortions -n-ith- 
 out experiments and failures, without battles 
 fought and won. While, in a financial sense, 
 they stand as they always have Al, they have 
 arrived at their present mechanical excellence 
 by a series of experiments, some successful, 
 some otherwise, but wherever a mechanical 
 failui-e was made it was turned as a stepijing 
 stone to success. With the English and the 
 Germans they have hotly contested the field for 
 superiority, tiU they have driven their produc- 
 
 tions out of the market, and the wares of the 
 Stanley Works not only go to all parts of Amer- 
 ica, but intrude theinselves to the doors of oui" 
 foreign friends not only in England and Ger- 
 many, but to all parts of the civilized world. 
 
 The officers of this comi^any are : — ^F. L. Stan- 
 ley, President ; H. Stanley, Vice-President ; 
 Wm. H. Hai-t, Treasurer ; William Parker, Sec- 
 retary. 
 
 The works, an illustration of which will be 
 found on page 243, are completely equipped 
 with all the latest and most improved maeliinery ' 
 and ajipliances of every character that cau expe- 
 dite and cheapen the in-oduction of then- goods, 
 with a capacity of turning out fully 100,000 
 butts and hinges each day, besides large quanti- 
 ties of door bolts, miscellaneous hardware and 
 wrought iron specialties. A catalogue contain- 
 ing over 300 illustrations will be sent on applica- 
 tion. 
 
 The improved machinery has been for the 
 most i^art made on the premises. The New 
 York warehouse is at No. 7!) Chambers street. 
 
 The company and its officers have an inter- 
 national reputation. The first, as the represen- 
 tative of its class ; the second, as gentlemen 
 widely known in the business world as men of 
 worth, experience, character and integrity. 
 
 Kus.sell & Erwiii Manufactulijg- Com- 
 pauy. Myrtle Street.— The large and world- 
 wide known manufacturing establishment of 
 Kussell & Erwin, situated on Myrtle street, 
 was founded by the brothers Stanley, two 
 enterprising inhabitants of this city. Iii 1830, 
 Wm. B. Stanley, Henry W. Clarke and Lora 
 Waters opened a machine shoji, which was 
 bought by Eredk. T. Stanley in 1833. He pro- 
 duced the first plate locks made in America. In 
 1835 the concern jjassed into the hands of F. T. 
 & W. B. Stanley, and even then had acquii'ed a 
 wide reputation. This was also one of the first 
 establishments in the State to emjjloy steam 
 power, and the first engineer was Westell Bus- 
 sell, afterwards the Sheriff of Hartford County. 
 In the latter part of the same year, Mr. Emanuel 
 Russell, Mr. Smith Mattison,"and the firms of 
 E.T. & W. B. Stanley, and T. & N. Woodruff-, 
 all of New York, purchased a large lot of land, 
 and formed a company for the manufacture of 
 locks, the name being Stanlev. Woodruff A- Co. 
 In 1830 the Woodruffs, W.' B. Stanley, and 
 Emanuel Kussell retired, and the business was 
 conducted under the name of Stanley, Eussell & 
 Co. , the new partners being Henry E. Russell 
 and C. B. Erwin, the latter coming from Boone- 
 ville, Lewis County, N. Y. In 1841 the firm was 
 changed to Mattison, Russell & Co., P. T. Btan- 
 ley retiring, and John K. Bowen taking his 
 place. At this time a warehouse was estabHshed 
 in New York City. The death of Mr. Mattison 
 caused the firm name to be changed to Russell, 
 Erwin & Co., which, in July, 1850, was di-opped 
 for that of Russell & Erwin, and so continues to 
 the present day. On the 1st of January, 
 1851, the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Com- 
 pany was formed with a capital of $200,000, 
 which was increased to half a million in 1864. 
 The business now done by this house amounts 
 
BEVIK^V OF THE STATE OF VONSECTICUT. 
 
 245 
 
 to millions of dollars annually, ami the company 
 lias iuclt>]>endeut warehouses in New York, Bos- 
 ton, Philadelphia, Chicago, >San Francisco and 
 Baltimore, and the articles it mannfactures are 
 sent all over America, Australia, ('hina. South 
 America, and Europe, a branch house having 
 been established in Loudon. Three enormous 
 buildings are used by this company, all of which 
 axe run to their fullest extent. 
 
 the manufactory was increased. Tlie foundry was 
 made 40 x ''i'i'^ feet, the main lj\iildiug 150 x 44 
 feet, four stories high, witli a wing ;i4 x 40. A 
 new brass foundry was built, ISO x 200 feet. A 
 small army of persons is employed in this huge 
 fal)ric, and an enormous amount of iron, brass and 
 lead is consumed each year. Tlie success of the 
 establishment is largely due to Mr. Philip Corbin. 
 The goods manufactured include builders', cabinet, 
 
 ^3 
 
 THE NEW STATE NORMAL SCHOOL BUILDING, NEW BKITAIN, CONN. 
 
 P. «& F. Corbin, Hardware Manufacturers, 
 New Britain — Pliilip and Prank Corbin and Edward 
 Doen united in jiartnership in May, 1840, with but 
 a small capital, some $600, to begin the manufac- 
 ture of various articles of hardware. Horse power 
 ■was used to drive the machinery, and liesides the 
 firm, l>ut one was employed. Owing to the energy 
 and liusiness capacity of those engaged, the experi- 
 ment proved a success. In Noveml)er, 1849, the 
 name of the firm was changed to Corbin, Whiting 
 & Co., and in 1851, Mr. Wliiting liaving retired, 
 the name became P. & P. Corbin, which it still 
 remains. In 1854, the company was incorporated 
 with a capital of SoO,000. In 1865, the capacity of 
 
 undertakers" and miscellaneous hardware, locks, 
 butts, latches, coffin-handles, etc. The company 
 has a warehouse in New York. 
 
 Tlu> Aiiiorican Ho.sicry Coinpany, Park 
 
 Street, New Britain. — The American Hosiery 
 Company was organized in 18(58 by an associa- 
 tion of capitalists, at who'50 head was Mr. John 
 B. Talcott, whose long experience as a manu- 
 facturer enabled him to so plan the establish- 
 ment and to adopt such machinery and processes 
 as would enalile them to make goods which 
 should rank second to none in the world in re- 
 spect to quality and finish. The buildings 
 
246 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 originally erected for the use of the comioany are 
 two handsome brick edifices, running parallel 
 with each other, connected in the middle by 
 another building running at right angles. The 
 front Imikling is five stories high and is sur- 
 mounted by a massive mansard roof, which gives 
 it an imijosing appearance. The company also 
 erected, in 1881, their new mill, Xo. 3, which is 
 fifty feet longer than the former main building, 
 and is built in the same thorough and .substan- 
 tial manner. In this mill are located the offices 
 of the comi^any — a commodious and pleasant 
 suite of rooms. The utmost thoroughness in 
 general and in detail has been obsei-ved in the 
 erection of these buildings, and they are an 
 instance of successful architectural effort as well 
 as of great stability. They are provided with 
 the most approved defenses againt fire, such as 
 double windows, a network of sprinkling pipes, 
 and a system of automatic sprinklers, by means 
 of which any floor may be instantly flooded with 
 water. In addition to these, hydrant jjiiies run 
 through all the buildings, with hose attached, 
 ready for service. The company ordered the 
 most imx'roved machinery from England, and 
 had 'it built with special reference to their 
 service. This was suiojjlemented by some por- 
 tions which were built by themselves. It 
 is evidently the most perfect machinery for 
 the purpose to be found, and the superiority 
 of the goods attests its admiralile action. A 
 specialty is full fashioned or regular made goods, 
 in gentlemen's shu'ts and drawers, in ladies' 
 vests and di'awers, misses', children's and boys' 
 vests, pantelets, drawers and union suits, ladies' 
 and misses' hose, gentlemen's half hose, gentle- 
 men's double-breasted shirts, etc., etc. These 
 are made l>oth in scarlet and white goods, of 
 which every fibre is of the finest cashmere wool. 
 Some idea of the variety of these gpods may be 
 gained from the fact that nearly five thousand 
 dift'erent sizes and kinds are made, including 
 qualities from the lightest gauze and gossamer 
 to the vei'y heaviest fabrics. The carding and 
 spinning of wool and merino for knitting pur- 
 poses has long been a busine.ss of itself in Eng- 
 land, the yarn being sold to the knitting estab- 
 lishments, and it is a fact highly creditable to 
 American enterprise, as exhibited by this pioneer 
 company, that they are actually spinning the 
 yarns and manufacturing them into iinderwear 
 which rivals the most noted European manu- 
 factures. The clear, handsome color noticeable 
 in the manufactures of this comi^any is attribu- 
 table to the fact that a living spring of the 
 purest water exists on the premises, aifording a 
 copious supply for the purjioses of bleaching, 
 rinsing, etc. , etc. The machinery is driven by a 
 magnificent engine of 250-horse joower, built by 
 O. H. Brown &Co., of Eitchburg, Massachusetts, 
 and steam for the engine and for heating, scour- 
 ing, etc , is furnished by five boilers, aggregating 
 300-horse-power capacity. Employment is fur- 
 nished to 1,000 ijersons, and it may be mentioned 
 as a remarkable and gratifying instance, that at 
 no time since the mills were started, have they 
 been Stopped for a single day on account of dull 
 times, but they have been running on full time 
 constantly, and a portion of each year have been 
 compelled to run overtime. 
 
 The American Hosiery Company is represented 
 by Henry Stanley, President, .Jolm .8. Talcott, 
 Treasurer, and E. H. Davison. Superintendent. 
 They have an office and extensive salesrooms at 
 Nos. 108 and 110 Franklin street. New York. 
 
 As an instance of successful effort on our own 
 soil, this company is certainly an encouraging ex- 
 ample, and shows conclusively that by the use of 
 those means which have given our foreign goods so 
 higli a standing, we can ourselves compete and 
 achieve results which will contriluite not only to 
 the wealth but to the industrial progress of the 
 country. 
 
 Mr. Henry Stanley, president of the company, is 
 a native of New Britain, and is largely interested 
 as a stockholder in many of its manufactories, but 
 not actively engaged in them. 
 
 Mr. Jolm B. Talcott, Treasurer, and tlie control- 
 ling spirit of the concern, is a native of AVest 
 Thompsonville, Conn., born in 1824. His educa- 
 tion was begun in the public schools of Hartford 
 and continued in Yale College whence he was 
 graduated in 1846, taking the honors of the saluta- 
 tory. Returning to Hartford, he began the study 
 of law with Francis Fellowes, Esq., paying his^ 
 expenses by acting as Clerk of Probate tor Judge 
 Mateson, and hearing Latin recitations in the 
 Hartford Female Seminary for about a year and a 
 half, when, recommended by the Yale Faculty, he 
 received an appointment as tutor in Middlebury 
 College, Vermont, to fill a vacancy caused liy the 
 resignation of Professor Twining. At the end of a 
 year, Mr. Talcott again returned to Hai tford and 
 was admitted to the bar, expecting to make the law 
 his profession, but being tendered an appointment 
 as tutor in Greek at Yale College, accepted it, and 
 I'euiained three years, meanwhile continuing his law 
 studies. At the expiration of his term of service 
 at Yale, he was offered and accepted a partnership 
 with Major S. J. North, in the then flourishing 
 hook-and-eye and knitting business, and has ever 
 since Ijeen a resident of New Britain. 
 
 He was Treasurer of the New Britain Knitting 
 Comjiany for fourteen years prior to the organi- 
 zation of the present company, and in that posi- 
 tion disi^layed the same able methods of man- 
 agement that chai'acterize his ojjeratious now. 
 jMr. Talcott is interested as stockholder and 
 director in other New Britain companies, and is 
 president of the New Britain Institute, and 
 director in the New Britain Savings Bank and 
 the City National Bank of Hartford. He entered 
 the City Council in 1866, and was elected Alder- 
 man in 1877-78 and '79, and mayor in 1880 and 
 '81. During his six years identification with 
 municipal affairs he manifested a characteristic 
 thoronglmess and a conscientious regard for 
 the liest interests of the city, and while Mayor 
 his judicious and economical management of the 
 city finances elicited the admiration and hearty 
 thanks of the taxj^ayers. Mr. Talcott is a man 
 of broad and liberal views, of clear and decided 
 opinions, a close observer of jjublic affairs. His 
 studious habits have made him familiar with the 
 best literature, and extensive travel in Europe 
 has supplemented the learning obtained from 
 books In all the relations of public, business 
 and social life Mr. Talcott has been without 
 rei.)roach, and he deservedly enjoys the resi^ect 
 
HE VIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 24T 
 
 and the confidence of the community in which 
 he lives, and of evoi'vbody who knows liim. 
 
 Mr. E. H. Davison, Superintendent, is a native 
 of Brooklyn, Conn., born in 1841. He has Vieen 
 a resident of New Britain since the organization 
 of the company, and has held the office of siiper- 
 inteudent from the commencement. His ajiti- 
 tude for the industrial and mechanic arts is in 
 jjart inherited from an ancestry which has been 
 prominent in these pursuits. His education and 
 experience have made him familiar with all the 
 details incident to the manufacture of textile 
 fabrics and the operations of this large estab- 
 lishment. 
 
 Tlio Laiidors, Frary & Clark I>Iaiui- 
 facturiiijj- C'Kiiipany, employini; more than 
 live hundreds hands, are proprietors of the ^Etna 
 Cutlery Works, and also of a large manufactory 
 of hardware. Tlie salesroom in New York is at 
 No. 298 Broadway. 
 
 wood lieneh plarfes, bevels, gauges, etc. The 
 line of carjienters' tools made is very extensive, 
 and tliey are so suj:)erior to other tools of the 
 same kind that they win their way on tlieir owa 
 merits. The number of rules alone manufac- 
 tured at this establishment embrace over ninety 
 different stylos. The offieei-s of tliis company 
 are : Henry Stanley, President, who was born iii 
 New Britain ; Mr. F. N. Stanley, Secretary ; 
 and Mr. C. L. Mead, Treasurer and in charge 
 of the store at No. 2S) ( 'hambers street, New York . 
 Mr. F. N. Stanley was a member of tlie Thir- 
 teenth Connecticut Regiment during the war, 
 and saw much service in Louisiana, and under 
 Sheridan in Yirginia . The Stanleys, and those 
 associated with them, are live busiiiess men. who 
 \ee\) fully alireast of the times, know what the 
 market needs, and are fully able to meet its re- 
 quirements. They are among the most substan- 
 tial citizens of the town. 
 
 STANLEY RULE AND LEVEL CO., NEW BRITAIN CONN. 
 
 Stanley IJiilo and Level Co., Manufac- 
 turers of U. S. Standard Boxwood and Ivory 
 Kule-s, Bench Planes, etc. The enormous es- 
 tablishment of the Stanley Rule and Level 
 Company, which is one of the great and 
 leading manufactures of this ])lace, was organ- 
 ized upon its present liasis in 1857, and at 
 that time united several branches of busi- 
 ness, which previously had been carried on 
 separately. Some thirty-eight or forty years 
 ago the business was liegun imder the firm name 
 of Hall & Knai)ii. From that day on it has 
 steadily grown with the growth of the country, 
 until it is a representative manufactory in the 
 list of American industries. The capital in 1857 
 was $50,000, in 1867 it had been increased to 
 8200,000, and is at present $300,000. The main 
 Viuilding is of brick, 300 x 40 feet, and four stories 
 high. Two additions have been made, each 
 1.50 X 20 feet ; half a dozen other smaller build- 
 ings complete the establishment. Altogether 
 from 375 to 400 hands are emjiloyed, and the 
 goods made find their way to all parts of tie 
 civilized world. Three steam engines are 
 used, with an aggregate of 300 horse power, and 
 the production amounts to .'5500,000 a year. The 
 leading articles manufactured are boxwood and 
 ivory rules, levels, try squares, patent iron and 
 
 Cliui-ehill, Lewis & Co. (William W. 
 Churchill, Charles M. Lewis, Fredk. Wessel), 
 Manufacturing Jewelers, No. 53 Main Street. — 
 The city of New Britain enjoys the distinction of 
 being, not only one of the most imiiortant centre.* 
 for the manufacture of special lines of wares, but 
 the quality of the goods made here stand un- 
 rivaled in the market, and their reputation for 
 fine quality is established beyond question. The 
 ability and enterprise which has secured this 
 imjiortant result, can be trusted to so guard and 
 preserve it that the position that New Britain 
 now occupies as a manufacturing centre is well 
 assured for the future. The same care which 
 has built up her trade and rej^utatitui will be 
 fully exerted to hold and extend it. Among the 
 houses which have contribut.d in no small 
 degree to this result, is Messrs. Churchill, Lewis 
 k Co., manufacturing jewelers, whose works are 
 located at No. 53 Main street. 
 
 The commencement of this business dates 
 back pre%'ious to 1820, when Mr. AVilliam B. 
 North founded it. Later, Mr. William A. 
 Churchill, father of Mr. William W. Churchill, 
 was made a partner, and the fii'm called North k. 
 Churchill. As near as can be ascertained, this 
 change was made previous to the year 1838, for 
 we find that in that year he died, and Mr. 
 
248 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Churchill conducted the business under his in- 
 dividual name till about the year 1848, when Mr. 
 James Stanley, a former apprentice in the 
 establishment, was made a partner, and the 
 firm called ChurchiU & Stanley. This arrange- 
 ment continued for a time, when Mr. D. C. 
 Pond, at ijresent a merchant in Hartford, and 
 then an apjirentice, became a member and 
 the firm name changed to Chiu-chill, Stanley 
 & Co. Soon after, the firm of Warner & Lewis, 
 who had been in the same kind of business 
 in New Britain, dissolved and became mem- 
 bers of the firm of ChurchiU, Stanley & Co. , on 
 the retirement of Mr. Pond in 1853. After a 
 few years, Mr. Warner retired, and, in 1863, Mr. 
 Stanley. For some time previous to this date, 
 Mr. E. B. Dana had charge of the New York 
 office of the firm and on the retirement of Mr. 
 Stanley, as above noted, became a member, and 
 the firm name was changed to Churchill, Dana <fe 
 Co., which so continued till 1871, when he re- 
 tired and Mr. W. W. Churchill and Mr. Fredk. 
 Wessel were admitted and the firm's name 
 changed to its present style, Churchill, Lewis 
 &Co. 
 
 The building occupied is prominently and 
 centrally located on the main sti'eet, is two 
 stories in height and 40x90 feet in area. Thii-ty 
 skilled jewelers are employed in the manufacture 
 of the finest class of solid gold jeweh-y, in brace- 
 lets, sets, rings, etc. Tifi'any and other repre- 
 sentative houses are among the customers of this 
 establishment. 
 
 Of Mr. Wm. B. North, the founder, there is 
 but little positive information, only that he died 
 as above stated. Mr. William A. Churchill, his 
 fii'st partner in this business and his successor, 
 was about sixty-four years of age when he died. 
 He was a prominent member of the First Con- 
 gregational Church, one of the principal movers 
 in its erection, and a prominent man in the 
 community. 
 
 His son, Mr. William W. Churchill, is not per- 
 sonally identified with this city, but represents 
 his firm in New York, where he has resided for 
 several years. The oflice is at No. 692 Broadway. 
 Mr. C. M. Lewis is a native of New Britain, born 
 in 1816, and has been a jeweler for fifty years, 
 commencing at the trade when but sixteen years 
 of age. He is a member of the First Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 Mr. Fredk. Wessel was born in New York City 
 in 1846, and has been a resident of this city for 
 sixteen years. All products of this house are 
 from their own original designs, executed by Mr. 
 Wessel. He is a practical jeweler and designer, 
 and a member of the first Congregational Church. 
 
 This establishment makes the most elegant 
 and exjaensive designs of solid gold jewelry, have 
 preserved and maintained their credit for over 
 sixty years, and stand at the head, as they are 
 the oldest, of the manufacturing jewelry estab- 
 lishments in America. 
 
 Burritt School, etc. It is a large, four-story lirick 
 structure, with fifty rooms for guests. The dining 
 liall is on the second floor and is very pleasantly 
 situated with windows on three sides. The hotel 
 possesses a bar, barber's shop, etc., and guests are 
 well looked after. Mr. William Hill, of Hill's 
 Mansion House, Easthanipton, Mass., is the pro- 
 prietor, and Mr. T. R. Hill, formerly of the 
 Creighton House, Boston, is the polite and genial 
 manager. This hotel is the headquarters for the 
 traveling public, and is within easy walking dis- 
 tance of the depot. 
 
 The Strickland House, Main and East 
 Main Streets, New Britian. — The Strickland House 
 is the largest hotel in the city, centrally situated at 
 the corner of Main and East Main streets, in close 
 proximity to the Opera House, Masonic Hall, 
 
 Moses S. Austin, Plumber, Gas and Steam 
 Fitter, Nos. 62 and 64 Church Street.— Mr. 
 Austin's success is an illustration of what a 
 thorough knowledge and correct methods will 
 accomi:ilish in the business world. 
 
 First he apprenticed himself to a master work- 
 man in the plumbing, gas and steam fitting line, 
 and, unlike many half-starved, poor plumbers, 
 he seiTed out his time, perfecting himself in 
 every branch of the business. For fifteen years 
 he worked at his trade, always commanding the 
 highest wages ; for his services were eagerly 
 sought after. Finally, in 1878, with the capital 
 earned by his honest endeavors, he launched out 
 into the business world, and for the first time 
 looked upon the sign over his door " M. S. 
 Austin, Plumber, Steam and GasFitter." What 
 had so long been the dream of his life had in 
 that year become a reality, and has since con- 
 tinued an evidence of his executive ability as a 
 business man. 
 
 The store occupied is 18x100 feet in size, and 
 is stocked with a complete line of articles per- 
 taining to the plumbing, gas and steam fitting 
 depai'tments. 
 
 In the rear is a stoi'eroom and a tUe yard, 
 where are kept sewer pipe of the original Akron 
 make, for sewer connections, of which he makes 
 a sjjecialty, and which he is prejjared to take 
 contracts for laying. Mr. Austin also takes con- 
 tracts for fitting up houses, stores, manufac- 
 tories, churches, and public buildings with gas, 
 water pipes, fixtui'es, etc. Some idea of the ex- 
 tent of his business can be inferred when the 
 reader is informed that from twenty to fifty men 
 are emploved, according to the season. 
 
 In 1874 he built the New Milford, Connecticut, 
 water woi-ks, and in 1881 laid the sewers for the 
 town. In 1882 he laid over one mile of sewer 
 jiipe in New Britain. With his long and success- 
 fill career he is ably qualified in every respect to 
 contract for public water works and to do all 
 kinds of sewerage work, and it may truthfully 
 be said has the best record and facilities of any in 
 the city. 
 
 Mr. Austin is a native of Suffield, Connecticut, 
 born August 14, 1844, and has been a resident 
 of this city since 1868, where he enjoys a large 
 acquaintance, and is proprietor of one of the 
 oldest and largest establishments of its class in 
 New Britain. 
 
 The New Britain Herald, No. 320 Main 
 
 Street, New Britain. — The New Britain "Her- 
 ald " was started on the 3d of April, 1880, by 
 
REVIEW OF rilE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 249 
 
 Adams Brothers, at No. 203 Main street. It was 
 purchased by a joint stock company in Sejjtem- 
 ber of the same year. The company inchided 
 many of the must prominent business men in 
 town. Among them — Adams Brothers, C. B. 
 Erwin, D. N. Camp, H. E. Bnssell, Jr., Henry 
 Stanley, Mitchell it Hiuigerford, A. J. Sloper, 
 
 A. P. Collins, William Parker, E. L. Webl), O. 
 
 B. Chamberlain, J. H. Minor, C. E. Woodrnfl', 
 and others, numbering in all about forty. It 
 was run as a strong local campaign paper for the 
 Kepubliean jjarty during the fall of 1880. The 
 paper was afterwards bought out by C. E. Wood- 
 ruff, the secretary of the company. The New 
 Britain "Times," a weekly, published by Malo- 
 ney & Loughrey , was jjurchased in July, 1881, and 
 consolidated with the " Herald," that paper be- 
 ing furnished to subscribers of the " Times" 
 after that date. 
 
 A semi-weekly edition, published evei'y Tues- 
 day and Friday, was started on the 10th of Jan- 
 uary, 1882, but was finally merged into the 
 daily " Evening Herald," which first appeared 
 on the 2d of December, 1882. A weekly edition, 
 the New Britain " Herald," is also pulilished on 
 Fridays. The " Tunxis Valley Herald," is also 
 edited and puV)lished by Mr. Woodruff. This 
 circulates mostly in Unionville and Collinsville, 
 and is published on Thursdays. Mr. Wooi'ruff 
 is a very industrious, enterprising young man, 
 and his growing business soon induced him to 
 take a new office. 
 
 The editorial and ])rinting rooms of the papers 
 he now publishes are situated on the first floor of 
 the Railroad Block, at No. 320 Main street. They 
 are elaborately fitted up with lilack walnut desks 
 for reportei's, telegrajih, telejihone, etc., and 
 with private offices for the editors. The papers 
 pulilished are filled with local news and circu- 
 late largely in the city. The large share of 
 advertising patronage which they have, shows 
 better than anything else the estimation in 
 which they are held by the community. The 
 " Evening Herald " is the only daily paper 25ub- 
 Hshed in New Britain, and keeps its readers 
 ■well informed regarding the news of the world. 
 
 J. A. LewLs, Pliotographer, No. 125 Main 
 Street. — Thirty years or more ago when Daguerre- 
 otypes were first introduced in this country, a Mr. 
 Judson, who still resides in New Britain, opened a 
 picture gallery at what is now No. 125 Main street, 
 ■which is now occupied by Mr. .lohn A. Lewis as a 
 photographer, and as successor to Mr. J. B. David- 
 son, wlio started here in 1880. December 1, 1882, 
 he sold his lousiness to Mr. Lewis. Tlie premises 
 consists of four rooms 25 x 40 feet in size, where 
 all the appliances and accessories necessary for a 
 business of this nature are found. 
 
 Mr. Lewis' specialty is artistic jjhotography in 
 all its branches, togetlier with portraits in ink, 
 crayon and water colors. 
 
 He was born in Naugatuck, Conn., in 1856, and 
 has been a resident of tliis city for about three 
 months, where he is Imilding up a lucrative l)usi- 
 ness complimentary to his ability as a photographer 
 and a business man. 
 
 Joliii A. Williams, News Depot, No. 35 
 West Main .Street, New Britain. — Next door to the 
 Post-office, l)etwecn it and the bank, at No. 35 
 West Main street, on the north side of tlie public 
 square, stands the granite building occupied by Mr. 
 John A. Williams' bookstore and news depot. 
 Tliis is one of the most pojiular places in the city, 
 and is con.stantly thronged witli men and women, 
 scardiing for the latest magazines. New York, Bos- 
 ton, Hartford and Springfield papers, for tlie fresh- 
 est books issued l)y tlie publishers, for the latest 
 styles in stati(mery and cards. 
 
 A circulating lilirary is connected with this estab- 
 lishment, as well iis an art department, wliere can 
 1)6 found tlie newest engravings, oil jiaintings, bas- 
 reliefs, frames, etc. This depot is to New Britain 
 what Brentano's is to New York. The selling of 
 literature is a congenial occupation for Mr. Wil- 
 liams. He was a teacher wlien nineteen years of 
 age and with his love of literature lie became a 
 dealer in it, commencing with only $120 as capital. 
 His liusiness now amounts to !|!2d,0fl0 per annum. 
 His knowledge of books, of men and tlie world, 
 togetlier with his urlianity and faculty of keen re- 
 jiartee, has won the confidence and patronage of all 
 the town. He is about thirty-three years of age, a 
 native of Stonington, and popular wherever known. 
 
 J. 31. Bclrteii, Dealer in Lumber, Coal, Flour, 
 Feed, Garden Seeds, Fertilizers, Potatoes, etc., No. 
 167 Main Street. — Mr. Belden is an illustration of 
 tlie active successful New Englauder. Tlie com- 
 mencement of his business dates back to the year 
 18fi5, when he was nineteen years old, at which 
 time he Vfa,% a wholesale dealer in potatoes, a bus- 
 iness he has since continued up to the present time. 
 The wholesaling of ]jotatoes by the car load for 
 so many years extended his acquaintance to all 
 parts of the State. The name of Belden was a 
 .synonym for potatoes as it was for honesty. 
 
 The average business man would have branched 
 out and added other departments long before 
 Mr. Belden, liut his motto was to make haste 
 slowly. In addition to dealing largely in potatoes, 
 lie was for twelve years a truckman here, in which 
 business he had several horses and trucks engaged. 
 In 187(J he sold out the trucking business. He was 
 thirty-five years of age, in that year, and he saw his 
 opportunity — "That tide in tlie affairs of men 
 which taken at the fiood leads on to fortune,'' — and 
 bought the Hour and feed business of Tubbs & 
 Bartholomew. A few months after, moving into 
 his present store at No. 1G7 Main street, which is 
 the general office of the different liranehcs of busi- 
 ness which he represents. In lS<i8 he started a 
 grist-mill at Chestnut street, corner Bigelow, which 
 has one set of stone, run by steam, where corn and 
 feed only are ground. In 1879 the sale of fertil- 
 izers was made a feature of the business, of which 
 he sells large quantities to the fanners in the Con- 
 necticut Valley. After systematizing this new 
 branch of his already extended business, he added 
 another, the coal and lumber business, in 1880. 
 The yards for these are situated adjacent to the rail- 
 road track, off of Jleado'n- street, near the gas-house, 
 a track connecting with the main line of the N. Y. 
 & N. K. R. 11. The yards have a capacity of 1,200 
 to 1,500 tons of coal and a large amount of lum- 
 ber. Three to four delivery teams are run in the 
 
250 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDTJSTItlAL 
 
 coal department, wliile in the lumber a profitable 
 business is transacted. In 1881 the business of 
 dealing in garden seeds was added, and in 1882 
 V)uddiug materials. From the time he purchased 
 the flour and feed Ijusiness of Tubbs & Bartholo- 
 mew in 1876, up to the present, he has, one after 
 another, carefully and methodically added depart- 
 ment after department till now it is one of the 
 largest in New Britain. 
 
 Mr. Beldeu is a native of this city, and thirty- 
 seven years of age. He, contrary to Horace 
 Greeley's advice to young men did not go West, but 
 lias always been identified with his native town or 
 city,wliere he enjoys an enviable rejiutation for 
 promptness and reliability, and is highly appreciated 
 by a large circle of friends for his many business 
 and social qualities. 
 
 Johu Hanna, Moniimeutal and Building 
 
 Works, Dealer and Worker in Granite, Marble, 
 Freestone, etc.. No. 207 East Main Street. — 
 This business, the largest of its kind in this sec- 
 tion of the State and the only one in New Bri- 
 tain, Avas established by Mr. Hanna in 1858, and 
 has been conducted by him from an unpreten- 
 tious beginning to its present large jiroportions. 
 The premises occupied consist of about an acre 
 of ground, on which there are a workshop and 
 office, the former being 35 x 110 feet in size. 
 From twenty-five to thirty skilled workmen are 
 given emi^loyment, and the annual business 
 done ranges from !?20,000 to S30,000. M\ kinds 
 of stonewoi'k, from laying flags for sidewalks to 
 the construction of the most costly building or 
 imposing monument in marble, in granite and in 
 freestone, are done here and the buildings of 
 New Britain as well as the cemeteries in the vi- 
 cinity, for a radius of twenty miles around bear 
 many evidences of the skill and industry for 
 which this establishment is noted. 
 
 Mr. Hanna is a native of Ireland, fifty-one 
 years of age. He has been in this counti'y thir- 
 ty-five years and in New Britain since the estab- 
 lishment of his business in 1858. He is a 
 practical stone and marble worker, having 
 thoroughly mastered his trade in New York 
 City. His record in New Britain is first-class, 
 and his reputation as a business man is second 
 to none. 
 
 Fahy Brothers (Edward H. and Thomas 
 
 W.), Gentlemen's Furnishing Goods, Hats, Cajis, 
 Trunks, Bags, etc.. No. 413 Main Street.— This, 
 perhaps, the youngest firm, in years and in busi- 
 ness, to be found in New Britain, began their 
 commercial career in February, 1882, in the 
 store on Main street, one door south of the 
 Strickland House Block. The store is 20x42 feet 
 in size, and is well supi^lied with a stock of the 
 articles mentioned, and amounting in value to 
 aliout 34,000. In the first and only year of their 
 business, the sales amounted to about §12,000, 
 and the ratio of increase was so great as to war- 
 rant the belief that the succeeding annual state- 
 ment will show figures greatly in excess of that 
 amount. Two assistants are employed and the 
 indications point to an increase of the force in 
 the very near future. 
 
 Mr. Edward H. Fahy is a native of Hartford, 
 twenty-five years of age, and resided in his 
 native city until he commenced business here, 
 being employed liy a book concern and after- 
 wards as a civil engineer. Mr. Thomas W. Fahy 
 is also a native of Hartford and is twenty-two 
 years of age. He is a machinist by trade and 
 was formerly an adjuster of sewing machines for 
 the Weed Company. 
 
 The firm has a good business reputation. ' 
 
 The New Britain Ob.server, No. 308 
 
 Main street. New Britain. — The New Britain 
 " Observer," the Democratic organ of the city, 
 has its office at No. 308 Main street, where "it 
 occupies the second floor of a fine building, and 
 is jiulilished every Tuesday evening. It is 
 chiefly devoted to local news, of which it gives 
 all the best, served in an attractive form. Its 
 editorials are sharp and pointed. The ' ' Observer " 
 was started in 1876 by Mr. R. J. Vance, who was 
 born in New York City on the 15th of March, 
 18.54, and was educated in the common schools 
 of tliat city, and also in the high school of New 
 Britain. In 1875 he paid a visit to Europe. In 
 1877 he ran for the Legislature and Avas defeated. 
 In the spring of 1878 he was elected City Clerk, 
 and has held the office since. He is at jsreseut a 
 member of the Democratic State Central Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 New Britain Lnniher and Coal Co., 
 
 Dealers in Lumber, Coal, Flour, Grain, Feed, 
 Sash, Doors, Blinds, Box Shooks and Manufac- 
 turers' Supplies, Park Sti-eet, east of Railroad 
 Cros.sing. — The New Britain Liimber and Coal 
 Company, incorporated in 1871, succeeded in 
 tliat year to the business of Giddings & Strong. 
 That firm had been in existence since 1857, and 
 were the successors to Anderson & Ailing, who 
 had founded the business ten years jireviously. 
 The comiiany has a capital of S20,000, and does 
 a general business in coal, lumber, sash, doors, 
 blinds, flour, grain, feed, box-shooks, manufac- 
 turers' supijlies, etc. The office is on the corner 
 of Park street and the track of the N. 1'. & N. H. 
 Railroad, the yards immediately adjoining 
 having a frontage of eight hundred feet on the 
 line of the road and covering an area of about 
 three acres. The storehouses for grain, sash, 
 doors, etc., together with the lumber sheds and 
 other necessary liuildings aggregate about 1,000 
 feet in length, and contain vast quantities of the 
 articles mentioned. Some idea of the growth of 
 this business may be gleaned from the fact that 
 in the first year of the company's existence the 
 sales amounted to but $70,000, while in 1882, in 
 the item of lumber alone, there were sales of 
 more than 5,000,000 feet. This, supidemented 
 by the disposal of 7,000 tons of coal and large 
 quantities of the other merchandise dealt in, 
 brought the volume of that year's business to 
 the very satisfactory figure of sf220,000, and left 
 the company in a position to anticii^ate an annual 
 increase in like ratio as that from 11^71. This 
 company leads all other dealers in thf ir lino in 
 New Britain, and bids fair to maintain the posi- 
 tion its fair dealing and commeudaV>;c business- 
 methods have won. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF VONNECTIOUI. 
 
 251 
 
 Mr. Henry P. Strong, President of the com- 
 pany, is a native of Woodbury, Conn., and is 
 about sixty years of afie. He has been for many 
 years identified with the De Forest k, Hotchki.ss 
 Company, of New Haven, and is well-known 
 throughout the State as a leading business man, 
 having been in business in Derby, Bridgeport 
 and New Britain. He is a large owner of real 
 estate in New Britain, and has been prominent 
 in her government as town agent, selectman, 
 citv councilman and member of the Board of 
 Relief. 
 
 Mr. Frederick G. Piatt, the Treasurer, is a 
 native of Middlebury, Conn., and is about thir- 
 ty-live years of age. He has resided in New 
 Britain since 1871, and has won an enviable posi- 
 tion in business and social circles. 
 
 Mr. Albert N. Lewis, the Secretary, is a native 
 of Naugatuck, aged about thirty-five years. He 
 also has lived in New Britain since the formation 
 of the comi^any and has been its secretary from 
 the tii'st. Like his assistant officers he enjoys 
 the merited esteem and confidence of the com- 
 muuitv. 
 
 TIi«> New Britain Roc-ord, No. '2S7 
 
 Main Street, New Britain. — This paper was estab- 
 lished in 1857, by Mr. L. M. Guernsey, under the 
 name of ■' The True Citizen." He published ituntil 
 1865, when Mr. J. N. Oviatt became the proprietor, 
 and changed the name to the " New Britain Record. " 
 In 1808 Mr. Samuel Baker became a partner, and 
 the firm name of Oviatt & Baker was continued 
 until January 1, 1880, when Jlr. Samuel Baker 
 became the sole ])roprietor. In March, 1881, Mr. 
 F. W. Baker bous^ht the paper, and became its 
 editor. Tlie puljlication oitice is at No. 287 Main 
 street, and tlie paper appears every Friday morning. 
 It is printed on a Potter large cylinder press, run 
 by steam, and is th3 Hepublican organ of the city. 
 Mr. Baker was born in Hartford. He is a young 
 man, and at one time edited a ]iaper in Iowa, l)ut 
 was obliged to altandon tliat State on account of 
 the malaria. He makes a sprightly, newsy and 
 interesting jiaper, and has a fair show of patronage. 
 
 J. P. Cnrtiss, Dealer in Flour, Feed, Grain, 
 Coal, Wood and Ice, near City Buildings and Pas- 
 senger Depot. — AltlidUgh this house has lieen in 
 existence since 1876, it lias gained such a prominent 
 position in the business world of New Britain as to 
 mark its proprietor a man of superior enterprise and 
 business ability. 
 
 The Inisiness was established by Curtiss & Doug- 
 lass in the year above stated and in the present 
 location. For over five years Mr. Curtiss has been 
 the sole proprietor. A large business is transacted 
 in flour, feed, grain, coal, wood and ice. The feed 
 mill and store are in one building, which is 62 x 83 
 feet in size, and two stories in height, with an L 
 28 X G8, one-story. One set of stone is run, and 
 tlie number of employees averages from ten to 
 fifteen peojile. Three ice wagons are run during 
 the warm season. Most of the coal is sold direct 
 from the cars, although a yard is used for storage 
 when required, whicli is one of the largest in the 
 
 city. Mr. Curtiss is a native of Bristol, Conn., 
 born in 1832, and has been a resident of New Britain 
 for seventeen years. First as a machinist and table- 
 knife maker for one of the large establishments 
 here, and later in this business. 
 
 He was a menibei of the Fifteenth Connecticut 
 Infantry during the war of the Kebelliou, and is 
 activ<; in the Grand Army Post here. 
 
 ■ KcMiboii W, Hartley, Groceries, Meats, and 
 Provisions, 2S:! Main Street. — This business, prob- 
 ably the largest of its kind in New Britain, was 
 established in 1803, in its jiresent locati(m, by Mr. 
 Charles Bassett, who continued it until 1875, when 
 he disposed of it to Messrs. Sehultz & Sanders. 
 This firm lasted only a few months and Mr. Bas- 
 sett resumed proiirietorship of the business, retain- 
 ing it until Slarch, 1876. In that month, Mr. 
 Reuben lladley, the present proprietor, purchased 
 the stock and good will, and began to lay the 
 foundation of his present prosperous trade. The 
 jiremises occupied by Mr. Haclley consist of a store- 
 and basement, each 20 x 75 feet in size; a large 
 storehouse in the rear of the store, and sevei'al 
 smaller aiiartments on the outside, used for the 
 keeping of extra stock, one of the outside rooms 
 having a storage capacity of two to three car-loads 
 of fiour, a quantity he keeps constantly on hand. 
 The .stock consists of a general assortment of staple 
 and fancy groceries, meats, jjrovisions, crockery, 
 etc., with an average value of 1 12,000. The busi- 
 ness, requires the services of eight assistants, and 
 extends far into the adjoining country, its annual 
 volume exceeding $100,000. In the matter of 
 fiour alone, the business is more than ordinarily 
 extensive, an average of one car-load of that staple 
 Ijeing sold by Mr. Hadlej' every month. Mr. 
 Hadley is a native of England, born in 1843, and 
 has been in the United States since his seventh 
 year. The family originally settled in Winsted, 
 where Mr. Hadlcy's father was one of the Winsted 
 Shovel and Tongs Company. In 1858, Mr. Hadley 
 came to New Britain to work in the factory of 
 Russell ic Erwin, where his father had a contract. 
 Here he C(mtiiiued until 18(i:i, when he went to 
 Yonker.s, New York, to take a contract with the 
 Star Arms Coni])any, remaining there until 1800, 
 when he returned to Russell & Erwin's. In 1874, 
 he formed a copartnership with Mr. Ambrose 
 Beatty, now Mayor of New Britain, and made his 
 first venture in the grocery business. This jjartner- 
 ship lasted for a year and nine months, and shortly 
 aftiT its dissolution, Mr. lladley entered upon his 
 present business. Mr. lladley has been prominent 
 in civic and military matters in New Britain, 
 especially so in the Latter particular, having been 
 commander of the first section of the Light Artil- 
 lery, and afterwards captain of Company 1) of the 
 1st Regiment of Infantry. Since his resignation of 
 the latter office in 1878, Mr. Hadley has declined 
 oflice, either civic or military, the demands of his 
 rapidly growing business requiring all his time and 
 attention. 
 
 Mr. lladley is known throughout the section in 
 whicli lie lives as a clear-headed, rclialile business 
 man, and as one of tlie most reputable of New 
 Britian's citizens. 
 
ROCKVILLE, 
 
 Situated in the town of Vernon, Tolland 
 County, Ct., is eighteen mil^s from Hartford, 
 and twenty-four miles from Springfield. It is 
 noted as a picturesque, beautiful, healthy place, the 
 seat of numerous large manufacturing interests, 
 and a population of some 7,000 intelligent, well-to- 
 do people, the most of whom own the houses in 
 which they live. Situated in a beautiful recess, 
 among pleasantly rounded hills, closed in on three 
 «ides, its streets are wide, macadamized, and well 
 shaded with fine elm trees. The Hockanum River, 
 as a water power, early attracted the attention of 
 manufacturei-s, and the first attempt at wool card- 
 ing was made about 1794, by John Warberton, who 
 ^came from England. Spinning was begun in 1811 
 in two mills of 193 spindles each ; stocking yarn 
 was made, which was sold to peddlers for domestic 
 manufacture. The weaving of woolen cloth began 
 in a small way a year later. In 1824 the town had 
 five hand looms and two power looms. In 1827 
 the satinet factory made 200 yards a day, and 
 population began to increase. In 1833 there were 
 sixty sets of machinery, all making satinets, and a 
 •small cotton mill was running. The population of 
 Eockville, in 18.58 was about .500. The first meet- 
 ing-house was dedicated in 1839. The post-office 
 was opened in 1841. In 1871 the village had a 
 population of 4,500. The Methodist church was 
 built in 1865, at a cost of $65,000. The town now 
 .has some fourteen mills, six churches, two news- 
 papers, two opera houses, gas, and water works, 
 telephone exchange, two parks — Central and Foun- 
 tain — five school buildings, a large number of stores 
 of all kinds, four banks, a paid fire depaitment, 
 and an excellent hotel known as the Rockville 
 House. Altogether it is a pretty and enterprising 
 place, with all the modern improvements. 
 
 The Rockville Aqueduct Co., organized in 1847, 
 and reorganized as a new company in 1866, has Mr. 
 Geo. Maxwell for President, and J. C. Hainmond, 
 Jr., Secretary and Treasurer. The water is drawn 
 from Snipsic Lake — Indian name of Shenipsit — 
 one-half mile east of the village. This lake was a 
 favorite resort for the Indians of the vicinity, who 
 held their councils, ceremonies, and war-dances on 
 its borders. Even to this day many arrow-heads, 
 spears, and other implements are found on its 
 shores. The lake is now a favorite pleasure resort 
 during the summer season. Tlie water-works cost 
 over '^50,000, and consists of the main pipe, four- 
 teen inches in diameter, and seven miles of mains, 
 which run through the village. The supply of 
 water is equal to the demands of a population of 
 40,000. The lake contains some 600 acres, and is 
 the source of the Hockanum River, which gives the 
 motive power to tlie numerous factories in the 
 village. The natural pressure of the water gives a 
 head of from GO to 279 feet, which forces a stream 
 
 over the highest spire in the village, and supplies 
 the many private and public fountains with which 
 the town is adorned. The office of the Aqueduct 
 Co. is in thepost-offlce building, where also is the 
 office of the Rockville Railway, the officers of the 
 two companies beiug the same. This railway is 
 four and three-quarter miles in length and connects 
 at Vernon with the N. Y. & N. E. R. Road. The 
 road was built by subscription in 1862-3, and was 
 operated by the original company for five years, 
 when it was leased to the Hartford, Providence & 
 Fishkill R. R., and later to the New York and New 
 England. The building of this road increased the 
 value of property fifty per cent. Before it was built 
 it required eighty horses to do the hauling or the 
 mills. Tlie Connecticut Central Branch, seven 
 miles in length, l)egan operations in 1876. Towards 
 the building of this road Vernon and Rockville 
 contriljuted $60,000. There are fourteen trains 
 daily on the two roads. 
 
 The town and village was well represented in the 
 war of 1859-65, having one company in the Fifth 
 Connecticut, one in the Fourteenth, one in tlie Six- 
 teenth Regiment, altogether from three to four 
 hundred men having entered the service of their 
 country. 
 
 Rockville is more than a representative New Eng- 
 land village, and there are few, if any, which 
 surpass it in beauty and natural attractions, in its 
 water-power and genuine facilities for manufactur- 
 ing, in the size and reputation of its estaljlishiuents 
 and their productions, in the intelligence of its 
 people, and for a place to make and save money 
 and enjoy life. 
 
 BeUling' Bros. & Co., Manufacturers of 
 Machine Twist, Sewing and Emi)roidcry Silks. — 
 Among the most interesting objects in Connecti- 
 cut, and certainly the most interesting in its own 
 vicinity, is the sewing silk and twist mill of Beld- 
 ing Bros. & Co. on Main street. The business 
 carried on here is the outgrowth of a very small 
 beginning, and its immense proportions are 
 the direct result of the energy, enterprise and 
 honest methods of its originators, the Belding 
 Brothers. 
 
 The foundation of this and the other establish- 
 ments now owned by Belding Bros & Co. was laid 
 in 1860 liy Hiram H. and Alvah N. Belding, now 
 vice-president and secretary, resiiectively, of the 
 present company, who started from their home in 
 Belding, Michigan, on a tour through the West, 
 peddling, from house to house, sewing silks pur- 
 chased for tliem by their brother, M. M., who was 
 then residing at tlieir common birthplace, Ashfield, 
 Mass. This peddling rapidly assumed the sliape 
 of a large business, and, in a year after theii start, 
 the Belding Brothers had extended the scope of 
 
BEVIEW OP THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 25$ 
 
 their traffic, until it required the services of several 
 teams and wagons, and eraliraced the larger part 
 of tlie jobbing trade of the section in wliich tliey 
 were o|)ei ating. Three years after their start they 
 established a house in Chicago, and in the same 
 year were joined by their brother, Milo M.. who 
 took charge of that agency, retaining it for a year, 
 and th.en removing to New York, where he has 
 since remained. In the .same year tlie l)rothers 
 formed a copartnership witli E. K. Rose, and tak- 
 ing the first floor of what was then known as the 
 Glasgow Company's tluead mill, at Kockville, be- 
 gan manufacturing for themselves. Tlu'ee years 
 later, the business liad grown to such an extent 
 that more room Itecame aljsoUitely necessary, and 
 the erection of the main building of the jjresent 
 mill was Ijegun. Before the completion of tlie 
 building, and owing to some di.sagreement, the 
 brothers dissolved partnership witli Mr. Rose, and 
 hiring several small mills, in various localities, con- 
 tinued tlieir outside liusiness. Meanwhile, Mr. Hose 
 had formed a company known as the Hose Silk 
 Company, and started operations in the new mill. 
 At the e.vpiration of ten months from the .starting 
 the Rose Silk Company failed, and operations 
 ceased. During all this time the liusiness of the 
 brothers had been increasing in a wonderfully rapid 
 manner. Mill after mill had been added to their 
 resources of manufacture, and the establishment of 
 agencies in tlie larger cities had followed each 
 other in like ratio. In 1869 it was decided to con- 
 centrate the manufacturing branch of the business, 
 and the mill now occupied, which had stood idle 
 for about two years, and since the failure of the 
 Rose Company, -was purchased. Some four years 
 afterwards the brothers established the immense 
 mill, now owned by them, at Northampton, Mass., 
 and, subseiiuently, those at Montreal, Canada, and 
 San Francisco. 
 
 The principal agencies of the firm are located 
 in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cin- 
 cinnati, St. Louis, San Francisco and Montreal, 
 and tlie smaller agencies all over the country. 
 
 The mill in Kockville, of which this is a sketch, 
 consists of a main building of brick, 14.5 x 43 feet 
 in size, four stories in height, with la stone base- 
 ment, and an "L" recently constructed, also of 
 brick, with stone foundation and basement, 63x50 
 feet in size and of the heiglit and general appear- 
 ance of the main building. In the rear of the 
 main structure is the dye-house, a one story lirick, 
 one hundred feet long by about thirty-five feet in 
 breadth. The power for running the mill is sup- 
 plied by a thirty-four foot breast wheel, turned by 
 the waters of the Ilockanum river, which has its 
 source in the beautiful Snipsic Lake situated in tlie 
 hills about one mile above. In additiim to this 
 wheel, and rendered necessary by the recent enlarge- 
 ment of the capacity of the mill is an elegant 
 "Buckeye" engine of eighty-horsR power, used 
 for running a portion of the machinery and fed 
 from two boilers, each of eighty-five horse power 
 capacity, which perform the further duties of fur- 
 nishing steam for the dyeing and for heating the 
 buildings. Among the machinery used in this 
 establishment there are thirty-three "winders" 
 used for winding the thread from the skein as 
 imported; sixteen " doublers," the use of whicli 
 is indicated by the title; eight "cleaners" for 
 
 cleaning and removing obstructions, imperfections 
 und impurities from finislied silk ; onc^iuiidred and 
 fifty "spoolers" forwinding finished silk on spools 
 for market ; eiglit "stretchers " for stretching and 
 evening the silk; fifty-fom "spinners " for making 
 tlio thread; seven ■■reels" forwinding the silk 
 into skeins and measuring into desired lengths, 
 and a number of other smaller and ingenious 
 contrivances, among which are machines for 
 winding embroidery silk on cards; for winding 
 the exact amount of knitting silk reciuired upon 
 each spool; for braiding the ceh'brafed '■Martin" 
 fishing lines and for stamping the firm's label 
 on the ends of spools. Among the machinery pecu- 
 liar to this establishment and worthy especial men- 
 tion is the contrivance for cleaning finished silk. 
 This is the invention of Mr. Elisha J. Martin, an 
 attache of the mill, the patent lieing owned by 
 Belding Bro's & Co., and one other silk manu- 
 facturing concern. This machine does the work 
 formerly done at a cost of two cents per ounce at 
 an expense of less than that figure per pound. 
 This, it will be seen, is an immense saving, and 
 jirobably goes far towards assisting this company 
 to turn out their superior goods at prices that ena- 
 ble tliem to sucessfully compete with their rivals in 
 trade. Another invention, and one used only by 
 this company, is a dial attachment to the " spool- 
 er " u;od in winding the heavier grades of twist, 
 by which the exact number of yards on each spool 
 is determined, which numlier is plainly marked on 
 the blank end of the spool, and warranted correct. 
 This, it is believed, is done only Ijy Belding Bro's 
 & Co. ; and the fact that a customer is enabled to 
 know exactly how much he is getting for his money 
 has doubtless done much towards the great success- 
 achieved. The "stretchers" for evening the silk 
 consist of two copper cylinders, about six feet long 
 and twelve inches in diameter, revolving horizon- 
 tally, around which the threads are wound. 
 The upper cylinder revolves seven times while 
 the lower is making six turns. In connection 
 with this machine it is interesting to note that 
 the company purchased a half interest in the 
 patent some years ago, paying tlierefor $8,400, and 
 that since their purchase they liave sold to other 
 manufacturers more than $100,000 worth of rights 
 to use the invention. 
 
 This mill gives employment to about 550 people 
 within its walls, to say nothing of tfiose employed 
 on the outside as agents, salesmen, and in other 
 capacities. About 5,000 pounds, net, of finished 
 silk are shipped weekly to the various agencies, 
 whence it is sent to all parts of the civilized world. 
 
 Up to 1882 the business was conducted by the 
 firm of Belding Brothers & Co., Ijut in that year it 
 was decided to incorporate as a company, and to 
 that end application was made to the Legislature 
 for a special charter, allowing the retention of the 
 firm name. This was granted, and under the new 
 charter Mr. Milo M. Belding was made President 
 and Treasurer, Mr. Hiram II. Belding Vice-presi- 
 dent, Mr. Alvah N. Beldiug Secretary, and Jlr. D. 
 N. Belding, another brother, in charge of the Cin- 
 cinnati agency, a Director. 
 
 Mr. Milo JI. Belding, president and treasurer of 
 the company, was born in Ashfield, Ma.ss., and is 
 about forty-eight years of age. Until he reached 
 his majority he lived on his father's farm, begin- 
 
254 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 ning directly afterward the sale of jewelry for W. 
 M. Root, of Pittslield, Mass., and, when liis 
 brothers establislicd the silk business, buying their 
 silk for tliem. When the Chicago- agency was 
 established lie took charge of it and remained aljout 
 one year, when lie went to New York, where he has 
 since remained as financial man of the concern and 
 buyer of raw silk. 
 
 Mr. Hiram H. Belding, vice-isresident of the 
 company and one of the founders of the busi- 
 ness, is also a native of Ashfield, and is two 
 years younger than his brother Milo. He lived 
 at home imtil about twenty-one years of age, 
 and, like liis brother, was engaged in the sale of 
 jewelry. With his father and brother Alvali, he 
 went to Michigan, where the three cleared up a 
 farm in a locality where there is now a thriving 
 town named after the family — "Belding." 
 
 A year afterwards the two brothers started out 
 peddUug silk, with the success already detailed. 
 When Milo M. retired from the Chicago agency, 
 Hiram H. took charge of it and lias retained it 
 to the present, conducting its business from com- 
 paratively nothing up to a sale in 18S2 of 
 f 700, 000. 
 
 Mr. Alvah N. Belding, secretary of the com- 
 j^any and manager of the Eockville Mill, the 
 youngest oi the three brothers jironiinent in the 
 business and one of its founders, was, like his 
 partners, born in Ashfield and is forty-two years 
 of age. When he was seventeen years old he 
 moved with his father to Michigan, as before de- 
 tailed, and when only twenty year.s of age he 
 started with his brother Hiram on the peddling 
 tour, which has resulted in the vast busi- 
 ness now owned and controlled by Belding 
 Bros. & Co. He has resided in -KockvLlle 
 since 1860, and has always had the management 
 of the mill here, and until a year ago that of the 
 Northampton Mill, a duty he was comjielled to 
 relinquish, owing to the i-apid growth of the in- 
 terests here and the impossibility of one man 
 attending to both establishments. In 1882 the 
 l^eople of his town sent him to the Legislature, 
 giving him 754 votes out of a total of 901 i^oUed. 
 Be-election was offered, but declined, on account 
 of the cares of his immediate business. He is a 
 director in the People's Savings Bank, and is 
 otherwise prominently identified with the finan- 
 cial and social interests of the village. 
 
 The history of the rise of Belding Bros, k Co. 
 from the modest start without capital, save native 
 energy and honesty of purjjose, followed through 
 the twenty years that have brought them to the 
 very front of the silk manufacturers of the world; 
 using hundreds of thousands of dollars invested 
 in mills and machinery a,nd stock ; owning and 
 controlling three of the largest mills in America, 
 one of which is the largest in the world, together 
 with the smaller one in California ; giving em- 
 ployment to more than a thousand people ; turn- 
 ing out more and better sewing silk than any 
 other manufacturer in all the world, and doing 
 an annual business of over S2,500,000, is not only 
 interesting in itself, but serves to point a moral, 
 and as an inciting example to the youth who be- 
 lieves that honest efibrt is sure to win success. 
 
 The Hockaimin Company, Manufactur 
 ers of Fancy Cassimeres and Worsted Coatings 
 for Men's Wear.— One of the oldest and most 
 important of the manufacturing establishments 
 in Eockville is that of the Hockanum Comj^any, 
 whose organization dates back to May 31, 1836, 
 when the first meeting was held. The original 
 incorporators were : Lebbeus P. Tinkler, Presi- 
 dent ; Alonzo Bailey, Secretary ; Austin Holt, 
 Agent ; Ealph Talcott and Bickford Abbott. 
 The original -capital was 157,500, which was soon 
 afterwards increased. The establishment com- 
 prised two buildings, 40 x 40 feet each in size, and 
 two sets of machinery were run, manufacturing 
 satinets. That was nearly fifty years ago. The old 
 buildings have been replaced by larger and more 
 elegant structures. The original incorporators 
 have passed away ; new faces, advanced ideas, 
 exf)ensive machinery, and a higher standard of 
 excellence for the productions, have taken the 
 place of tho.se of 1836, and a new impetus and 
 a modern business atmosphere jiervades the 
 whole establishment. The main mill, adjoining 
 which is the office, was built about the year 
 1849. The basement is of brick ; the remainder 
 of the structure of wood. It is 36x200 feet in 
 size and three stories and attic in height. In 
 1873 an extension of fifty feet in length was 
 added, so that at present the length of the build- 
 ing is 250 feet. In 1881 a brick mill was erected, 
 west of the original building, which is 50x116 
 feet in size, and of the .same height as the main 
 building. A few rods below is the old Saxony 
 mill, now owned and run by this comimny, 
 which is 120 x 34 feet in size, and is two stories 
 high, with basement and attic, the basement 
 lieing of brick and the other jjarts of wood. An 
 elegant business office adjoining the first-named 
 mUl was built in 1880, and is a model of conve- 
 nience and artistic furnishing. Although there 
 are but ten sets of machinery run, liy the use of 
 worsted yarn the capacity of the mills is equal 
 to double that number. The finer grades of cas- 
 simeres and worsteds are turned out here and 
 in such quantities as to give employment to 325 
 jieople. TwO). water powers are monoiJolized, 
 the number of feet fall being eighteen and twelve, 
 respectively. In addition two engines, one of 
 eighty and the other of sixty-horse power, are 
 made iise of. 
 
 The selling agents are Messrs. Pomeroy & 
 Plummer, of Nos. 61 and 63 Leonard street. New 
 York. 
 
 Mr. George Maxwell, the President and Ti-eas- 
 urer, has been a resident of Eockville since 1844. 
 He was born in Charlemont, Mass., in 1817, and 
 was first identified with this village as a country 
 merchant. Later he was bookkeeper for the old 
 New England Company, and has been a manu- 
 facturer since 1846. In 1858 he was ai:>j3ointed 
 agent and treasurer of the Hockanum Company. 
 At that time the company ran but three sets of 
 machinery, and it was at that time also that the 
 change was made from the old style satinets to 
 the modern all--nool fancy cassimeres and wors- 
 teds, the standard being elevated until the pro- 
 ductions of the Hockanum Comi^any rank 
 among the best in the market. In 1869, Mr. 
 Maxwell was elected ijresident and treasurer, 
 
HEVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 255 
 
 and has eontmiied in those offices wy to the 
 present. He is also president of the New Eng- 
 land Company, a neighboring manufacturing es- 
 tablishment ; vice-president of the Kockville 
 National Bank, and is otherwise largely inter- 
 ested in the institutions and industries of his 
 adopted town. He was a Rei>resentative in 1871 
 and a Senator in 1872, and has been otherwise 
 shown honor by his townsmen. 
 
 Mr. George Sykes, the Manager, is a native of 
 Hudderstield, England, born in 1840, and has 
 been a resident of this country since boyhood. 
 He has been in charge of the manufacturing of 
 goods for this company since 1866. He is a di- 
 rector in the Hockanum Company, the New 
 England Company, and the Hartford Engineer- 
 
 patent machine for gumming, folding and cutting 
 envelopes Wiis invented, of which tliey availed them- 
 selves, commencing with one and adding others 
 from time to time, until the present, when the 
 capacity of the works is 2,000,000 envelopes per 
 day. About two j-ears agcr they purchased the 
 largest and most substantially built structure for 
 manufacturing purpo.scs in Kockville, and soon 
 after occupied it. This afforded them more room 
 and greater f.-icilities, and is, probaldy, the largest 
 and most extensive building occupied for the 
 manufacture of envelopes in America. It is built 
 of brick, with a tower in the centre, and is 200 x 
 50 in size, four stories and basement, containing 
 45.000 square feet of floor area. The water at this 
 power has a fall of eighteen feet. A thirty-seven 
 
 THE HENRY BUILDING, ROCKVILLE. CONN. 
 
 ing Company, and is a thorough master of his 
 business. 
 
 The Hockanum Company is one of those well- 
 known and long estaljlished business associations 
 which are in no need of praise. It has main- 
 tained its credit for nearly half a century, not 
 only in a financial sense, but in the class of goods 
 turned out, and its conservative yet enterprising 
 methods have won deserved success. 
 
 Its officers and directors rank among the most 
 respected and influentia! of Connecticut's repre- 
 sentative men. 
 
 White, Corbin & Co., Envelope Manufac- 
 turers and Paper Dealers. — Tliis industry was es- 
 tablished in 1855 by Messrs. White A Corl)in and so 
 continued till 1860, when a former clerk, Mr. Wm. 
 H. Prescott, was admitted, and the firm l)ecame 
 White, Corbin & Co. In the commencement a 
 
 horse power turbine wheel and a one hundred and 
 twenty horse power breast wheel are used, and one 
 hundred and fifty persons are employed. 
 
 Jlr. Cyrus White, the senior member of the firm, 
 is president and treasurer of The White Maiui- 
 facturing Company in this village, an account of 
 which tlie reader is referred to in another column 
 for detailed mention of Mr. White. 
 
 Mr. Lewis A. Corbin is a native of Thompson, 
 Conn., and is about fifty-eight years age. He has 
 lieen a resident of Kockville for about thirty years, 
 and was originally a mason builder here. Several 
 of the mills, stores and residences are evidences of 
 his skill in this direction. He is president of the 
 Connecticut Button Company, and has taken great 
 interest in the welfare of the town, in the govern- 
 ment of which he has served as assessor and select- 
 man. 
 
 Mr. William H. Prescott was born in Loudon, 
 N. II., in 1840, and came to Kockville twenty-three 
 
256 
 
 THE HISTORICAL. STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 years ago as a clerk in this establishnent. As above 
 mentioned, the firm recognizing liis correct busi- 
 ness methods and general capacity admitted him as 
 a full partner in 1866, and he is now the financial 
 and general manager of the business. He is a 
 direct'or in the First National Bank of Rockville 
 and tiie White Manufacturing Company, both of 
 this village. 
 
 White, Corbin & Co. enjoy the reputation of be- 
 ing tlie largest manufacturers of envelopes in the 
 world. 
 
 The productions of The White Manufacturing 
 Co. rank high with the trade, and their sale is lim- 
 ited only to the confines of the continent. 
 
 The ^Vhite Manufacturing Co., Manu- 
 facturers of Domestic Gingliams and Dress Goods, 
 Rockville, Conn. — Tlie White Manufacturing Com- 
 pany was incorporated in ISTO, witli a capital of 
 $170,000, and has the following-named officers: 
 President and Treasurer, Cyrus White ; Secretary, 
 George C. Rice. 
 
 About three hundred and fifty people are em- 
 ployed in the manufacture of domestic ginghams 
 and dress goods. The number of spindles, which 
 will show the capacity of the mills, are ten thou- 
 sand. The selling agents are Messrs. Joy, Lincoln 
 & Motley, New York and Boston. 
 
 There are three mills in tliis establishment, and 
 three water powers with the following feet fall, re- 
 spectively : twenty and one-lialf, thirty-two and 
 forty-three feet. " The buildings are built of 
 brick and stone, and the establishment is the larg- 
 est in the number of hands employed, and the 
 only one manufacturing ginghams and dress goods 
 in Rockville. Previous to 1869 it was run as a 
 thread mill. 
 
 Mr. Cyrus White, the president, secretary and 
 4)rincipal owner, is a native of Richford, Vermont, 
 born in 1814. On his advent in Rockville, forty- 
 five years ago, he was twency-six years of age. He 
 was at that time the possessor of a good trade, 
 that of a blacksmith, which he afterwards followed 
 here for twenty-four years. His frugal habits, bus- 
 iness tact and general capacity soon made them- 
 selves felt ; and, from an obscure youth, he lias 
 •won his way to the position of one of the first and 
 most influential manufacturers in his adopted vil- 
 lage. His first venture as a manufacturer was as a 
 machinist and iron-founder; later, he, with Mi'. 
 Corbin, founded the house of White, Corbin & Co., 
 in this village, the largest manufacturers of envel- 
 opes in America, of wliich he is one third owner. 
 In 1870 he retired from active liusiness, content 
 with his accumulations, but was forced to utilize 
 manufacturing property of which unexpectedly he 
 became possessed, and the White Manufacturing 
 Co. was the result. Mr. White is largely interested 
 in the industries of Rockville. He is president of 
 the Suiith-H-jltsizer Manufacturing Co., a new 
 manufacturing establishment recently started in 
 this village. He is one of the firm of L. (I King 
 & Co., merchants; is the proprietor of White's 
 Opera-house, the popular play-house of Rockville, 
 and otherwise interested in the institutions of his 
 adopted town. 
 
 Mr. George C. Rice, the secretary, is a native of 
 Worcester, Mass., born in 18-19, and has Ijeen a res- 
 ident of Rockville and secretary of this company 
 for seven years. 
 
 The ?few England Company, Manufac- 
 turers of Worsted Goods and Cassimeres for Men's 
 Wear. — This well-known manufacturing establish- 
 ment is a legitimate successor to the old New Eng- 
 land Company, wliose organization dates back to 
 the year 1836. Tlie present company, on its incor- 
 poration in 1879, adopted the name of tlie old, and 
 has so continued to the ]n-esent time. The capital is 
 $80,000, and the officers are as follows: President, 
 Geo. Maxwell ; Secretary and Treasurer, A. Park 
 Hammond ; Superintendent, B. F. Mellor. 
 
 On the organization of the new company, they 
 bought the mills and water power, and have since 
 taken a high rank in the production of worsteds 
 and cassimeres for men's wear, in which they aim 
 to excel. 
 
 Nine sets of cards, forty-six broad looms and 
 175 operatives are em])loyed. 
 
 The fall of water at this power is twenty feet, 
 and a 24 by 16 breast wheel, sufiplemented by a 
 seventy-five horse power engine, is used for motive 
 jiower. 
 
 The selling agents are Pomeroy & Plummer, Nos. 
 61 and 63 Leonard street. New York City. 
 
 The president, Mi'. George Maxwell, is a native 
 of Charlemont, Mass., and about sixty-sis years 
 of age. 
 
 He has been a resident of Rockville for over 
 thirty-five years — first, as a merchant, then as book- 
 keejjer for the old New England Company, where 
 he learned the business in wiiich he has since taken 
 a front rank. In addition to discharging the duties 
 of principal officer of this company, lie is .president 
 and treasurer of the Hockanuiii Company, a 
 neighboring manufacturing establishment in this 
 village, the information about which and its 
 officers will be found in another column. 
 
 Mr. A. Park Hammond, the secretary and treas- 
 urer, was Ijred aud born on tlie hills of Vernon, the 
 town m which the village ot Rockville is situated, 
 and is forty-seven years of age. 
 
 He was educated at the Polytechnic Institute, 
 Troy, New York, after which he learned the mys- 
 teries of manufacturing woolen goods with the old 
 New England Company, of which Mr. Allen Ham- 
 mond, his father, was founder in 1836. The father 
 was, in his day, like the son in this, a prominent 
 manufacturer in Rockville. He died in 1864, at 
 the age of si.xty-three years. 
 
 During the war of the Rebellion, A. Park Ham- 
 mond was a captain in the Fourteenth Connecticut 
 Regiment, and later represented his native town in 
 the Connecticut Legislature. With the exception 
 of four years spent in the West, he has been a resi- 
 dent of the town in which he was born and where 
 he is a worthy representative of a family well- 
 known and long identified with its earlier history. 
 Mr. Benjamin F. Mellor, the superintendent, was 
 born in Woousocket, R. I., and is aljout thirty 
 years of age. He learned liis trade of the Harris 
 Manufacturing Company in that enterprising vil- 
 lage, which is accredited with the honor of being 
 the pioneer in this country in the manufacture of flue 
 cassimeres for men's wear. He has been a resident 
 
REVIEW OF TffE STATE OF CONNECTtCUf. 
 
 257 
 
 of Rockvillo for four years, and i» one of tin- prom- 
 ising nianufatturers of New England. The New 
 England Coniiiany is one of the larger establish- 
 ments which go to make up the extended reputa- 
 tion whieh Rockville has as a maiiufaoturing centre, 
 and is an important factor in its continued success. 
 
 Tln> Aiuorican Mill.s Manufacturers of 
 Fancy Cassimcres and Meltons (or Men's Wear. 
 — The most imposing manufacturing establish- 
 ment in Rockville as seen from the Inisiness ceutro 
 is the American Mills, which were built in IS^T. 
 That same year the compauy, with the same name, 
 was incorporated, with a capital of .§100,000. 
 
 Tlie first meeting of the directt>rs was May 18, 
 18i7, at which there were present Pheneas Tal- 
 cott. President ; Nelson Kingsbury, Secretary, 
 Treasurer and Agent, of RockvUle ; D. H. Ai-nokl 
 of New York, Calvin Day of Hartford, and Isaac 
 Hacker of Philadelphia. The present officers 
 ai'e, Calvin Day, President ; Charles Seymour, 
 Ti'easurer, of Hartford ; E. J. Smith, Secretary ; 
 C. N. McLean, Agent, of Rockville. 
 
 The mill is 200x40 feet in size, and six stories 
 in height. The first two are built of stone, and 
 the remainder of wood. Fifteen sets of ma- 
 chinery, .lifty-five broad looms, lU'e run, and two 
 hundred and sixty people emi)loyedin the manu- 
 facture of fancy cassimeres and meltons. A 
 forty-two feet and two and one-half inches breast 
 wheel is used to furnish the motive power, and 
 the goods are sold at their own store at No. 89 
 Worth street in New York. 
 
 The jjresident and treasurer, as before men- 
 tioned, are residents of Hartford, and reiiresent- 
 ative men in that c-ity. 
 
 Mr. E. J. Smith, the secretary, is a native of 
 Tolland, Tolland County, Connecticut, born in 
 1815. He has been a resident of Rockville for 
 thirty-six years, during which time he ha.s been 
 connected with this company. He is auditor of 
 the Rockville Savings Bank and a well-known 
 and respected citizen. 
 
 Mr. C. N. McLean, the agent, was born in Man- 
 chester, Connecticut, in 1850, and is compara- 
 tively a new accession to the business and social 
 life of the village. He was formerly in the wool 
 business and is well-calculated to satisfactorily 
 represent the interests of the company as agent. 
 
 Tlie American Mills are an important manu- 
 facturing interest here, and its productions have 
 assisted in giving Rockville an envialile reputa- 
 tion as a centre for the manufacture of tine cassi- 
 meres, worsteds and meltons for men's wear. 
 
 Rookvillf Wiu-p 3IilLs, White and Col- 
 ored Warps, Henry Adams, Proprietor. — Nearly 
 a mde in a northeasterly direction from Rockvilfe 
 Post-office, in a most charming location, and 
 surrounded by all the evidences of thrift, is the 
 Rockville Warp Mill, of which Mr. Henry 
 Adams is the proprietor. The business done 
 here is the spinning and coloring of the cotton 
 warp used by other manufacturers in the making 
 of satinets and cassimeres. 
 
 The establishment of this mill dates back 
 about thirty years, when Mr. Joseph Selden be- 
 gan the business, continuing it for eighteen 
 
 years, when he was succeeded by the Adams 
 Manufacturing Company, of which Mr. Adams 
 was a orominent member. This company oOtf- 
 tinued in l)usiness oidy about a year and a itelf, 
 when, through troubles and other circuirii^tftlnces 
 beyond its control, it was obliged td Suspend. 
 Indeed, so bad were its affiiirs that no creditor 
 coidd be found who thought it worth while to 
 sue for his cliiim, and Mr. Adams himself was 
 obliged to procure the ai)pointment of an as- 
 signee. As soon as the necessary legal formal- 
 ities had been gone througli with, the mill and 
 its assets sold to .satisfy judgments, etc'.,, Mr. 
 Adams found himself without means and tiilif- 
 ing the world in the face in a somewhat per- 
 plexed frame of mind. At this juncture, Mr. 
 George Talcott, president of the First National 
 Bank of Rockville, Mr. Milo W. Pember, whole- 
 sale cloth merchant, and Mr. A. N. Belding, of 
 Belding Bros. & Co., silk manufacturers, all of 
 Rockville, who had some interests at stake and 
 who had unbounded faith in the honesty and 
 capal)ility of Mr. Adams, i)roposed to him that 
 he should start the mill on his own account, they 
 to furnish the funds. After some consideration 
 the oiler was accepted, and Mr. Adams stepped 
 into the place he has since occupied, and in 
 which he has not only repaid all advances, but 
 has accumulated a competency for himself. 
 
 The mill, which is the tirst'to take power in 
 theHockanum River and from that wonderful 
 and beautiful sheet, Snipsic Lake, is of stone, 
 the main building being 130 x 40 feet in size and 
 four stories in height, with an L 40 x 30 feet in 
 size, containing two floors. 
 
 In the mill there are 3,000 spindles, with a 
 capacity of 4,500 lbs. of warp per week, giving 
 employment to an average of seventy jieople. 
 The machinery is run entirely by water-power, 
 which is furnished by a forty-inch LeffeU turbine 
 wheel, fed liy a fall of twenty-two feet, which 
 can be enlarged to twenty-eight feet when neces- 
 .sary. A large steam boiler makes the steam used 
 in scouring and dyeing as well as for heating the 
 building.?. The products of the mill are wound 
 upon what are technically termed "beams," and 
 are shipped to difl'erent cassimere and satinet 
 factories in New England, New York and New 
 Jersey, the greater portion being used in the 
 home State. The beams contain anvwhere from 
 200 to 6.000 "ends" or threads, each from 1,000 
 to 20,000 yards in length, the number on a beam 
 l)eiug regulated liy the length of the thread. 
 The amount of money invested in this business 
 is very large, and the annual business is in the 
 neighborhood of §100,000. 
 
 Mr. Adams, the controlling spirit and projiri- 
 etor of this establishment, is a native of Great 
 Barrington, Mass., born on May 20, 18:38. At 
 the age of ten years his family "moved to South 
 Adams, where his brothers now own a mill for- 
 merly run by his father and his uncle, Mr. John 
 M. Seeley, now proprietor of the Housatonic 
 IMiUs, and a State Senator in Massachusetts. 
 Mr. Adams learned his business with his father 
 and uncle, remaining there until he was twenty 
 years of age, and going thence to the Indian 
 Orchard Mills, where he continued for four or 
 five years. From there he went with his uncle 
 
258 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 to Housatonic and assisted in buUding the two 
 mills now owned and run by the latter at that 
 place. From Housatonic the next and last re- 
 corded move was to llockvUle, where he has re- 
 mained since, steadily gi'Owing in favor and in 
 fortune. 
 
 Mr. Adams is one of the few whose energy and 
 perseverance has conquered fortune from disas- 
 ter, and whose business and social records form 
 a bright page in the State's history and furnish 
 a shining example to struggling youth. 
 
 The Sprinsville Manufacturing Co., 
 
 Manufactuiers of Union Cassimeres for Men's Wear. 
 — This company was incorporated in 1833, with a 
 capital which has since been increased to $24,000, 
 and the following-named gentlemen as incorpora- 
 tors : 
 
 Chauncey Winchell, President; Alonzo Bailey, 
 Agent ; Christopher Burdick, Isaac L. Sanford. 
 
 With the exception of Mr. Winchell they have 
 all passed away, he alone remaining, and still holds 
 the office that he was elected to fifty years ago. 
 His son, Mr. Cyrus Winchell, is Treasurer and 
 Agent. Tlie mill is built of stone and wood, four 
 stories in height and 84 x 34 feet in size. 
 
 Three sets of machinery are run and fifty people 
 employed in the manufacture of union cassimeres. 
 The water-power at this mill has eighteen feet fall. 
 
 The selling agents are John Slade & Co. and 
 Whitman & Welch, in New York City. 
 
 Chauncey Wincliell, the president, is probably 
 the oldest gentleman doing business in the State of 
 Connecticut. He was born on January 2.5, 179G, 
 in Berlin, Conn., and removed to Rockville in 1829. 
 He was a mill-wright, learning his trade in Man- 
 chester, Conn., previous to his removal here. Dur- 
 ing his long and active business life he has filled 
 many responsible positions in the gift of the 
 people. He was a member of the L?gislatue as 
 representative in 1853, and is now president of the 
 Rockville National Bank. Cyrus Winchell, the 
 agent and treasurer, was Ijorn in Mancliester, 
 Conn., in 1821, and has been identified with 
 Rockville since 1829. He has always been a manu- 
 facturer and connected with the present company. 
 He is vice-president of the People's Savings Bank, 
 and was a Representative in the Legislature in 
 1876. The Winchells have been longer connected 
 with the manufacturing industries of Rockville than 
 any other faniily, and have lived to see it grow 
 from a straggling hamlet to one of the imjjortant 
 manufacturing villages of the State. 
 
 James J. Regan, Manufacturer of Woolen 
 Flocks, Shoddy and Yarns.— This business was 
 established in 1809 at the upper end of tliis village 
 by the present proprietor. Outgrowing the original 
 quarters, it was removed to Willington, Conn., 
 about twelve miles east, from which place, after a 
 term of five years, he returned to Rockville in 1875, 
 and occupied a part of the premises once used by 
 the old Florence Manufacturing Com]3any. Mr. 
 Regan's premises consist of six wooden Ijuild- 
 ings, having an average of three stories in height. 
 •Two large four-story wooden buildings situated 
 in another part of the village are used for store- 
 houses. 
 
 The water at this power has a fall of eighteen 
 feet. A breast wheel is used in addition to a 
 sixty-five horse power engine, which is kept in re- 
 serve for use in the dry seasons. About sixty-five 
 people are employed in the manufacture of the 
 finer grades of shoddy, woolen tlocks and yarns, 
 the first two of which lie makes a specialty and 
 counts among his customers manufacturers through- 
 out New England. The weekly production is 
 about 15,000 pounds of fiock, 12,000 pounds of 
 shoddy, and 1,000 pounds of yarn. The manu- 
 facture of clothing yarns is of recent date and it is 
 the intention to soon commence the manufacture of 
 woolen goods in addition to the present business. 
 
 The life of the proprietor illustrates what a 
 thorough knowledge of a business, tact and busi- 
 ness application will do for a man in the race for 
 success. He was born of Irish parentage in Stone, 
 in Staffordshire, England, in 1836, and came to Am- 
 erica in 1848, For twenty -three years lie has been 
 a well-known resident of Rockville and vicinity, the 
 first nine as an employee in the role of a woolen 
 carder and spinner for one of the several woolen 
 goods manufacturers for which the village is noted. 
 During the years he has been a manufacturer he 
 has built up one of the largest businesses of its 
 class in New England. 
 
 He is ably assisted by his son Mr. Francis J. 
 Regan who is superintendent of the works and a 
 native of Rockville, twenty-two years of age. 
 
 The success of Mr. James J. Regan illustrates 
 the possibilities afforded in America, even in New 
 England, for a man to make and save money and 
 enjoy life. 
 
 The Smith-Holtsizer Manufacturing- 
 Co., Manufacturers of Fancy Worsted Cloths for 
 Men's Wear. — The latest accession to the manu- 
 facturing industries of Rockville is the Smith 
 Holtsizer Manufacturing Co. , which was incorporat- 
 ed in 1882, with a capital of Si 0,000, and the fol- 
 lowing-named officers: President, Cyrus White; 
 Secretary and Treasurer, L. C. Smith. Although in- 
 corporated as above stated, business was not com- 
 menced till January 1, 1883. The premises occu- 
 pied consist of a building 150x50 feet in size, five 
 stories in height, and one half of another large 
 building adjoining. The yarns used in the estab- 
 lisliment are manufactured l)y other parties, leav- 
 ing only the weaving and finishing to be done here, 
 in wliich thirty persons are engaged. Tlie selling 
 agents are Case, Leeland k Co. in New York and 
 Boston, and the goods made are fancy worsted 
 cloths for men's wear. 
 
 The president, Mr. Cyrus White, is president and 
 treasurer of the White Manufacturing Co., an account 
 of whom will be found in another column. Mr. 
 Louis C. Smith, the secretary and treasurer, is a native 
 of South Hadley Falls, Mass., born in 1857. He 
 was educated at the public schools and afterwards 
 learned the business of a druggist in Lee, Mass. 
 He has resided in Rockville for three years, wliere 
 he was a prominent druggist previous to being 
 identified with this company. The Smith-Holtsizer 
 Manufacturing Co., although a new incorporation, 
 gives promise of developing into an important 
 factor in the industries of Rockville. 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OP CONNECTICUT. 
 
 259 
 
 Elrtredg-e & Adams (.Toaeph Eldredgo and 
 Tlionias R. Adams), Rockville Marhle and Granite 
 Works. Mantels. Monuments, Table Tops, Slabs, 
 etc., Office and VVorks, near Railroad Depot. — The 
 only marble and granite works of any importance 
 in Rockville is that carried on by the gentlemen 
 wliose names head this sketch. The business was 
 established about twenty years ago by a German 
 named Laubscher, who was succeeded in about 
 three years by Mr. H. T. Bolles, the latter gentle- 
 man continuing it until February 1, 18S1, when 
 the present proprietors came into possession. All 
 kinds of marble, granite, brown-stone, marlileized 
 slate and other stones are worked, and the cemete- 
 ries in the vicinity bear many evidences of the firm's 
 skill in monuments and grave-stones. Besides 
 these are manufactured mantels, table-tops, plumb- 
 er's slabs, and, in fact, anything that can be made 
 of marble or stone. Six people are emjjloyed, two 
 of whom are engaged for the greater ])art of the 
 time in New Hampshire, quarrying and dressing 
 the granite used here in the business. Tlie business 
 extends all over the State of Connecticut, and, to a 
 lesser extent through sections of Massachusetts and 
 
 The firm of Eldredge & Adams is ranked among 
 the best in its line in the State of Connecticut. 
 
 Heber Townsend, Pharmacist, Mr. Heber 
 Townsend, the pioneer druggist of the village, 
 began business at No. 2 Park place, in 1805, in 
 what was termed the " Snipsic Block," under 
 the firm name of F. B. Skinner & Co., of which 
 Mr. Townsend was the junior member. In 1808, 
 Dr. M. M. Townsend of Eckhart Mines, Md., 
 purchased the interest of Mr. F. B. Skinner, 
 changing the firm name to Townsend Brothers. 
 In March, 1S74, Mr. Heber Townsend took upon 
 himself the entire business, Dr. Townsend retiring 
 from the firm. The increasing demands of a 
 flourishing business resulted in the moving away 
 and rebuilding of the present magnificent four- 
 story brick and iron block known as the Henry 
 Building, "Townsend's Rockville Pharmacy," oc- 
 cupying the Park place and Park street corner. 
 The store, as it now appears, is one, if not the 
 finest, of its kina in the State, no pains or expense 
 having been spared to make it first-class in every 
 
 ROCKVILLE HOUSE, ROCKVILLE, CONN. 
 
 Rhode Island. This firm own the buildings they 
 occupy, which are situated directly alongside the 
 railroad track, giving facilities for loading and 
 unloading stone and marble at little expense, and 
 superior to those of any other firm in the same busi- 
 ness in the State. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Eldredge is a native of Willington, 
 Conn., born in 1819, and has been a resident of 
 Rockville about thirty year?. Since his residence 
 in the community he has been solicited to accept 
 office, but lias uniformly declined, preferring the 
 quiet side of life and attention to his immediate 
 business. 
 
 Mr. Thomas R. Adams, son-in-law to Mr. 
 Eldredge, is a native of New Haven, about thirty- 
 two years of age. He comes of an old family of 
 stone-cutters, going l)ack to his great grandfather, 
 and is himself thoroughly practical in all l)ranclie.s 
 of the business. He has resided in Rockville aljout 
 eighteen years, sixteen of wliich were spent in tlie 
 service of and in partnershij) with Mr. Bolles, the 
 former proprietor of the business. He is regarded 
 as a sterling business man, a master of his trade 
 and a desirable citizen. 
 
 respect. Here can be found a select assortment of 
 drugs and chemicals, and druggists' sundries, second 
 to none outside of the large cities. It is centrally 
 located, just opposite the Rockville House, and 
 only two minutes' walk from the railroad, tele- 
 graph, telephone, and express offices, thus securing 
 to itself a large share of the local trade and the 
 jiatronage of the traveling public. It is here that 
 the tickets for Henry Hall, which is directly over 
 the store, and White's Opera House, are always put 
 on sale. The facilities for serving customers with 
 tickets arecomplete, as a " box-office" is situated at 
 the rear end of the store, opening into the entrance 
 of the hall above. The i)harmacy is elegantly 
 fitted up in white and Hungarian ash, relieved 
 with native red cherry, marble counter-tops and 
 floor, French plate-glass windows. Puffer's soda 
 apparatus, chandeliers with electric lighting appa- 
 ratus, comprise a few of the modern improvements, 
 which, with steam heat throughout, makes this 
 store an attractive place to do business in, as is 
 proven by the constant and increasing crowds who 
 visit it daily. Mr. Townsend has issued a neat 
 and attractive business card, with a view of the 
 
260 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Henry Block on the outside — the inside containing 
 a diagram of the seating arrangements, stage, etc., 
 of the hall. 
 
 Mr. Townsend has compounded a number of 
 pojjular preparations, the most celebrated of which 
 are, Townsend's Hay Fever and Asthma Remedy, 
 Cough Mixture, Throat Confection, Wild Cherry 
 Bitters, and Dyspepsia Cure. 
 
 The First National Bank, Park Place. 
 The Fii-st National Bank of Roe•k^^lle was 
 chartered February 2i, 1863, with Mr. J. J. 
 Robinson as the president. He served but a few 
 mouths, and was succeeded by Mr. Clark Holt, 
 who in his turu has been succeeded by Mr. 
 George Talcott, who is now the President. The 
 capital of the bank is §200,000, with a siu'plus 
 of ^40.000. The charter was renewed on the 
 24th of February, 1883, and has twenty years 
 to run. Forthe'jmst fifteen years it has occu- 
 pied its present ijosition under the Methodist 
 Church, Park place. Mr. John H. Kite, born 
 in Charleston, Mass., is the Cashier. The bank 
 has piu'sued a prosjjerous and uneventful career, 
 save the incident of 1875, when the cashier dis- 
 covered that the famous Northampton bank rob- 
 bers were making an attempt to rob the vault of 
 this bank. Thi.s plan was frustrated, autl a new 
 and remarkably strong vault, as good as any in 
 the country, was built. This contains the .safes, 
 which are provided with time locks and all 
 the necessary safe-guards. 
 
 E. A. Kiilmly, Dealer in Stoves, Ranges, 
 Fnrnaces and House Furnishing Goods. — It was 
 twenty-five years ago since Messrs. Blaekman A: 
 McCrary established the business now conducted 
 by Mr. Edward A. Kuhnly. The immediate 
 predecessor to Mr. Kuhnly was Mr. R. B. Chap- 
 man. Mr. Kuhnly, previous to doing business 
 at his present location, was in the same business 
 on the other side of the railroad since 1877, and 
 moved here in March, 1882. The store is 
 designated and known as No. 4 Exchange Block, 
 situated in the centre of business. The premises 
 are 50 x 23 feet in size and embrace four floors. 
 A large stock of stoves, furnaces, ranges and 
 house furnishing goods is carried, and five em- 
 jjloyees are kept busy in the plumbing, gas-fitting 
 and r-ooting departments. 
 
 A specialty is made of the New Hub Range 
 and the Boynton Furnace. The trade is not 
 confined to Rockville, but extends to the villages 
 of Vernon, Ellington, Tolland, Colton, Quarry- 
 ville, Coventry, Windsorville and the surround- 
 ing country. 
 
 Mr. Kuhnly is a native of Greenville, near 
 Norwich, Conn., born in 1848. For several 
 years previous to 1877, at which time he came to 
 Rockville, he was a resident of Hartford. He 
 rejoices in having the largest assortment and do- 
 ing the most extensive business of any in his 
 line in the village, where he stands as the repre- 
 sentative man of his class and worthy of the con- 
 fidence of the eommunitv. 
 
 F. A. RaiuUill, Bookseller and Stationer, 
 and Geo. AV. Kandall, Dealer in Musical 
 Instruments. — The largest and best known book 
 store, with a portion of the establishment devoted 
 to the sale of musical instruments, is that of 
 F. A. Randall, at No. 3, in the fine and im2J0sing 
 Henry Building, facing the Public Square. For 
 six or seven year's the Viusiness was conducted 
 on Main stree't, by F. Ziegler. Mr. Randall pur- 
 chasing it January, 1881, and in the Fall of 
 1882 it was transferred to its i>resent handsomp 
 and commodious quarters. 
 
 Mr. F. A. Randall is a young and energetic 
 busiue.ss man, having been born in Rockville, 
 in 1861. He received his education in the pub- 
 lic schools of the town, and early in life began 
 business for himself. His store has quite a 
 metropolitan air, and besides the large assort- 
 ment of books in all branches of literature, one 
 can find everything wished for in the line of tine 
 stationery, school books and school supplies, as 
 well as the weekly and daily papers from Hart- 
 ford, Springfield, Boston and New York, and all 
 of the latest magazines as fast as puplished. 
 
 In conjunction with the book store, Mr. Geo. 
 W. Randall keeps a music store, with a good and 
 large supply of pianos, organs and other musical 
 instruments. The salesroom is some sixty by 
 twenty feet, light and well adapted for the pur- 
 poses for which it was intended. 
 
 Mr. Geo. W. Randall was born in RockvOle, 
 in 1857. He was educated in the village. He is 
 a member of the order of the Knights of Honor, 
 and treasurer and clerk of the St. John's Episco- 
 pal Church. 
 
 F. A. Severance & Co., Clothing, Hats, 
 Cal5S and Gents' Furnishing Goods, No. 1 Ex- 
 change Block. — One of the largest dealers in 
 clothiug in Rockville is Messrs. Severance k Co. , 
 whose business was established in 1869 in a 
 store under the Methodist Church, by Mr. F. A. 
 Severance, the present proprietor, and since con- 
 ducted under the above firm name. 
 
 After remaining about one year in the old lo- 
 cation the business outgrew the original quarters 
 and a removal to the jjresent location was neces- 
 sitated, which occurred in 1870. The store is 
 18 X 56 feet in size, and is stocked ^-ith the best 
 quality and style of men's, youths' and boys' 
 clothing, hats, caps and gents' furnishing goods. 
 Two experienced assistants are req\iii-ed in the 
 prosecution of the business, which extends to 
 the country towns for miles around. 
 
 Mr. F. k. Severance is a native of Walpole, 
 N. H., born in 1844, and was educated in the 
 public schools. He has been a resident of Rock- 
 ville since 1867, and is one of the thriving, en- 
 terprising merchants of the village, and ranks 
 high in the commercial world. 
 
 Rockville National Banlv, Park Place. — 
 
 Close by the Second Congregational Church, at 
 the southern end of Central Park, stands the 
 neat brick and granite building of the Rockville 
 National Bank. This bank was organized in 
 1855 as a State bank, with Mr. Allen Hammond 
 as president. It became a National Bank in 
 1864. The second president was Mr. E. B. 
 Preston, and he was succeeded by Mr. Chauncey 
 Winchell, who is now the President. Mr. Geo. 
 
liEVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTlCUr. 
 
 261 
 
 Maxwell is the Vice-President, and Mr. E. C. 
 Chapman, whn lias been witli the bank since 
 1868, is the Cashier. The Dii-ectors are Messrs. 
 Chauucey Wincliell, George Maxwell, Isaac 
 Chester, 'M. W. Pember, Ansel Arnold, J.N. 
 Stickney, D. N. Kimball. Frank Grant, and E. 
 C. Chapman. The ca])ital stock of the bank is 
 $300,(100, with a snri)his of S(U,O0O. The de- 
 posits amount to §180,3(56. The total assets of 
 this bank amount to §877,104. Of these there 
 are in limited State bonds §312,000, loans and 
 discounts, §477,612. and real estate and fix- 
 tures, §10,000. This bank has the confidence of 
 the business community, and has connected with 
 it some of the foremost men of the place. 
 
 eight years ago, and is a practical tinsmith and 
 manufacturer, as well as dealer. Ilavinj; a tliorough 
 knowledge of tlie bu.sincss, with a first-chiss and 
 extensive assortment of goods, liis Imsiness success 
 is readily accounted for. 
 
 "Wilburt L. TaWott, Manufacturer of Ci- 
 gars and Dealer in Tobacco and Smokers' Ar- 
 ticles, No. 6 Market Street.— Mr. Wilburt L. 
 Talcott, the only manufacturer of cigars in 
 Eockville, who deals in other articles for 
 smokers' use, established his business in 1873, 
 the original location being at the Rich Place 
 near the Town Farm, where he remained for 
 three years, removing thence to John.son's 
 Block on Main street, and in 1878 to his present 
 location. Mr. Talcott employs four skilled 
 "workmen, turning out about 100,000 cigars an- 
 nually. >Iany brands are made, but especial 
 attention is given to the " Henry Hall " and the 
 " Snipsic " brands, on which Mr. Talcott's reji- 
 iitation is largely based. The trade is chiefly 
 local, but the special brands find purchasers in 
 many other parts of the State. 
 
 Mr. Talcott is a native of Vernon, born in 18.53. 
 For twelve years he resided in the West, most of 
 the time in Cleveland, Ohio, where he learned 
 the trade of cigar making. He returned here in 
 1873, since which time he has succeeded in 
 building up the best business in his line to be 
 found in the vicinity, and in establishing a thor- 
 oughly good reputation. 
 
 John Mllllifjnn, Stoves, Furnaces, etc., White's 
 Opera House. — The first large block of importance 
 observed after leaving the railway station, which 
 stands head and shoulders above the surrounding 
 buildings is a straw-colored structure known as 
 White's Opera llnuso. And the largest store in 
 this block is Mr. .John Mulligan's, a leading Rock- 
 ville dealer in stoves, furnaces, ranges, tinware, etc. 
 The ijusiness Vi-as established about one year ago, 
 and has occupied its present commanding position 
 •something over a year. The storeroom is about 
 50 X 20 feet, and is well filled with such things as 
 modern civilization demands for the kitchen. Even 
 in stoves and ranges the fashion changes, and im- 
 provements arc constantly being made. Here a 
 specialty is made of the Magee range, which can be 
 placed in the kitchen like a stove, and needs no 
 lirick-work. The small cookimi-stove of a genera- 
 tion ago is unsalable, as housekeepers have dis- 
 covered that the modern range will do the work 
 much more satisfactorily. Mr. Mulligan also keeps 
 the new and handsome ])ar!oror sitting-room stove, 
 with artistic tiles ornamenting the top; a stove far 
 in advance of the old air-tight arrangement of our 
 grandfathers. He was born in East Windsor twcnty- 
 
 Tho I'oople'-s Saviii5r.s Bank, Henry Build- 
 incr. — The People's Savings Bank, incorporated in 
 1870, began business in a small way and in small 
 fiuarters, but constantly gaining the confidence of 
 thi! public, until now it lias a liandsoiiie crtice in 
 tlie fine brick block known as the Henry Building. 
 The total number of depositors, according to the 
 annual statement, made October, 1882, "is 7.5.5; 
 the deposits amounting to §235, 344. (iO. The total 
 assets of the Ijank amount to §244,5.58.73. These 
 consist, for the most |)art, of loans on real estate, 
 always secured by first mortgage; loans on indorsed 
 notes, and bank stocks in Connecticut. Mr. .lohn 
 W. Thayer was the first president. Tlie present 
 offieersare: President, George M. Paulk; Treasurer, 
 E. 8. Henry; Directors or Trustees, George M. 
 Paulk, Cyrus Winchell, Francis Keeney, E. S. 
 Henry, Dwight Marcy, R. G. Holt, Frederick 
 Walker, of Vernon ; Asaph McKinney, of Elling- 
 ton ; E. C. Chapman. A. N. Belding, C;. Fitton, 
 Robert Patton. of Ellington, and Samuel Fitch, of 
 Rockville. 
 
 The ToUand County Journal, Thomas 
 S. Pratt, Editor and Proprietor.— The literary 
 status, culture and business enterprise of a com- 
 munit,v are reflected in its newspaiiers. "The 
 Tolland County Journal," the tir.st number of 
 which w^as issued by Mr. J. A. Spaulding, Febru- 
 ary 7, 1867, bears out this assertion. For five 
 years this paper was ably edited liy Mr. Spauld- 
 ing, during which time lie so established it that it 
 won its way to its jiroper place, foremost in the 
 front rank among the rejjreseutative weekly news- 
 pajies in the State. Mr. Sp inkling is now one 
 of the editors and proiirietors of the " Hartford 
 Evening Post. " 
 
 In January, 1872, Messrs J. N. Stickney k 
 Company assumed the proprietorslui) of the 
 .Journal and continued its imblication up to 
 February, 1880, when it was sold to Messrs. 
 French Brothers who continued it for a brief 
 period. In May, 1881, the iiresent editor and 
 proprietor, Mr. Thomas S. Prat:, succeeded to the 
 business. Mr. Pratt was born in South Adams, 
 Mass., September 24, 1842, and finished his 
 education at Pierce's Academy, at Middleboro, 
 Mass. He l)rought with him to Rockville the 
 result of many years journalistic experience 
 as editor and jiroprietor of several newspapers 
 in Mass.achusetts, the "Marlboro Mirror-Jour- 
 nal," the "Rockland Standard," the " Attleboro 
 Advocate," and the "Mansfield News," the 
 latter of which he still retains an interest in. 
 
 It is n-^atlv printed, ably edited and is typical 
 of the advanceil business ideas of the cultured 
 peoijle of Rockville. 
 
 Rockville House, Claude Harvey, Proprie- 
 tor, Main Street. — This handsome and admirably 
 kejit hotel stands at the corner of Main and 
 Park Streets, commanding a fine view of the 
 
262 
 
 THE mSTORTCAL, STATTSTWAL ANB INDUSTUrAL 
 
 village, and remarkably convenient to tlie depot, 
 post-ofBce, banks, churches, etc. It contains 
 fifty rooms, besides a large and handsome 
 dining-room, a fine hall for dancing, 40 x 60 feet, 
 a bar, office, barber's shop, etc. The rooms are 
 nicely furnished, with good beds and well kept. 
 The table is one of the best to be found at any 
 New England hotel, well supplied with good 
 food, admirably cooked. For pies, i>uddings, 
 cakes, etc., it cannot be surpassed by metropoli- 
 tan establishments, and the food set before the 
 guest is tempting, and never stinted. The 
 budding is a large, four-story structure, sur- 
 rounded with balconies and piazzas, and pre- 
 sents a home-like and inviting appearance. A 
 hotel has stood upon this site ever since the vil- 
 lage was founded, or for thirty-five years. It 
 was first kept by Mr. Keeney and next by Col. 
 Lay, father-in-law of the ijresent genial and 
 gentlemanly proprietor. Mr. Harvey has been 
 the projirietor of the Eockville House for seven 
 years. He is a native of Staflbrd, Conn., where 
 he was formerly engaged in cotton manufacture, 
 and subsequently in the stove and tinware 
 business. 
 
 Mr. Weeks is a native of New Athens, Maine, 
 born in 1839, and has lived in Connecticut thir- 
 teen years. His trade was learned in West 
 Springfield, Mass. , at the factory of Edson Clark, 
 so celebrated for turning out fine workmen. Mr. 
 Week's reputation as a business man is unex- 
 celled, and his work gives entire satisfaction to 
 his customers. 
 
 The Savings Bank of Kockville, Main 
 street. — Beneath the large and handsome Metho- 
 dist Church, facing the park, is the Savings 
 Bank of Rockville. It occupies roomy and 
 handsome quarters, and is the oldest and richest 
 savings bank in the town. The total liabilities 
 of the bank are §796,780.05, the whole amount 
 of deposits being $758,053.97. The assets of the 
 bank are the same as the liabilities, and consist 
 for the most part of loans on real estate, loans 
 on indorsed notes, and bank stocks in Connec- 
 ticut and other States. The total number of de- 
 posits is 2,547, and the amount of their deposits 
 is $758,053,97. During the year 1882 the income 
 of this bank was $47,212.04, while the dividends 
 declared amounted to $32,557.27. The bank was 
 incorporated in 1858, and has the following gen- 
 tlemen for officers : President, B. H Bill ; 
 Treasurer, Lebbeus Bis.sell ; Directors or Trus- 
 tees, George Talcott, WUliam Butler, J. S. Dob- 
 son, E. I. Smith, B. H. Bill, Lebbeus Bissell, 
 G. W. West, H. L. James, A. K. Goodrich, and 
 T. M. Durfee. 
 
 Charles F. Weeks, Carriage Manufacturer 
 and General Repairer, Main Street, near Ameri- 
 can Mill. — Mr. Charles F. Weeks, whose estab- 
 lishment is situated on Main street, near 
 the American Mills, is the largest manu- 
 facturer of wagons and carriages in Rock^-ille, 
 and does a greater business in a general way 
 than any of his competitors. The business was 
 established about 1873, and has grown to be one 
 of the important industries of the village. The 
 building occupied is 20 by 75 feet in size and 
 two stories in height, the blacksmith and wood- 
 working shops being on the lower floor, while 
 the upper story is occupied by the paint-shop 
 and trimming department. Ten men are given 
 emjjloyment, and all kinds of wagons and car- 
 riages are here turned out in as good style and 
 as cheaply as at any similar establishment in the 
 State. 
 
 Tolland County Leader, Leader Building,^ 
 Market Street. — The well-printed, large, eight- 
 page paper known as the "Tolland County 
 Leader," was estal)lished in February. 1879, with 
 many odds against it, but with sufficient mus- 
 cle and brain power, it has come into favor 
 with business men, and has become an estab- 
 lished institution. Inside of two years it was 
 found necessary to enlarge tlie paper, and Mr. B. 
 L. Burr, the publisher and editor, bouglit out the 
 interest of his partner, Mr. Byron, and increased 
 the size one-third. The "Leader," as all local pa- 
 pers should, makes a specialty of the news of the 
 village and neighborhood, and besides giving good 
 original and selected miscellaneous reading, sup- 
 plies its patrons with a condensed account of the 
 important news of tlie world at large. Mr. B. L. 
 Burr, the editor, was bom in the old town of Had- 
 dam, thirty-seven years ago. At the outbreak of 
 the war he became a volunteer in tlie Sixteenth 
 Connecticut Regiment, remaining with his com- 
 mand until after the Battle of Antietam. Major 
 Robert L. Kellogg, author of "Life and Death in 
 Rebel Prisons," was one of tlie officers of this 
 regiment. For a year or two Mr. Burr was con- 
 nected with the Springfield, Mass., "Union," his 
 services having been sought on account of his 
 ability as a local editor. He started a jiaper called 
 "Tbe Gleaner" previous to being employed on the 
 " Union," and after having run it up to a good cir- 
 culation, sold it out. Tlie " Leader " Building is a 
 handsome and commodious structure on Market 
 street, near Main. Here Mr. Burr lias his editorial 
 rooms, 1 ibrary, printery, etc. , and here he is connected 
 by teleplione and telegraph with the outside world. 
 His paper has a fair share of advertising patronage,^ 
 and is well-filled witli local news. It appears every 
 Thursday evening, at the rate of $1.50 per year. 
 
 Geo. M. Paulk, Lumber Dealer, Market 
 Street. — lust off of Market street, on what is known 
 as the " Brooklyn side " of the Hockanum River, is 
 the large lumber yard of Blr. Geo. M. Paulk, 
 which is the only depot in town for lumber. It 
 covers an * acre or more of grotlnd, and being 
 close by the railway station, is conveniently situ- 
 ated for receiving supplies. The lumber comes 
 from Canada, Michigan, and the nortliern portions 
 of New York State, Vermont and New Hampshire, 
 and consists of pine, hemlock, spruce, in short, all 
 the woods used in modern house building. In this 
 yard can be seen large piles of lumber and timber, 
 pine and spruce clapboards, shingles, lath, 
 mouldings, brackets, etc. Tlie house builders and 
 carpenters of Rockville draw their supplies from 
 this yard. Tlie neat and comfortable offices of the 
 yard are situated close by, and have telephonic 
 communication with rest of the State. Mr. Paulk 
 is one of the substantial and respected citizens of 
 Rockville. He has been in the lumber business 
 
REVIEW Op THE STATE (iF CONNECTWVT. 
 
 263 
 
 since 1809. Before tliat date lie was a hiiiklcr. He 
 became a resident of Kockville in 1S41. He was 
 born in Tolland in 1H'>0, and was educated in his 
 native town. He has taken more or less interest in 
 county politics, but of late years has not taken an 
 active part and is now wholly devoted to luisine.ss. 
 From 1S69 to 1878 he was tlie slierift of Tolland 
 County — three terms of three years each. 
 
 Mr. Paulk is president of the People's Savings 
 Bank and director in tlie First National Bank. He 
 owns a handsome residence, and takes a lively in- 
 terest in all that concerns the welfare of the villafje. 
 
 Hod^.soii & Metcalf, Druggists (Pharmacy 
 Hall), Orcutt's Block, No. 13 Main Street.— This 
 new and enter|)rising firm are the direct successors 
 to li. C Smith, who for three years carried on ihe 
 business originally established by Tracy tfc Peck, 
 about the year 18(>6. On February 1, 1883, Messrs. 
 Hodgson and Metcalf purchased the fi.\turcsof the 
 store from Mr. Smith, and putting in an entirely 
 new stock, commenced to eater to the trade, so 
 large a portion of which has already fallen to their 
 share. The stock is large and complete, both in 
 drugs and fancy goods, as well as in cigars, con- 
 fectionery, etc., and the store, 20x80 feet in size, 
 is one of the largest in the village. 
 
 Mr. J. Hodgson is a native of Lyme, Conn., bom in 
 1854. Since boyhood he has been in the drug busi- 
 ness in South Coventry, Conn. ; Springfield, Mass.; 
 Rockville, Willimantic, and again in Rockvillc, 
 where he is known as a first-class druggist and 
 pharamacist. He is a member of the Connecticut 
 Pharmaceutical Society, iu which body he is re- 
 garded as an acquisition. 
 
 Mr. W. A. Metcalt is a native of Vernon; l)orn 
 in 18.j7, and, like his partner, was l)rought up to 
 his present business. He was a clerk for three 
 years in the store of Sill Brothers, and previously 
 for some time for Dr. Wilson. He is also a 
 member of the Pharmaceutical Society, in good 
 standing, and is universally regarded as a skilled 
 and conscientious member of the profession. 
 
 The indications are favorai)le towards the com- 
 plete success this young firm deserves. 
 
 The Rock Manufacturing Co., Manufac- 
 turers of Fancy Cassimeres. — The original incor- 
 porators of this company were Francis McLean, 
 Geo. Kellogg, Ralph Talcott and Aaron Kellogg, 
 and the date was 1828. f he first meeting was held 
 December 31st of that year, when the following- 
 named gentlemen were chosen as officers : President, 
 Francis McLean ; Secretary, Geo. Kellogg, who 
 was also Agent up to the year 1837, and again 
 from 184G till his death in "l870. At that time 
 there were no large and spacious edifices filled with 
 costly machinery as now, but instead, a small mill 
 with machinery of the most primitive patterns, and 
 a company with limited capital. The salary of the 
 president was only $400 per annum, the secretary 
 received $410, and was allowed the use of a house 
 and garden for $G0. The same house now rents 
 for ^2.10, and the salary of the oflicers — well, it is 
 safe to record is more than what it was over fifty 
 years ago. Since that time great improvements 
 have been made, and much money expended in the 
 ftnilding of new mills, and putting in the most 
 
 modern machinery for the manufacture of the finest 
 grades of fancy cassimeres possible in America. 
 
 The present officers of the company are: A. C. 
 Dunham, President ; H. L. James, Secretary and 
 Treasurer ; Crosley Fitton, Agent and Superin- 
 tendent. The company's store is at No. 6!) Worth 
 street, where Geo. T. Cruttenden is Selling Agent. 
 Twenty sets of cards, one hundred and thirty broad 
 looms, and 3.50 people are employed. The estab- 
 lishment cmliraces three mills, and the fall of 
 water at the three powers is si.xty-eight feet each. 
 
 Austin Dunham, the father of tlie present presi- 
 dent, was president of the company from 1873 to 
 1877, when the sou succeeded. Previous to Au.stin 
 Dunham was Allyn Kellogg, who was chosen n 
 18G2. The main office of the company, together with 
 the mills, occupy one of the most desirable locations 
 in Rockville, on the main street opposite the village 
 l)ark and post-office, near the banks, and in the 
 centre of business, it presents a scene of unusual 
 activity noticeal)le alike to the citizen and stranger. 
 Mr. A. C. Dunham, the president, is a resident 
 of Hartford. Mr. H. L. James, the secretary and 
 treasurer, is a native of Connecticut, and about 
 forty-two years of age. He has resided in Rock- 
 ville since 1854. In early life lie prepared to enter 
 college, but gave up the purpose to enter imme- 
 diately into the active pursuit of manufacturing, 
 with which he hiis been connected for twenty-five 
 years, with this company and at the Florence Mills, 
 Rockville. 
 
 Mr. Crosley Fitton, the agent and Superinten- 
 dent, is a native of England, and forty-four years 
 of age. Previous to taking up his residence here, 
 sixteen years ago, he resided in Vermont. In 1874 
 he was promoted to agent, succeeding S. D. W. 
 Harris. 
 
 The productions of this company are recognized 
 by the trade as equal to any imported, and are 
 sometimes sold as such by merchant tailors. The 
 diplomas and medals won at Vienna and Phila- 
 delphia attest the superiority and excellence of 
 their fancy cassimeres. 
 
 TALCOTTVILLE. 
 
 A village of about two hundred inhabitants, 
 situated on the main line of the New York and 
 New England Radroad, eleven and one-half 
 miles east from Hartford. 
 
 The Tankarooson, a tributary of the Hockanum 
 River, furnishes the water-power or manufactur- 
 ing i^urposes. 
 
 Talcott Brother.s, Manufacturers of Union 
 Cassimeres. — The moving spirits in this house, 
 the reputation of which is national and its in- 
 fluence felt generally, were Horace ^^ . Talcott 
 and Charles Denison Talcott, known to the busi- 
 ness and Christian world as Talcott Brothers. 
 They, in 1856, after an apprenticeship to the 
 business, purchased of Hon. N. O. Kellogg, the 
 manufacturing village of Kelloggville, now 
 known as Talcottville. The brothers were sons 
 of Elijah and Florilla Talcott and born in Man- 
 chester, Conn., Horace W., in 1821, Charles D., 
 in 1823. The former died June 16, 1871, the 
 latter July 17, 1832. The father was a farmer 
 
264 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 and teaelier, as occasion required ; occupations 
 ■which wei'e followed by the sons before they 
 learned the manufacturing business. 
 
 The manufacturing establishment as it stands 
 to-day, is 160 x 34 feet in size and thi-ee stories 
 in height, with two wings, eighty and ninety feet 
 in length respectively, and two stories each, to 
 which is added a picker-room forty feet in length, 
 one-story, the whole having a frontage of 370 
 feet, in which there are 100 people employed, six 
 sets of machinery and fifty-two looms. 
 
 The fall of water at this jjower is twenty-one 
 feet. The agents in New York are C. H. & F. 
 D. Blake. 
 
 The brothers' views were comprehensive and 
 orthodox. Charity, Liberality and Christianity 
 were their motive powers. No one in their em- 
 ploy was allowed to use intoxicating liquors. 
 In doing this, as in every transaction, they meant 
 to do good, knowing by repeated exjjeriences 
 that " Doing good is the only certainly happy 
 action of a man's life. " 
 
 Thev gave to the village a church, costing 
 $31,000, which was erected in 1866. In 1880, a 
 model school-house was erected at a cost of 
 $4,500, and, in 1881, a library building, costing 
 $10,000, which, like the church, were presented 
 to the village. The library building is sur- 
 mounted by a tower which is ornamented with a 
 four-dial public clock. 
 
 Since the death of Charles Denison Talcott, 
 the business has been conducted for the heirs of 
 the estate, by Horace Gardner Talcott, a son of 
 Horace W. , who has associated with him in the 
 management and responsibility. Messrs. Samuel 
 A. and Morris H. Talcott. 
 
 Mr. Horace Gardner Talcott is a native of Tal- 
 cottville, born in 1847. After receiving an educa- 
 tion at Andover, Massachusetts, and at Yale, he 
 learned the manufacturing business in the estab- 
 lishment over which he is now general manager. 
 
 He is a director in the First National Bank of 
 Rockville, and .succeeds to the deaconship of 
 the Congregational Church and superintendency 
 of its Sunday -school. 
 
 Mr Samuel A. Talcott, a son-in-law of Horace 
 W. Talcott, is a son of Deacon Samuel Talcott, 
 formerly of Gilead, Connecticut, has been asso- 
 ciated with the company fur nearly twelve years. 
 The store is especially under his care. 
 
 Morris H. Talcott a nephew of the Talcott 
 Brothers, and son of Deacon Elijah Hart Talcott, 
 the oldest of the brothers, has had the care of 
 the books for over eleven years. 
 
 The farm of over 300 acres is under the man- 
 agement of Lyman P. Talcott, the only surviving 
 brother. 
 
 The Talcott family has an honorable record, 
 extending back to 1558, and their lives are in 
 keeping with the motto engraven on their coat 
 of arms, " Virtus so/a nob ilitas." 
 
 VERNON DEPOT. 
 
 Twelve and one-quarter miles east from Hartford 
 on the New York and New England Railroad. 
 The branch road to Rockville joins the main line 
 here. 
 
 The Kavine Mills Company.— This com- 
 pany is the legitimate successor to Peter Dobson, 
 the founder of the first Cfittou mill in the town of 
 Vernon, and one of the first in Amci'ica. lie was 
 co-worker with Samuel Slater, the fatlier of cotton 
 manufacturing in this country, and like him brought 
 over from England plans from which he made the 
 macliinery that was used in the old mill that he 
 built, and which is still standing, a monument to 
 Iiis energy and success. 
 
 The company was incorporated in 1873, and has 
 the following-named olHcers : 
 
 President, .James Campbell; Agent, Secretary and 
 Treasurer, R. B. Parker. These two, with Lucius 
 Parker, the father of K. B., are the three owners- 
 Two mills are run by this company. The first 
 ciUed the Phnenix Mill, is situated on the Tan- 
 karooson River, a tributary of the Ilockanum, and 
 a few rods from the Vernon Depot. It was built 
 in 1830, and for many years was run and owned 
 by The Phcenix Mills Co. , in the manufacture of 
 cotton warps. In 1879, it was bought by the 
 present company, who have since made here, seine 
 twine. 
 
 The dimensions of the mill are 110x35 feet, 
 three stories and attic, and two L's, 50 x 40 and 
 SO X 20 respectively, each two stories. The base- 
 ment of the whole is of stone, the upper stories 
 l)eing of wood ; and twenty-five people are em- 
 ployed. The fall of water at this power is eighteen 
 feet. A Risdon turbine wheel is used, supple- 
 in ■^nted by a forty-liorse power engine. Tlie other 
 ni'll is situated in a ravine, and is appropriately 
 caUed The Rivine Mill, and was built of wood in 
 1873, on the site of a former millliuiltby Peter 
 Dobson and his son, John S. Dobson, wliich w.as 
 burned. The dimensions of the mill are 115x35 
 feet, three stories, and one L 1 00 x 25 feet. The 
 stream is the Tankarooson, and the water at this 
 power lias a fall of twenty feet. A Victor turbme 
 is used, supplemented by a thirty-horse power 
 engine. Almut twenty-five people are employed in 
 the manufacture of cotton warps and sewing twine. 
 
 Mr. .Tames Camplieil, president of the company, 
 is a native of Vermont, and alniut seventy-two 
 years of age. He resides in Manchester, a iieigh- 
 l)oring town, where he has resided since 1833. He 
 began life as a farmer, then an insurance agent, 
 and cajiitalist, and is president of the Manchester 
 Warp & Yarn Co.. and also of the Globe Mill 
 Co., is director in the United States B ink of Hart- 
 ford, and several insurancfe companies in that city. 
 His capital was his head and hands wlien he came 
 to Manchester and he is now the wealthist man in 
 town. 
 
 Mr. Lucius Parker, the father of the agent, 
 secretary and treasurer of the company, was born 
 in Mansfield, Conn., in 1807, and is one of the 
 pioneers in the manufacture of cotton goods in 
 Vernon. He was a picker boy for Peter Dolison, 
 and of him learned the business. His first business 
 venture was at Coventry. Conn., where he con- 
 ducted the Boynton Mills from 1837 to 1842, which 
 were owned by the well-known family of that name, 
 who were also manufacturers of woolen machinery. 
 From there he removed to Hop River, Conn., where 
 he bought and run the Hop River Warp Mills 
 which he continued up to 1847, when he removed 
 
REVIEW OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 265 
 
 Xo Manchester to establish the Mutual Manufactur- 
 ing Co., which is now called the Manchester Warp 
 A Yarn Co., and in whicli lie is a director. Tie 
 also l)uilt and conducted the Parilic Knitting Mills 
 in that town, where he still resides. From a poor 
 picker boy he worked himself up to be the origi- 
 nator, owner and director of manufacturing estab- 
 lishments, and an honored and influential citiz.en 
 <)f many years' standing, llis son. Mr. R. B. Par- 
 ker, was bom in Coventry, Conn., in 183S, and has 
 been in Vernon seventeen years. lie learned the 
 business of his father and, in 187:^, established the 
 Uavine Mills Co., of which he is agent, secretary 
 and treasurer. lie sells the productions of this 
 <'ompany and also those of the Manchester Warp 
 •A: Yarn Co., of which he is also agent, secretary 
 ;ind treasurer. 
 
 The Parker family are largely interested in the 
 manufacturing industries of Vernon and the adjoin- 
 ing towns, where it members are regarded as highly 
 respected and thoroughgoing citizens. 
 
 Tho Y«M'ii(»n Mills Coiiipaiiy, Manufac- 
 turers of Flocks, Sliciddy and Wool E.xtracts. — 
 This establishment is another of several built by- 
 Peter Dobson, and some tifty-tive years ago. 
 
 It was run as a shoddy mill about fifteen years 
 by Messrs. Dobson, Wliite it Co. Mr. John S. 
 Dobson, the senior partner, being the son of the 
 founder. Later, it was carried (ni by Messrs. Hil- 
 liard i.t Smith under its ])resent title, and so con- 
 tinued till February, 1885, when the jjresent pro- 
 prietor, Mr. Jesse E. Smith, assumed the business. 
 Mr. John A. Smith is Agent and Mr. Julius A. 
 Smith, Superintendent. Tho mill is 00 x 33 feet in 
 size, four stories and attic, with L 40 x 20 feet, one 
 story. There is also a picker-room seventy-five 
 feet long, built of brick, and fire-proof. There are 
 from twenty to twenty-five people employed, and 
 the mill runs niglit and day, producing 10,000 
 pounds of shoddy and 9,000 pounds of flocks. ]>er 
 week. The fall of water at this power, which is 
 on the Tankarooson river, is twenty-two feet. A 
 turbine wheel and a forty-horse power engine, 
 with a Pitkin boiler are used. The Smiths are 
 natives of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and 
 previous to residing in this town were in Burrill- 
 ville, R. I., and later, conducted the same business 
 in Rockvillc, Conn. 
 
 MANCHESTER AND SOUTH 
 MANCHESTER. 
 
 The town of Manchester is on the line of the 
 New York and New England Railroad, 108.6 
 miles from Boston, 81 1-1 miles from Providence, 
 and 8. 7 miles from Hartfonl. A railroad about 
 two miles in length, l)uOt and operated by 
 Cheney Brothers, connects the two subdivisions 
 of the town. North and South jNIanehester, the 
 terminus at the former place being at the depot 
 of the N. Y. & N. E. R. R., and at tho latter 
 place in close ])roximity to the extensive silk 
 mills of that firm. North Manchester presents a 
 thriving appearance, a ntimber of manufac- 
 turing establishments being located here. The 
 maio street, running along one side of the rail- 
 
 road track, is well furnished with stores of vari- 
 ous kinds, the most important of which will be 
 found mentioned in detail elsewhere. The post- 
 office, two liotels, the Coles House and the Clifton 
 House, are also on the main street, and do their 
 part towards the general ai>i>earanee of business 
 and bustle pci-vading the j)lace. The churches 
 and schools are numerous, the latter being 
 ospeeiidly noted for their excellence, whOe the 
 former are well attended and have l)eeu produetive 
 of much good, notably in making the place a 
 " no license " town, in which it is unlawful to 
 sell intoxicating liquors. One newspaper, the 
 Minrhesler Saturdai/ Herald, established in 1881, 
 is published weekly, has an uncommonly large 
 circulation, and is ably edited. 
 
 South Manchester is deservedly credited with 
 being the model manufacturing village in New 
 England, and when that is said it means " in aU 
 the world." The growth and appearance of this 
 j)laee is due to the untiring energy and philan- 
 thropy of the Cheney Brothers, whose immense 
 silk mills are the nucleus around which has clus- 
 tered the mo.st ornate and comfortable residences 
 for operatives and other employees, as well as 
 commodious churches, schools and other public 
 buildings, their erection being due to the liber- 
 ality of the firm. Nowhere in New England is 
 the lot of the mill operative so hapjjy a one, and 
 nowhere in the world are the material and spir- 
 itual comforts so thoroughly looked after at so 
 small an expense as in this modern arcadia. 
 Magnificently constructed roads, fringed with 
 stately elms and hardy tirs and bordered with 
 neatly laid and well-kept asphaltum walks, lead 
 from place to place in tho village, in the eentre of 
 whicli are the elegant buildings of the C!heney 
 Brothers, whence all this beauty and comfort 
 have emanated. A visit to Connecticut, if one 
 desired to see its princijial i^oints of interest, 
 would be incomijlete were this charming spot 
 omitted. 
 
 The Manchester Warp an<l Yarn Co., 
 
 Manufacturers of Warps and Yarns, North 
 Manchester. — This company was incorj^orated 
 August 1, 1882, with a capital of 812,000 for the 
 manufacture of cotton warps and yarns. The 
 following are the officers and directors : Presi- 
 dent, James Campbell ; Secretary, Treasurer, 
 and Agent, R. B. Parker ; Directors, James 
 Camiibell, Lucius Parker, R. B. Parker, and 
 John Purtell. The mill is situated about three- 
 quarters of a mile east of the IManchester Dej)ot 
 on a tributary of the Hockanum, and is 100 x 35 
 feet in size, three stories with two L's 2.5x50 
 feet and 30 x 20 feet respectively. The faU of 
 water at this jiower is tweuty-eig'it feet. 
 
 The officers of this company are also officers of 
 the Ravine MUls^Company in Vernon, to whicli 
 tho reader is referred for furtlier particulars, 
 under the head of Vernon Depot. 
 
 Robert P. Blssell, General Merchandise, 
 North Manchester. — The general merchandise 
 business conducted by Mr. Robert P. Bissell, at 
 North Manchester, is a good evidence of what 
 may be accomplished in a comp iratively brief 
 time by energy and correct business methods. 
 
366 
 
 THE HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
 
 Mr. Bissell is, in every sense, the architect of 
 his own fortune, having established his business 
 himself, and having forced its growth, in less 
 than three years, from the very smallest of be- 
 ginnings, to an annual trade of $60,000. The 
 trade done by Mr. Bissell embraces the sale of 
 almost everything that can be needed, among 
 which can be mentioned dry goods, groceries, 
 flour and feed, meats, boots and shoes, hardware, 
 crockery, paints and oils, teas, coffees and spices, 
 fi'uits and vegetables, and, in fact, so long a list 
 of articles that there is not space for its enume- 
 ration. The store occupied by this large and 
 growing trade is forty by eighty feet in size, and, 
 together with a basement of like dimensions, is 
 stocked with full lines of the goods mentioned, 
 their average value being in the neighborhood of 
 jflO,000. The upper story of the building is 
 occupied by Bissell's Hall, a place of amusement, 
 with a seating capacity of about six hundred, 
 weU furnished with stage, scenery, piano, seats, 
 etc. 
 
 The business done by Mr. Bissell is not alto- 
 gether local in its character, but is largely done 
 through the surrounding country, his customers 
 being served by teams, three of which he has 
 constantly on the road, one being reserved for 
 the delivery of orders in the immediate vicinity 
 of the store. 
 
 Mr. Robert P. Bissell is a native of South 
 Windsor, Conn., born July 9, 1856. He has 
 resided in Manchester all his life. He graduated 
 from the Normal School at New Britain, in the 
 second class of 1875, and for five years thereafter 
 taught school in Manchester and North Man- 
 chester, being for three years i:)rincipal of the 
 graded school at the latter place. 
 
 Mr. Bissell is the leading dealer in his line in 
 North Manchester, and enjoys a first-class busi- 
 ness and social reputation. 
 
 Fitch & Drake (Jasper A. Fitch and Levi 
 Drake), General Merchandise, Main Street, North 
 Manchester. — The firm of Fitch & Drake was estab- 
 lished August 23, 1876, succeeding G. P. Babcr.ck, 
 wlio was one of the line of proprietors extending 
 back for a period of about thirty years. Tlie busi- 
 ness has always been in the same location — on Main 
 street, opi)osite the railroad depot— and occupies 
 both floors of a two-story building 25x75 feet in 
 size. The stock, which is general in its character 
 and embraces dry goods, groceries, crockery, liard- 
 ware, boots and shoes, tea, coffee, and spices, etc., 
 is valued at about $7,000, the annual business being 
 estimated at raoie than five times that sum, or in 
 the neighborhood of $40,000. 
 
 Mr. Jasper A. Fitch was born in Andover, Conn., 
 in 1843, and lias been a resident of Manchester for 
 about ten years. Prior to his advent liere lie was 
 in the grocery Ijusiness in his native town, and was 
 its representative in the Legislature in 1870 and 
 1872. In Manchester he h^s been prominent in 
 school inatters, having been jjrincipal of the school 
 for two years prior to entering his present business, 
 and one of the visitors since that time. Mr. Fitch 
 is also the local agent for Adam & Go's Express. 
 
 Mr. Levi Drake is a native of Tolland, Conn., 
 thirty-six years of age, and has been a resident of 
 
 Manchester sixteen years. lie has followed the 
 grocery business all his life, having formerly been 
 a clerk and afterwards partner with Mr. Parkhurst, 
 now of Parkhurst & Ilaynes, whose store is situated 
 near the gingham mill. Mr. Drake has steadily 
 refused puljlic position, preferring to devote his 
 time to the necessities of liis growing business. 
 
 The firm has an " A 1 " commercial reputation, 
 and its members stand high in the community. 
 
 BUCKLAND. 
 
 The little village of Buckland, in the town of 
 Manchester, Conn., is seven miles from Hartford, 
 and thirty-four from Springfield, Mass. It con- 
 tains a school-house, a depot, post-oftice, and is 
 the seat of the Waverley paper mills of the Peter 
 Adams Company, and the woolen mill of E. E. 
 Hilliard & Co. The village was named after the 
 Buckland family, which was the original proprietor 
 of the land, and many members of wliich sleep in 
 the old burying ground. It is on the line of the 
 New York and New England railway, and has five 
 trains daily going west, and four trains going east. 
 Mr. H. G. Parker is tlie postmaster. 
 
 Peter Adams Company, Paper Manufac- 
 turers, Buckland, Conn. — The Waverley Mills of 
 the Peter Adams Co. , manufacturers of chromo, 
 plate and lithographic papers, are situated in 
 the village of Buckland, about one-half mile 
 from the railway, in the romantic valley of the 
 Hockanum. The mills are new, large and hand- 
 some brick buildings, having been recently en- 
 tirely reconstructed. 
 
 Originally, there was a small wooden build- 
 ing, with but one paper-making machine-. Now 
 it has two fourdrinier machines, one of which is 
 eighty-six inches in width. The establishment 
 was formerly known as Mr. Goodwin's, but in 
 1863 was purchased by Mr. Peter Adams, a resi- 
 dent of Paterson, N. J., who is President of the 
 company, which was incorporated in 1883. 
 
 The main office and warerooms are at 57 Mur- 
 ray street, New York. 
 
 Mr. James D. Pickles, the Superintendent of 
 the mills, is of English birth, and a practical 
 jjaper maker. 
 
 A new dam across the Hockanum gives a res- 
 ervoir of forty-five acres in extent. 
 
 As pure water is essential to success in the manu- 
 facture of a fine quality of paper, great pains is 
 taken to render the water used as pure as possible. 
 It is filtered through cliarcoal and strained through 
 sponges, before coming in contact witli tlie cotton 
 and linen rags from which the pulp is made. 
 Tliirty-five women are employed in the room where 
 the rags are assorted. Tlie mill is supplied with 
 two Hartford Automatic Cut-off engines of 500- 
 horse ])ower, to l)e used in case tlie water power is 
 insufficient. The pi'oduction of the Waverley Mills 
 is six tons \iev day, and of an extra quality of 
 stock for the specific purposes which it is intended. 
 
 The office of the works is an artistic little build- 
 ing, standing in tlie maple-shaded grounds, fitted 
 witli a telephone, all the modern improvements, 
 and adorned with pictures. Altogether this mill 
 ranks as one of the best of its class in America. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Abelle, W. H 188 
 
 Adams, Henry, Prop. Rockville Warp Mills . . 257 
 
 Adams, Peter Co 366 
 
 .iitna Insurance Co 162 
 
 ^Etna Life Insurance Co 164 
 
 Ahem, James 193 
 
 Allyn, Blanchard and Latimer 233 
 
 Allen Brothers 215 
 
 American Hosiery Co 245 
 
 American Mills 257 
 
 Appo, St. John 227 
 
 Ashmead, James H., & Son 318 
 
 Austin, Moses S 248 
 
 Bailey, Leonard & Co 229 
 
 Baker, Joseph W 1 85 
 
 Baker, Ludlow & Co 321 
 
 Barlow, J. R 205 
 
 Beach & Co 239 
 
 Beach, H. B., & Son 206 
 
 Belden, J. M 249 
 
 Belden, Seth, & Son 199 
 
 Belding Bros. & Co 252 
 
 Bennett, M., .Tr 168 
 
 Billings & Hitchcock 309 
 
 Billings & Spencer Co 175 
 
 Bingham & Dodd 330 
 
 Bishop, C. E., & Co 174 
 
 Bissell, Geo. P., & Co 239 
 
 Bissell, Robert P 265 
 
 Blodgett & Clapp Co 239 
 
 Blunienthal, A., & Sou 185 
 
 Boardman, Chauncey B 232 
 
 Boardman, Wm., & Son 188 
 
 Brainard, W. H 174 
 
 Brown & Gross 186 
 
 Buckley & Griffin 185 
 
 Buell, Dwight H 204 
 
 Burnhani, Geo. S., & Co 222 
 
 Campbell, .lames, & Co 181 
 
 Carpenter & Bartlett 191 
 
 Case, Clayton H 214 
 
 Case, Ijockwood & Brainard Co 240 
 
 Charter Oak City Shirt Co 216 
 
 Charter Oak Life Insurance Co 170 
 
 Church, Abner 217 
 
 Churchill, Lewis & Co 247 
 
 Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Co. . . 173 
 
 Connecticut Fire Insurance Co 173 
 
 Connicticut General Life Insurance Co 170 
 
 Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co 163 
 
 Continental Life Insurance Co 171 
 
 Cook, A. S 209 
 
 Coibin, P. & F 245 
 
 Cressy, Noah, M. D 202 
 
 Curtiss, J. P 251 
 
 Cusick, Edward J 219 
 
 Davis, L B., & Son 186 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Dickinson, E. M 18.> 
 
 Di.x, Edward B 233 
 
 Dole, A. 230 
 
 Dunham Hosiery Co 237 
 
 Dunn, P. H 1 79 
 
 Dwight, Skinner & Co 177 
 
 Eddy, Arthur H 191 
 
 Eldredge & Adams 259 
 
 Ellsworth, Frederick 18S 
 
 Ensworth, Lester L 195 
 
 Faliy Brothers 250 
 
 Farnham, E. B 217 
 
 Farris Music Store 181 
 
 Fay, P 200 
 
 Fenn, Linus T 215 
 
 First National Bank of Rockville 260 
 
 Fisk, John D , & Co 187 
 
 Fitch <fe Drake 266 
 
 Francis & Co 221 
 
 Gemmill, Burnham & Co 224 
 
 Goodman, L. B 214 
 
 Goodrich, G. D., & Co 208 
 
 Goodwin, C. S., & Sou 2l2 
 
 Gridley, H. R 191 
 
 Habenstein, E 195 
 
 Hadley, Reuben W 251 
 
 Hamlin Pump Co 228 
 
 Hanna, John 250 
 
 Hart, S. N 178 
 
 Hart, Merriam & Co 207 
 
 Hartford Cement Tile Co 235 
 
 Hartford Chemical "Works 233 
 
 Hartford County Mutual Fire Insurance Co. 169 
 
 Hartford " Courant " 182 
 
 Hartford " Daily Times" 234 
 
 Hartford "Evening Post " 236 
 
 Hartford Fire Insurance Co 165 
 
 Hartford Hammer Co 216 
 
 Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Co 171 
 
 Hartford Machine Screw Co 233 
 
 Hartford Manila Co 234 
 
 Hartford Optical Co 196 
 
 Hartford Sanitary Plumbing Co 210 
 
 Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and In- 
 surance Co 168 
 
 Hartford Wire Works 213 
 
 Hartford Woven Wire Mattress Co 213 
 
 Hayden, G. A 228 
 
 Herold Capitol Brewing Co 184 
 
 Hills, A. C 230 
 
 Hills Ai-chimedean Lawn Mower Co 212 
 
 Hockanum Co 254 
 
 Hodgson & Metcalf 263 
 
 Holcomb & Sperry 235 
 
 Honiss & Abbe 213 
 
 Hough, N. P., & Co 177 
 
 Hubbard, C. K 17T 
 
268 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Hull, Andrew B 217 
 
 Hurd, Chas. F., & Co 214 
 
 Jacobs & Forbes 184 
 
 Jewell P. & Sons 179 
 
 Jones, H. N., & Co 227 
 
 Jiidd, Edward H 228 
 
 Judd. H. C, & Root 223 
 
 Judson, R. P 183 
 
 Kellogg & Bulkeley Co 240 
 
 Kelsey. Wm. 11., & Co 21 2 
 
 Kendall, E. S.. ct Co 186 
 
 Kenyon, Edwin W 21 6 
 
 Kenyon, R. P., & Co 230 
 
 Kibble & Robinson 218 
 
 Kinsj, Charles 199 
 
 King, Horace H 219 
 
 Kingsley, Fred 219 
 
 Kuhnly, B. A 260 
 
 Landers, Frary & Clark Manufacturing Co. ... 247 
 
 Lane, Joseph G 1 73 
 
 Lathrop, W. H 221 
 
 Lester, Pope & Co 231 
 
 Lewis, J. A 249 
 
 Lincoln, Geo. S., & Co 226 
 
 Link, Paul 19.5 
 
 Marchant, Geo 236 
 
 Manchester Warp and Yarn Co 265 
 
 Marston, C. T., & Co 182 
 
 Maslen, S., & Co 193 
 
 Meyer, Henrv 214 
 
 Moses, S. G." 220 
 
 JIulligan, John 261 
 
 Mutual Benefit Life Co . 171 
 
 National Fire Ins. Co 1 70 
 
 New Britain Herald 248 
 
 New Britain Record 251 
 
 New Britain Lumber and Coal Co 250 
 
 New Britain " Observer " 250 
 
 New England Co 256 
 
 New York Sewing Machine Co 241 
 
 Nichols, C. F 196 
 
 Olds & Whipple 218 
 
 O'Flalierty, M 208 
 
 Orient Fire Ins. Co 171 
 
 Otis, John 230 
 
 Palmer, N., & Co 178 
 
 Patten, H. E 200 
 
 Paulk, Geo. M 262 
 
 Peerless AVire JIattress Co 220 
 
 People's Savings Bank of Rockville 261 
 
 Phffinix Insurance Co 166 
 
 Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Co 170 
 
 Pitkin, Bros & Co 238 
 
 Pitkin, W. L. & H. E 1 80 
 
 Pond & Childs 238 
 
 Poole, .L J., & Co 236 
 
 Post AV. H., & Co 203 
 
 Pratt it Whitney Co 1 76 
 
 Ramsdell, A. W '. . 219 
 
 Randall, F. A 260 
 
 Randall, Geo. W 260 
 
 Ravine Mills Co 264 
 
 Regan, James J 258 
 
 Roberts, E. M., & Son 189 
 
 Rock Manufacturing Co 263 
 
 Rockville House 261 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Rockville National Bank 260 
 
 Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Co 244 
 
 Russell, John S 184 
 
 Sage, E. W., & Co 179 
 
 Savings Bank of Rockville 262 
 
 Schneider, Paul F 180 
 
 Scott & Co 215 
 
 Seidler & May 213 
 
 Severance, F. A., & Co 260 
 
 Shannon, T. R., & Co 180 
 
 Sichlcr, Geo 209 
 
 Sisson, T., & Co 201 
 
 Slate, Dwight, 201 
 
 Smith-Holtsizer Manufacturing Co 258 
 
 Smith, Northam & Co 231 
 
 Smith, White & Co 198 
 
 Soby, Charles 232 
 
 Spear, D. A 1 79 
 
 Spencer, William 174 
 
 Sisringville Manufacturing Co 258 
 
 Squires, A. , & Son 187 
 
 Stanlev Kule and Level Co 247 
 
 Stanley Works 243 
 
 Starkweather, J. W., & Co 224 
 
 State Mutual Fire Insurance Co 170 
 
 Steele. T., & Son 211 
 
 Stetson, Horace W 225 
 
 Strickland House 248 
 
 Stuart, Charles T 205 
 
 Sweet, Charles F 198 
 
 Talcott Brothers 263 
 
 Talcot, Wilburt L 261 
 
 Te.ske, Chas., & Co 190 
 
 The A. D. Voree Co 225 
 
 The Blodgett & Clapp Co 239 
 
 Thrall, WUlis & Son 223 
 
 Tiffanv, L. & Co 216 
 
 Tillinghast, A. H 232 
 
 Tolhurst, Wm. J : 235 
 
 Tolland County "Journal" 261 
 
 Tolland County " Leader" 262 
 
 Toohy, Wm 181 
 
 Townsend, Heber 259 
 
 Travelers' Lisurance Co 167 
 
 Tunxis Worsted Co 237 
 
 United States Stamjied Enveloije Works. . . 175 
 
 Vernon, MiUs Co 265 
 
 Watrous, K. G., & Co 206 
 
 Watrous & Higgins 174 
 
 Way & Co 238 
 
 Weed Sewing Machine Co 200 
 
 Weeks, Charles F 262 
 
 Welles, James G., & Co 190 
 
 Wenk & Brockwav 173 
 
 West, N. G ■. 183 
 
 Wliite, Alonzo 225 
 
 White, Corbin & Co 255 
 
 White Manufactui-ing Co 256 
 
 WTiittelsey, W. F., & Co 230 
 
 Wm. Rogers Manufacturing Co 197 
 
 Williams, E. D ..'.... 220 
 
 W'illiams, George W., & Co 194 
 
 Wmiams, John A 249 
 
 Woodruff, O. D., & Co 199 
 
 Woolev, G. W., & Son 229 
 
 Wright, C. A 222 
 
1 
 
For Foil Icfonnatton, Through BlUa ot lAdiiig and Rates o! Freight and Fassace, with Hapg and Printed Hatter, 
 
 apply to any of the following agents. 
 
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 •iiiiSi?^i^i^i?*l;*?J^j!i^?s^;jii£^ 
 
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 MALLORY'S STEAMSHIP LINES 
 
 -^TO-f- 
 
 ^^JSUlis^ 
 
 From 
 Piers 20 and 21 
 
 8.B. I«ftmp««aa (N«w) . 
 " Alamo " 
 
 " Oiiad&lape " 
 *^ 8kd Marooa " 
 " Colorado 
 
 East River 
 New York 
 
 IPLKKT 
 
 3.000 Tona 8.8. Bio Grande . 3,666 Ton* 
 
 3,000 " " State of Tai»B . 1,699 " 
 
 3.840 " " City of San Antonio 1.663 " 
 
 3,840 " " Oarondelet . 1,608 " 
 
 3,746 " " Western Toxae . 1,310 " 
 
 steamers leave Wednesdays and Saturdays for GALVESTON, Texas, 
 touching at KEY WEST, Fla. 
 
 This is the only Steamship Line rnnning between JTetf TorHc and any 
 Texas Seaport, and the only line of Steamers nmning to Xe;/ West, Fla. 
 
 All Steamers have elegant First-Class Passenger Accommodation and enper- 
 tor accommodations for Emigrants. 
 
 Connection is made at Qalveston with ail the Railroads in the State, and 
 Vfith Steamsliip Lines to 
 
 WESTERN TEXAS AND MEXICAN PORTS, 
 
 AHS WITH BAUJtOADB TO 
 
 KEXICO, FEW MEXICO, ABIZONA AND CALIFOBNIA F0IHT8. 
 
 Insorance effected nnder oor open policy at one-half of one per cent, be- 
 tween New York and Galveston. 
 
 s 
 
 ONLY DIRECT LINE TO FLORIDA. 
 
 Steamers of this First-Class lane leave Pier 21 East River every Friday at 8 
 o'clocls p. M. for Femandina, Fla., connecting there with Railroads for every 
 part of the State, and at Jacksonville with St. Johns River Steamboat Lines for 
 all points on the various rivers of the State. 
 
 The Mallory Line Steamers tonch at Port Boyal, 8. C, and Brunswick, Ca., 
 en route, connecting at thoee ports with Railroads for principal points in 
 fieorgla and Sooth Carolina. 
 
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 :';>^'u*:>W:^;^^">;*>>3^:':>;V:;^x5'"^:^^^^ 
 
 Pier 30 'Ea.at Wl-ver, Ne-vr York. 
 
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