[[295.ralph_cowles|(<-- 295. Ralph Cowles(8) Seymour)]] [[start|(Back to Start)]] [[297.george_franklin|(297. Rt. Rev. George Franklin(8) Seymour -->)]]
====== 296. Henry Albert Seymour ======
296. HENRY ALBERT8 SEYMOUR
(//[[215.lot_norton|Lot Norton]]//7,
//[[116.noah|Noah]]//6,
//[[060.william|William]]//5,
//[[020.john|John]]//4,
//[[008.john|John]]//3,
//[[003.john|John]]//2,
//[[001.richard|Richard]]//1),
born at New Hartford, Conn., 22 Jan. 1818,
died at Bristol, Conn., 6 Apr. 1897; married at Bristol, 28 July 1844,
ELECTA7 CHURCHILL, born at New Hartford, Conn., 5 Apr. 1818,
died at Bristol, 10 Dec. 1873, daughter of John6
//(Samuel5, Charles4,
Samuel3, Joseph2,
Josiah1)// and Laura (Wells).
Henry Albert Seymour went to such schools as were in the village of New Hartford
until he was fourteen when he became an apprentice in the small local factory of
the Chapin Brothers engaged in the manufacture of fire-arms. He had a natural
aptitude for mechanics and could not have had better schooling than in this
small shop in the village. When sixteen years old he went with his Cousins Henry
and [[wp>George Kellogg]] (the latter the father of [[wp>Clara Louise Kellogg]], the famous
American singer) to the academy at Westfield, Massachusetts, of which the
principal was Amos Cheeseboro. At that time the Westfield Academy enjoyed a fine
reputation. He always looked back on his schooling at Westfield with pleasure
and satisfaction. Returning to New Hartford he finished his apprenticeship with
the Chapin Brothers, by whom he was taken into the jealously-guarded secret of
the delicate shadow process of straightening gun-barrels.
He had no formal schooling after he left Amos Cheeseboro's Academy, but at an
early age he became a serious reader, and all his life remained a constant
reader of books. The meager village library was a great resource, and he made
full use of it. An important influence in developing his mind was the constant
discussion of public affairs in his own family circle. His Grandfather Seymour
had been an ardent Federalist, but his father, out of deep conviction, had
become an apostate, -- a Democrat. His father's defection from the political faith
of the family gave birth to endless arguments and led him to wider reading.
Thus, in his early youth he read the four volumes of Jefferson's "Correspondence
and Miscellanies." The son of one of eleven Jeffersonian Democrats in New
Hartford, he was reared in that faith, but later in life became a Republican and
so remained until his death.
As a very young man he seems to have displayed some of the military spirit which
the late Mary Kingsbury Talcott, an historian of the family, believed to be its
characteristic. He was not twenty when he became captain of the local militia
company, the New Hartford Grenadiers, and one year when the State Militia held
its annual training at Norfolk, Major-General James T. Platt pronounced young
Seymour's company to be the best trained of the fifteen companies in the
regiment. For three years, under his captaincy, this company had the position of
honor at the right of the regiment.
At about twenty-four he developed such a severe cough that his physician advised
a trip south. He resigned his captaincy of the New Hartford Grenadiers, sold his
accoutrements, and arranged with Brewster & Ingraham of Bristol to go to
Mississippi as their clock salesman. He made the trip three times, twice by
sailing vessel from New York to New Orleans and once by rail to Cumberland,
Virginia, thence over the mountains and by stage and barge the rest of the way.
He was married at Bristol, July 28, 1844, then 26 years old, by the Reverend Mr.
Seeley, at the home of the bride's sister, Mrs. Lora Waters, to Electa
Churchill. She was also born in New Hartford, and they had grown up together and
had the same circle of friends. They began their married life in New Hartford,
but in 1846 removed to Bristol where he formed a partnership with his brother-
in-law, John Churchill, and Ebenezer Hendrick. They occupied what had previously
been the Boardman and Wells Shop in Stafford district, but after a year or so
discontinued business, as they were charged with the infringement of a patent
held by Noble Jerome. Messrs. Seymour and Churchill then began the manufacture
of ivory and boxwood rules. Mr. Churchill retired from that partnership a year
or so later, and Mr. Seymour continued the business until the factory was sold.
He then built a small shop using water power on what is now Riverside Avenue and
continued the business for some time. Ultimately he sold it out to the Stanleys
of New Britain. It was the nucleus of the celebrated Stanley Rule and Level
Company of today.
In 1850 he bought the house on Main Street which Noble Jerome, brother of
Chauncey Jerome, had built in 1820 and resided there until 1886. This purchase
included a considerable frontage on Main Street and, on the frontage south of
the railroad track, which went diagonally through the land, Mr. Seymour built in
1851 a frame building which he occupied for some years as a jewelry store. He
built up a good trade and drew much custom from the neighboring towns. He soon
vacated this building, which he rented for the United States Post Office, for
another which he built near it. Later on he joined with Mr. Julius Nott in
building a brick block, the first brick building for commercial purposes in
Bristol. These properties suffered a disastrous fire in 1870, and another in
1873.
With other men of Bristol he had an attack of "oil fever" and went to
Pennsylvania and superintended the boring for oil. The venture was not a
success, and ultimately he returned to Bristol much poorer in purse.
In the early days of his living in Bristol he served the town as First
Selectman, as Treasurer, as Assessor, on School Committees, and on the Board of
Relief; but he had no aptitude for politics as such and never sought public
office, though throughout his life he took an active interest in public affairs
and was particularly interested in the public schools of the town. He took his
young son, George Dudley, to town-meeting, regarding that as important a part of
a boy's education as schooling, believing that every citizen should know how his
town was run.
At one time after he gave up his jewelry store he was employed by one or more of
the concerns manufacturing clocks in the invention and perfection of automatic
machinery for making certain parts of clocks. He was fitted for that work on
account of his apprenticeship as a boy and his natural aptitude for mechanics.
He had secured such an enviable position in Bristol for integrity of character
and judgment that when the Bristol Savings Bank was incorporated in 1870 he was
one of the founders of the bank and was chosen its first president as the most
available man in the community, all things considered, though not a man of means
or of familiarity with banking. Under his administration the bank was so
successful and enjoyed to such an extent the confidence of the community that he
was re-elected to the presidency of the bank for twenty-seven years until his
death, April 6, 1897. The bank was founded in the expectation that it would
assist in building up the town, and he always regarded his services in
connection with the bank as a public service for he had no salary until near the
end of his term, and accepted no pay except for the time used in driving about
the country as appraiser. From the time of the founding of the bank in 1870
until his death, it was his chief interest and concern. His son-in-law, Mr.
Miles Lewis Peck, was the first secretary and treasurer of the bank and
ultimately succeeded him in its presidency, which he still (1938) holds.
At the time of Mr. Seymour's death in 1897, no man in the community was held in
higher respect for integrity and uprightness of character, and no one more
beloved by all classes. Mr. Seymour was above medium height, of spare frame, and
had broad shoulders. His portrait, painted in anticipation of marriage in or
about 1844 shows a well-shaped head, oval face, dark hair, gray eyes, and dark
complexion. In temperament he was reserved, moderate and reticent of speech,
combined with a gentle and friendly manner, although at times he was severe and
when severe had a sort of Roman handsomeness.
Though never robust, he excelled in sports requiring skill rather than strength,
and was an excellent swimmer, diver, and skater. and proficient in the old-time
game of wicket, described by his son in "The Old-Time Game of Wicket and Some
Old-Time Wicket Players."
All his life he was devoted to hunting and fishing. Bristol, with its copper
mines, is an interesting region for all mineralogists and he spent much time in
prospecting. A lover of nature, no one was more thrilled by the first robin of
spring or by the "Honk Honk" of the wild geese as they went over in the fall.
As already stated, he was a constant reader. He subscribed to the //New York
Evening Post//, the //New York Tribune//, and the //Hartford Courant//. He was
an early subscriber to the //Atlantic Monthly//, and a close reader of the
Consular Reports. He was greatly interested in horticulture. He was fond of
music and as a young man played the flute. His silver flute in its velvet-lined
box is well remembered by his son. It was a household where books and music were
much in evidence.
Electa Churchill, in anticipation of her marriage to Mr. Seymour, was painted in
1844. She was of good height, had abundant hair which was brown almost to
blackness, blue eyes, and a fresh complexion, and a remarkably melodious voice,
both in speaking and laughing. She was as gay and sociable as her husband was
reticent, and in consequence was a great favorite in the family circle and in
the town. She was very proud of the tradition in her mother's family (the
Wellses of "Ten Rod," Newington) of hospitality which she always practiced and
encouraged in her daughters.
The author of this book was surprised a few months ago to receive from a Bristol
lady who had known the family all her life a wholly unexpected letter in which
she spoke of the family as follows: "I have been thinking lately of your family
and the debt that Bristol owes them. Your father and mother must have had
unusual strength of character to have bequeathed so much to their children.
Bristol has been fortunate to have several families who have contributed much to
our city through several generations, in business ability and integrity, public
spirit and high moral character, but I think none of them had the culture that
your family had. How much your three sisters have contributed to its charm and
culture." (E. J. P.)
^ Children, first born at New Hartford, the others at Bristol, Conn.: ^^^^^
| i. | LAURA ELECTA9, b. 5 Apr. 1846; d. at Bristol, 22 June 1921, unm. ||||
| ii. | HENRY ALBERT, b. 2 Apr. 1847; d. at Washington, D.C., 1 May 1921; m. at Washington, D.C., 30 Oct. 1872, MARY MARILLA LEGGETT, his second cousin, b. at Warren, Ohio, 2 Apr. 1853, d. at Brookline, Mass., 4 Jan. 1914, only dau. of Gen. Mortimer Dormer and Marilla (Wells). ||||
| | Children: ||||
| | I. | Laura Leggett10, b. 11 Nov. 1873; m. at Washington, D.C., 30 Oct. 1899, Charles Benjamin Doolittle, b. at Bridgeport, Conn., 4 Oct. 1868, d. 12 May 1936, s. of Thomas Benjamin((One of the outstanding pioneers in telephony, and an important contributor to that art, received the degree of A.M. from Dartmouth)) and Mary Louise (Bradley). |||
| | | Child: |||
| | | (1) | Mortimer Leggett11, b. at Washington. D. c.. 4 Oct. 1900; B.A. (Yale, 1922); LL.B. (Yale. 1925) l entered the law offices of Cumminp & Lockwood, Stamford. Conn., 1925; m. 26 Dec. 1930, Dorothy Rowley Perkills. ||
| | II. | Rae Mortimer, b. 24 Aug. 1877; d. 8 Aug. 1933: m. in the Church of the Covenant, Washington, D.C., 6 Jan. 1923, Josiah Dwight, b. at Woodstock, Ill., d. at Atlantic City, N.J., 4 July 1934. So of Josiah and Amanda L. (Griffing). |||
| | III. | Helen Wells, b. 18 Dec. 1878; d. at Washington, D.C., 27 Oct. 1937. |||
| iii. | MARY HARRIET, b. 22 July 1849; d. at Bristol, Conn., 31 Oct. 1926; m. "at Bristol, 18 Oct. 1871, MILES LEWIS PECK, b. at Bristol, 24 July 1849, s. of Josiah Tracy and Ellen (Barnard) Peck. ||||
| | Children, b. at Bristol: ||||
| | I. | Josiah Henry10, b. 5 Mar. 1873: B.A. (Yale, 1895); LL.B. (Harvard, 1898); a lawyer, res. West Hartford, Conn.; m. at Providence, R 1., 12 Nov. 1902, Maude Helen Tower, b. at Alston, Mass., 13 Sept. 1873, dau. of Rev. Francis Emory and Ella (Shepardson). No children. |||
| | II. | Howard Seymour, b. 17 May 1874; d. 9 Sept. 1928; m. at Bristol, Conn., 16 Oct. 1900, Florence Edna Roe, b. at Tremont, N.Y., 16 Oct. 1877, dau. of Charles and Mary Matilda (Naason) Roe. |||
| | | Children, b. at Bristol: |||
| | | (1) | Seymour11, b. 5 Nov. 1901; B.A. (Yale, 1923); m. at New York, N.Y., 13 May 1933, Margery Earl. ||
| | | | Child: ||
| | | | A. | Margery12, b. 22 Mar. 1934. |
| | | (2) | Nancy, b. 30 June 1903; m. 2 Aug. 1928, Edward J. Quinlan, B.A. (Boston Univ., 1924), LL.B. (1927). ||
| | | | Children: ||
| | | | A. | Mary12, b. 25 Feb. 1929. |
| | | | B. | Edward J., b. 16 Feb. 1931. |
| | | | C. | John, b. 30 July 1932. |
| | | | D. | Nancy, b. 15 Aug. 1938. |
| | III. | Hilda Margaret, b. 19 Apr. 1881; B.A. (Vassar, 1903); res. (1938) Bristol, Conn. |||
| | IV. | Rachel Kezia, b. 6 Jan. 1883; B.A. (Vassar, 1905); m. at Bristol, 28 June 1910, Newell Jennings, B.A.. (Yale, 1904), LL.M. //cum laude// (Yale, 1907), b. at Bristol, 12 May 1883, son of John Joseph and Elizabeth Naomi (Newell). |||
| | | Children: |||
| | | (1) | Elizabeth Newell11, b. in 1911; B.A. (Vassar, 1932); m. at BristoI, in 1932, Sherwood L Anderson, Jr., of Allentown, Pa. ||
| | | | Children: ||
| | | | A. | Hilda Peck12, b. 27 Mar. 1933. |
| | | | B. | Sherwood L., b. 17 July 1934. |
| | | | C. | Rachel Jennings, b. 20 Jan. 1936. |
| | | (2) | Miles Peck, b. in 1912; ed, Deerfield Academy; B.A. (Yale, 1935). ||
| | | (3) | Dorothy Seymour, b. 7 May 1916; B.A. (Vassar, 1937). ||
| | V. | Mary Miles Lewis, b. 22 Jan. 1895; B.A. (Vassar, 1917). |||
| iv. | LILLA WELLS, b. 10 May 1852; d. 7 Nov. 1854. ||||
| v. | JOHN CHURCHILL, b. 5 June 1853; d. same day. ||||
| vi. | GRACE ELLA, b. 13 July 1856; d. at Bristol, 23 Apr. 1925; m. at Bristol, 11 Oct. 1881, WILLIAM SHURTLEFF INGRAHAM, b. at Bristol, 25 Apr. 1857, d. there 14 Dec. 1930, s. of Edward and Jane Eliza (Beach). He m. (2) in June 1928, Mrs. Edith (Mather) Tuttle. ||||
| | Children, b. at Bristol ||||
| | I. | Faith Allen10, b. 30 Apr. 1886. She assumed her middle name on learning that a paternal ancestress, Faith Allen, was hanged for witchcraft on Gallows Hill at Salem, Mass., in 1692. She m. at Bristol, Morton Candee Treadway, b. at Bristol, 26 Jan. 1887, s. of Charles Seth and Lucy (Townsend). He was educated at Phillips Andover and Yale College (B.A., 1910). Mrs. Treadway has been active from her girlhood in the church, civic and social affairs of the community; member of the D.A.R. and of the Conn. Society of Colonial Dames. She takes great pride in carrying on her gifted mother's philanthropic and social obligations. |||
| | | Children, b. at Bristol: |||
| | | (1) | Morton Candee11, b. 20 May 1915. ||
| | | (2) | William Ingraham, b. 7 Feb. 1917. ||
| | | (3) | Jean. b. 28 May 1918. ||
| | | (4) | Lucy Townsend, b. 23 May 1919. ||
| | II. | Edward, b. 20 Dec. 1887; ed. Phillips Andover; B.A. (Yale, 1910), m. at Rutland, Vt., 21 Sept. 1918, Alice Patti Pease, b. at Worcester, Mass., 26 Apr. 1887, dau. of George Francis and Alice (Batchelder), of Rutland, Vt. |||
| | | Children, b. at Bristol: |||
| | | (1) | Edward11, b. 12 Nov. 1919. ||
| | | (2) | William Shurtleff, b. 2 Nov. 1921. ||
| | | (3) | Grace Seymour, b. 27 Dec. 1924. ||
| | | (4) | Ellen Jane. b. 14 Feb. 1927. ||
| | | (5) | Faith Allen, b 4 Mar. 1929. ||
| | III. | Dudley Seymour, b. 14 Aug. 1890; m. at Ipswich, Mass., 31 July 1920, Marion Edna Morton, b. at Beverly, Mass., 6 Nov. 1888, dau. of Joseph Theodore and Jessie (Johnson). |||
| | | Children, b. at Bristol: |||
| | | (1) | Seymour Morton11, b. 20 Jan. 1922. ||
| | | (2) | Joseph Theodore, b. 5 June 1923. ||
| | | (3) | Dudley Seymour. b. 1 Oct. 1924. ||
| | | (4) | Robert Appleton, b. 18 Aug. 1927. ||
| vii. | [[GEORGE DUDLEY]], b. 6 Oct. 1859; ed. graded schools, Bristol, Conn., and Hartford Public High School (1878); LL.B. (Columbian University, now George Washington, Law School, 1880); LL.M. (same, 1881); hon, M.A. (Yale, 1913); L.H.D. (George Washington Univ., 1921). ||||
| viii. | HELEN WELLS, b. 29 Jan. 1864; d. 12 July 1866. ||||
**Miss LAURA ELECTA SEYMOUR** (1846--1921), eldest daughter of Henry Albert and
Electa (Churchill) Seymour, was born in New Hartford, Conn., 5 April 1846, and
removed to Bristol in the same year. She was educated in Bristol schools and a
private school in Hartford. There she had for her teacher Mrs. Virginia Hubbard
Curtis, who, after her removal to New Haven, never failed to speak to the author
in highest terms of his sister Laura. She was teaching school in East Orange,
New Jersey, at the time of her mother's death in 1873, and she then returned to
Bristol to take the headship of her father's household, which she never
relinquished nor from which was she absent except on the occasions of several
trips to Europe. She was so reserved, so reticent, so averse to anything like
publicity, that the author has been very reluctant to include her portrait in
this volume.
**HENRY ALBERT9 SEYMOUR, JR.** (1847--1921) went from Bristol schools
to Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Massachusetts, in company with Miles Lewis
Peck, his future brother-in-law. After returning home, he was occupied as a
telegraph operator for a time until in 1870 he had an opportunity to take a
clerkship in the Census Bureau in Washington under General Francis A. Walker. He
soon transferred to the United States Patent Office where he found his //metier
//and where, under competitive examinations, he rapidly rose through the
different grades and ultimately became the Law Clerk. Meanwhile he attended the
Law School of Columbian University, which is now George Washington University,
graduating with the degree of LL.B. in 1874. He was admitted to the District of
Columbia Bar the same year and in 1878 to practice before the Bar of the Supreme
Court of the United States. In 1875 he resigned from the Government service and
opened an office in Washington for the soliciting of patents and the practice of
patent law. He was eminently successful, due to his unusual ability and
adaptability for this work and to his exceptional personal qualities of securing
the confidence of his clients. He practised his profession up to the time of his
retirement a few years before his death. He was especially effective in patent
litigation involving the electrical art, notably electric lighting.
Mr. Seymour favored his mother's family in looks and in temperament. He had his
mother's fresh complexion, blue eyes, and her voice in speaking and laughing. As
a young man he was an ardent ball player and also excelled in the now obsolete
game of wicket, described in his brother's brochure, "The Old-Time Game of
Wicket and Some Old-Time Wicket Players." He was devoted to trout fishing and
often broke away to return to his native village to fish in the streams familiar
to him in boyhood. He was an enthusiastic yachtsman. In his later years he spent
much time in the spring and summer cruising on the Potomac.
He was a Mason, a member of Columbia Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar, of
Washington. Among the clubs of which he was a member were the Cosmos Club,
Metropolitan Club of Washington, Union League Club of New York, Chevy Chase
Club, New York Yacht Club, Capital City Yacht Club, and the New Haven Yacht
Club, of which he was past Commodore.
He was devoted to the game of Whist and a fine billiardist. All his life he was
noted for his charm of manner. He had a rare gift of attracting friends to
himself without apparent effort on his part.
The author would fail in his duty to the memory of his brother if he did not
express in this place the great obligation to him for taking him, just out of
High School, into his office and training him for the profession that has been
his life work.
Mrs. Seymour, nee Mary Marilla Leggett, a woman of unusual charm and vivacity,
an Ohioan by birth, was her husband's second cousin. Her mother Marilla Wells, a
daughter of Captain Absalom Wells, a pioneer settler in the Western Reserve, had
lived in New Hartford before moving to the West. Marilla Wells and her older
sister Harriet had been childhood friends and intimate with Mr. Seymour's
mother, Electa Churchill. Mrs, Seymour's father, General Mortimer Dormer Leggett
(1841--1896), had a notable career as a soldier. He was active throughout the
Civil War, took a prominent part in the siege of Vicksburg, and was with General
Sherman in his march to the sea. After the war, General Leggett was appointed
Commissioner of Patents by General Grant, who refers handsomely to him in his
"Personal Memoirs."
Mr. Seymour and his wife and daughters, Rae Mortimer (Mrs. Josiah Dwight) and
Helen Wells, are buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge.
**LAURA LEGGETT10 (SEYMOUR) DOOLITTLE** (1873-- ) was educated at The
Friends School in Washington, D. C, and Wells College, Aurora, New York. She is
a member of the Women's Board of the New Haven Hospital, of the New Haven Orphan
Asylum, of the Mother's Aid Society; a member of the Connecticut Society,
Colonial Dames of America, Daughters of the American Revolution, American
Association of University Women, League of Women Voters, the New Haven Lawn
Club, the New Haven Paint and Clay Club, the Herb Society of America. She is a
collector of first editions and colonial antiquities.
**RAE MORTIMER10 (SEYMOUR) DWIGHT** (1877--1933) was educated in the
Friends School in Washington, D. C, and at a private school in New Milford,
Connecticut, was a keen wit, and a vivacious writer in prose and verse. As a
citizen of Orlando, Florida, after her marriage, she was much interested in the
charitable activities of the place and contributed a great deal to the social
service of the city and helped several young people through college. Her
husband, Josiah Dwight, -- she was his second wife, -- was grandson of Hon.
Josiah5//(Col. Josiah4, Capt. Henry3,
Timothy2, John1)// and Rhoda (Edwards), the latter being
granddaughter of the noted theologian, [[wp>Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Rev.
Jonathan Edwards]], and own cousin of the first Timothy Dwight, President of
Yale College.
**HELEN WELLS10 SEYMOUR** (1878--1937) was educated in the Friends
School in Washington, D. C, and she took special courses for two years in
Columbia University and in the Doshisha Women's College, Kyoto, Japan. She spent
several years of her life in Japan and China, was a collector of textiles and
Japanese wall paintings, received diplomas in several Japanese arts, on which
she lectured as a voluntary service, in the Women's College, Kyoto. She was a
member of the Society of Women Geographers, of the Japan Society, the Society
for Japanese Studies, and the Washington Club. She was a gifted painter of
Japanese subjects and exhibited her work both in Japan and the United States.
She left a rare and valuable collection of textiles, both Japanese and Chinese,
and some fine wall paintings.
**MARY HARRIET9 (SEYMOUR) PECK** (1849--1926), a native of Bristol,
lived there all her life, and died five years after she and her husband
celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary. Mr. Peck is a prominent banker, and
was president of the Bristol and Plainville Tramway Company. Mrs. Peck, with
Mrs. Edward E. Newell, founded the Evening School, later incorporated in the
Bristol Public School system. She was one of the organizing Board of the Bristol
Visiting Nurse Association, and was most helpful in all its work. She served as
a director, and was secretary, of the Charity Department until failing health
made it impossible for her to attend its meetings. She was always deeply
interested in this work, and her interest and sympathy were freely expressed,
not only in wise counsel, but in many practical ways.
She was a member of the Alpha Reading Club, The Bristol Visiting Nurse
Association, and the Katherine Gaylord Chapter, D. A. R., the Red Cross, and all
agencies that served the welfare of the community. She served her D. A. R.
Chapter as Registrar for many years, and her energy and initiative were
responsible for improving and maintaining the old graveyards of the town. She
had a beautiful, lyric soprano voice.
"Among my sister Laura's papers, which I was examining preparatory to burning, I
found the wedding cards of Piera Root and Edward E. Newell. This recalled to my
mind my boyhood thrill when my sister Mary came down in her white bridesmaid's
dress to enter the carriage which was to take her to the wedding, where she was
to act as bridesmaid. I had never seen her so 'dressed up' and never had
realized how beautiful she was. She had a beautiful slender figure and delicate
color, and magnificent hair which I suppose she wore as usual on the top of her
head in what was then called 'coronet braids.' I remember that as she swept into
our parlor and out of our front door I thought she was probably one of the most
beautiful young women in existence. As a matron she was remarkable for her air
of nobility and dignity." --//G.D.S.//
"Mrs. Peck had a fine mind, cultivated by reading and study. She was well-
informed in current history and in the trend of modern thought. She was not much
interested in the controversial side of religion, nor in the argumentative
points of political questions. She was not perturbed about the changing status
of women, nor the modern trend of social customs. She had deep and abiding
convictions, undisturbed by theories. She knew what kind of a life a woman ought
to live in her home, in her community, in society, in the world of affairs, and
she lived that kind of life herself, abundantly, unostentatiously, serenely.
"She performed 'the daily round, the common task,' with gracious serenity and
steadfast loyalty. She had a correct estimate of the relative values in life,
and she lived and reared her family in accordance with this estimate. A rich and
noble heritage, for her children and her children's children!" --//Obituary,
P.S.P.//
**JOSIAH HENRY10 PECK** (1873-- ), B.A. (Yale, 1895), LL.B. (Harvard,
1898), spent four years in the law offices of Brigham & Bailey in New York City,
then established himself in practice in Hartford, Conn. One of the outstanding
figures at the Hartford Bar, he is known as a lawyer's lawyer; a man of wide
range of general information; and a collector of books. He has been all his life
an expert card-player, and is a devotee of contract bridge. He declined an
appointment to the bench of the Superior Court. His wife was a daughter of Rev.
Francis E. Tower, of Providence, R. I., formerly pastor of the Baptist Church in
Bristol, Conn.
**HOWARD SEYMOUR10 PECK** (1874--1928), educated at the Bristol High
School, and at Yale College, Class of 1896, followed in the footsteps of his
grandfather Peck and took up life and fire insurance. He was successful as a
business man. As a youth, he was active, athletic, and a fine pianist. In
boyhood, he played baseball; in middle life, golf; and he was always a skilful
whist player. He built a beautiful house in Bristol on land long in his father's
family. His was a retiring nature, and he never entered public life if he could
avoid it. He died in his sleep, probably as the result of an automobile accident
of some time before.
**Miss HILDA MARGARET10 PECK** (1881-- ), eldest daughter of Mary
Harriet (Seymour) and Miles Lewis Peck of Bristol, was educated in Bristol
Public Schools, Mary A. Burnham School, Northampton, Mass., and Vassar College.
She is untiring in her service to the church and community and to Vassar; member
of numerous clubs and societies; Vassar Club of New York, and the Connecticut
Society of Colonial Dames of America; especially interested in the Visiting
Nurse Association. She spent nearly a year in the Orient in 1928, most of the
time in Japan with her cousin, Helen Wells Seymour, then living in Kyoto, and
also enjoyed a five weeks' trip to Peking, China. She returned to Kyoto in time
for the ceremonies attendant on the enthronement of the Emperor Hirohito.
**RACHEL KEZIA10 (PECK) JENNINGS** (1883-- ), second daughter of Mary
Harriet (Seymour) and Miles Lewis Peck, was educated in Bristol schools and at
Vassar College (B.A., 1905). She is possessed of a quick and keen mind, and at
Vassar excelled in Latin, the subject in which her great-uncle, Professor Tracy
Peck (Yale, 1861) attained eminence. After an equestrian courtship, she was
married, in 1910, to Hon. Newell Jennings.
Judge Jennings was graduated from Yale College in 1904 (his father's //alma
mater //in 1876), and from the Yale Law School //cum laude //in 1907. He was
admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1907, and practiced his profession in Bristol
from 1907 to 1922. In 1922 he received an appointment from Governor Everett Lake
to the Superior Court Bench. In that position he won the admiration of the
entire Connecticut Bar by his judicial temper, courtesy, and firmness. In 1936
he was raised by Governor Wilbur L. Cross to the Supreme Court of the State.
In Bristol he is a trustee of the Savings Bank; has served as chairman of the
Board of Education since 1924; and is a member of the Board of Directors of the
Library. He is a Republican, and a Congregationalist. He resigned from most of
his clubs when raised to the Supreme Court, but retains membership in the
Graduates Club, New Haven; the Franklin Lodge of Masons; and the Chippanee
Country Club in Bristol; Beta Theta Pi, and Phi Beta Kappa.
**MARY MILES LEWIS10 PECK**, daughter of Mary Harriet (Seymour) and
Miles Lewis Peck, was educated in Bristol schools and at Vassar, from which she
graduated with honors; member of Phi Beta Kappa; social worker; president since
its foundation in 1928 of the Bristol Girls' Club Association, occupying a
building presented by her father through her to the town of Bristol. She went
around the world in 1935 with a companion who had many friends among
missionaries and native students in Oriental countries. In India they spent an
afternoon in the home of Gandhi and were surprised to find the Mahatma to be a
man of humor. They also visited the school founded by the venerable poet and
educator, Sir Rabindranath Tagore. The author imagines that his niece had a less
interesting experience with Tagore than her uncle did when he visited the
Elizabethan Club in New Haven. Miss Peck is an accomplished pianist and
vocalist.
**GRACE ELLA9 (SEYMOUR) INGRAHAM** (1856--1925) was educated in
Bristol schools and Hartford Public High School (Class of 1876). She was a
successful school teacher in East Orange, New Jersey, for a short period before
her marriage, after which she became a leading figure in the life of Bristol. In
addition to her work in the Congregational Church, of which she was a life-long
member, and in the civic and philanthropic activities of the community, she
followed her mother's tradition of hospitality. She was very active as a
director of the Bristol Visiting Nurse Association, the Bristol Public Welfare
Association, the Bristol Chapter of American Red Cross, and the Women's Civic
Club, and gave much of her time to the work of the Red Cross during the war. She
was a teacher in the church and a member of the committees of the various church
organizations. She was a member of the Katherine Gaylord Chapter, D. A. R.,
served as its Regent, was many times a member of its board, and attended many of
the meetings of the national congress in Washington. She was a member of the
Connecticut Society of Colonial Dames of America and served on its committees of
education and Americanization. She was always ready to help the sick or needy or
bereaved. In an obituary notice published after her death it was said in part:
"Mrs. Ingraham was splendidly endowed intellectually. She had a
fine mind which was kept alert with reading and with study. She knew and
appreciated the best in literature, in art, and in music, and was herself a fine
musician.
"She was well informed in current history and religious thought. She held
independent opinions and strong convictions, but was tolerant and considerate of
the convictions of others. She was a gentlewoman of great personal charm who was
sympathetic, kind, and approachable; so she drew many people to herself and
never antagonized any.
"One thinks of her as the Dean of Women in Bristol, the acknowledged leader, by
right of her noble womanhood."
Mrs. Ingraham shared with her sisters a beautiful speaking voice and she had a
rare, engaging personality. It was remarked of her that she had inherited her
mother's beautiful hands. It is not too much to say that with her sisters, Laura
and Mary, she contributed more to the intellectual and social tone of the
community in which she lived than any other three women that could be mentioned.
Her three children cherish her memory and find in her life an inspiring motive
for gracious and useful living.
**WILLIAM SHURTLEFF INGRAHAM** (1857--1930), husband of Grace Ella Seymour, was
a native of Bristol, Conn., and the son of Edward Ingraham and Jane Eliza
(Beach) Ingraham. He was named after William Shurtleff, a member of the Yale
Class of 1854, and a classmate and close friend of Edward Ingraham, his father.
William Shurtleff Ingraham received his education in the public schools of
Milford and Bristol, Conn., later entering the Stamford Military Institute.
After graduating from that institution, he entered Cornell University in the
class of 1879 but did not graduate, leaving to enter the employ of The E.
Ingraham Company in March 1876. He went to work in the office on May 1st, 1879,
and continued to serve the Company up until the time of his death on December
14th, 1930. He first served as secretary of the Company and later became
treasurer and general manager, which position he held continuously for
approximately forty years.
He was also a director and vice president of the Bristol National Bank, American
Trust Company and the North Side Bank & Trust Company. He was also director of
the Bristol Brass Corporation and the American Silver Company. For many years he
was a member of the Board of Fire Commissioners and Burgess of Bristol. He was
also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Bristol Free Public Library, and
during this period the new Library was built. He was a member of the Society of
Colonial Wars, of the Chippanee Country Club,--of which he was the first
president, the Farmington Club and of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity.
**EDWARD10 INGRAHAM** (1887--1972) was educated at Andover Academy
and at Yale College (B.A., 1910). Wishing to volunteer for service in the World
War, he was rejected because of defective vision by several military
organizations, but was inducted 23 Oct. 1918 and assigned to Headquarters
Company, 44th Brigade, Coast Artillery Corps, Fort Monroe; transferred to 152d
Depot Brigade, Camp Upton; Corporal, discharged 17 Dec. 1918.
He entered the family business in Bristol, Conn., and in 1927 became president
of The E. Ingraham Company, manufacturers of clocks, a concern founded by his
great-grandfather Elias Ingraham. He has been active in town and church affairs.
He is a trustee of the Bristol Savings Bank, of which his grandfather Seymour
was one of the founders, and a director of the Bristol National Bank; director
of The Bristol Brass Corporation, Veeder-Root, Inc., Associated Spring Company,
and International Silver Company. Since 1915 he has been president, excepting
one year, of the Bristol Boys' Club Association. Former elected member of Board
of Relief; member of Board of Finance; member of State Planning Board; chairman
of Board of Directors of Bristol Free Public Library. He is also a director of
Boys' Clubs of America, Inc. He is a Congregationalism and formerly a deacon.
Beta Theta Pi; Rotary; Mason.
He is a student of the history of clock-making in Connecticut, and has a fine
and representative collection in that field. He is an ardent collector of
etchings and engravings, furniture and American antiques; and is an enthusiastic
angler, and a director of the St. Bernard Fish and Game Club of Quebec.
**DUDLEY SEYMOUR10 INGRAHAM** (1890--1982), namesake of his uncle,
the author of the present volume, was educated at Andover Academy and Cornell
University (LL.B., 1913), his father's Alma Mater. Shortly after America entered
the World War, he volunteered, was accepted, placed against his will in the
Medical Department, where he became Sergeant 1st Class, but later secured a
transfer to an Infantry and then to a Machine Gun Division, and at the
termination of the War was al a Machine Gun Officers' Training Camp at Augusta,
Georgia.
Immediately upon leaving college he entered the family business in Bristol, and
in 1923 became Vice President and later succeeded his father as Treasurer. He
has been active in public affairs, having been a director and member of the
Executive Committee of the Bristol Hospital since it was founded, Chairman of
the House Committee of the Visiting Nurse and family Welfare Association for
fifteen years, Chairman of a Community Chest Drive, member of the Board of Fire
Commissioners (where he acted as Chairman of a Committee that put into effect
the first Civil Service basis of selection and advancement in any hire
Department in the State), member of the Board of Education, member of the
Manufacturers Division of the State Tercentenary Commission, member of Governor
Cross's State Highway Safety Commission and Chairman of the Manufacturers
Division thereof, and a member of the National Advisory Committee of the 1939
New York World's Fair. He is also First Vice-President of the Bristol Savings
Bank, of which his grandfather--Henry Albert Seymour--was one of the founders
and its first President. He is also a director of the Bristol Bank & Trust Co.
and The Bristol Brass Corporation. He is a member of the Congregational Church,
where for a number of years he served as Superintendent of the Church School,
and in politics is classed as a Republican. He is a member of Delta Chi
Fraternity, a member of the American Legion, Past President of the Bristol
Rotary Club, and a member of the Farmington and Chippanee Country Clubs. He is
an enthusiastic collector of paintings and would be classed as a realist in his
tastes, which lean to works of the Barbizon Period and of the corresponding
period in American Art.
**[[George_Dudley|GEORGE DUDLEY SEYMOUR]]** (1859--1945). //See separate entry.//
\\ [[295.ralph_cowles|(<-- 295. Ralph Cowles(8) Seymour)]] [[start|(Back to Start)]] [[297.george_franklin|(297. Rt. Rev. George Franklin(8) Seymour -->)]]