Fiske Holcomb Ventres (1906-1991)

From the Farmington Valley Herald, September 13, 1945.

   Two-term Connecticut state assemblyman Fiske Holcomb Ventres was for many years an insurance dealer in the city of Avon, and while there is a dearth of resources mentioning him, enough information has been found to compile a small biography for him. Born on June 30, 1906, in East Hartford, Connecticut, Fiske Holcomb Ventres was the son of Ernest and Essie (Holcomb) Ventres. 

   A student at the Holcomb School, Fiske Ventres graduated in 1920 and later took work as a traveling salesman with the Prentice Manufacturing Company of Berlin. Ventres would later decide upon a career in the insurance business, becoming a representative for the Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Co. This line of employ later saw him stationed in Chicago, and by the mid-1930s had returned to Connecticut to serve as Fidelity Mutual's supervisor of agents for Northern Connecticut.

  Remarked as an "ardent and enthusiastic Republican worker", Ventres served as a member of the Avon town Republican committee, was a Grand Juror for Avon, and was a past president of the Avon Republican Club. In 1940 he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the Connecticut State Assembly from Hartford County, and in November narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Phillip Hewes, 557 votes to 521. Taking his seat at the start of the 1941-43 session, Ventres would sit on the house committees on Aviation and Insurance.

   In November 1942 Fiske H. Ventres won a second term in the statehouse, defeating Democrat Otto Mathews by a vote of 583 to 259. During the 1943-45 session, he chaired the Insurance committee and in December 1943 was appointed as executive secretary to state insurance commissioner W. Ellery Allyn. The mid-1940s proved to be a busy time for Ventres, and in addition to the above posts was named as Hartford County chairman for the Life Underwriter's War Bond Committee, Division of Salary Savings in 1942.

   Ventres would further aid the war effort by chairing Avon's U.S.O. War Fund Campaign in 1942 and 1945 began a year-long stint in Europe as an "accredited correspondent" for the Hartford Courant, visiting American and British occupied zones in Germany, as well as Switzerland, France, Austria, Belgium, Poland, and Italy. Following his return in August 1946, Ventres undertook a lecture tour throughout Connecticut where he detailed his experiences, as well as giving "his opinion on the significance of current political activities overseas."

   Fiske H. Ventres' life following his political service remains largely unknown. He would marry late in life at age 57, taking Verna May Lloyd (1922-2009) as his bride in 1963. Through the 1960s he continued in the insurance business and also dabbled in real estate and land sales. In the early 1980s, he undertook the development of a large tract of land in the vicinity of Taine Mountain, an area that, following a court suit that saw Ventres emerge successful, developed into a "subdivision of five lots." Ventres died in New Britain, Connecticut on March 1, 1991, aged 84 and was survived by his wife Verna. A burial location for both remains unknown at this time.

Minthorne Dyckman Tompkins (1841-1904)

Portrait courtesy of Find-A-Grave.

   A descendant of one of New York's prominent political families, Minthorne Dyckman Tompkins' story is one of the more interesting ones you'll read about here, as he is the first political figure featured on this site to have been a fireman by occupation. A member of Hook and Ladder Engine Company No. 1 in New York City, Tompkins etched his name into New York fire department history when he became the first man to be awarded a medal of valor, this award extending from his heroic actions a year prior while rescuing a woman from a burning hotel building. Following his retirement from the department in 1883 Tompkins and his family moved to Connecticut, and in 1885 was elected to that state's house of representatives from Stonington.

   The son of George Clinton and Sarah Minthorne (Watson) Tompkins, Minthorne Dyckman Tompkins was born in New York City on July 20, 1841. A member of one of New York's most prestigious families, Tompkins' uncle was none other than Daniel D. Tompkins (1774-1825), former New York Governor, Congressman, and Vice President of the United States under James Monroe. In addition to the Vice President, the family could count Westchester County Judge and U.S. Representative Caleb Tompkins amongst their ranks and sported another odd-name politician in Mangle Minthorne Tompkins (1807-1881), a former state senator and candidate for Governor in 1852.

   Young Minthorne's early education occurred at Grammar School No. 13 in New York City and he later attended the Forsyth Academy at White Plains. After leaving that school in 1860 Tompkins began a five-year clerkship in the Quartermaster's Department in New York City, from which he resigned in 1865. In that year he was appointed to the New York City Fire Department, which had become a paid force just three years prior. 

  By 1868 Tompkins had attained the rank of assistant foreman for the Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, and on November 14th of that year, he and other department members were dispatched to combat a rapidly spreading fire that had broken out at the Stewart House, a restaurant and hotel located at 480 Broadway in lower Manhattan. Fourteen of the hotel's occupants had become trapped by the flames, with no escape routes possible. After ladders had been positioned against the building, Tompkins began a trek to the building's upper floors. Hearing screams and seeing a woman trapped by flames above him, Tompkins reached the top rung of the long wooden ladder and amongst the smoke, steadied himself on the top rung. After positioning his frame against the side of the building, Tompkins directed the woman out of the window and onto his shoulders, after which he precariously made the climb downward to the street. 

   After seeing that the woman had been attended to, Tompkins led his fellow firefighters back into the building to continue search and rescue operations, while hose teams contained the fire to the "rear portion of the building." Their efforts led to several more people being rescued and extracted from the building, with Tompkins himself continuing work even though he had received injury early in the rescue operation. 

Tompkins as he appeared in the New York Herald in November 1910.

   Several months after the Stewart House fire New York Herald publisher James Russell Bennett Sr. (1795-1872) endowed fifteen hundred dollars to be used towards the striking of a medal to be issued annually to a fire department member who had exhibited an exemplary act of heroism. The then recently established FDNY Board of Merit, knowing of Tompkins' actions, awarded him the Bennett Medal in April 1869, making Tompkins the first FDNY officer to be so honored. 

   Promoted to Lieutenant in 1868, Tompkins attained the rank of Captain three years later and in November 1871 married in Groton, Connecticut to Ellen Wilcox (1846-1889), a resident of Stonington. The couple would have at least one son, Odell Dyckman (1872-1962). In 1883 Tompkins was honorably discharged from the fire department due to physical disability. In the following year he and his family removed to Mystic, Connecticut, and within a short period of his resettlement had become a leading figure in the area, becoming a Grand Juror for the city of Stonington and a founder of Mystic Hook and Ladder Company No. 1. 

   In 1885 Tompkins was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly as a representative from Stonington and during the 1886 session would be named to the committee on claims. Widowed in 1889, Tompkins died in Stonington on March 15, 1904, at age 62. He and his wife (as well as their son Odell) were all interred at the Elm Grove Cemetery in Stonington. 

Minotte Estes Chatfield (1859-1952)

Portrait from the Commemorative Biographical Record of New Haven County, 1902.

    New Haven, Connecticut resident Minotte Estes Chatfield is another in a long line of distinguished Nutmeg State businessmen/state representatives profiled recently, and, like his oddly named contemporary Plumb Nichols Fairchild, made his fortune through the manufacture of paper. During a long life that extended from the administrations of Buchanan to Truman, Chatfield branched out into other walks of New Haven life (being a newspaper company and bank president) and served terms in both houses of the Connecticut legislature.

   Born in Centerville, Connecticut on March 13, 1859, Minotte Estes Chatfield was one of four children born to George Wooster and Cornelia Andrews (Ford) Chatfield. Descended from a family with roots in Connecticut dating back to the early 17th century, Chatfield's education took place in the public school system of New Haven, as well as the Hopkins Grammar School. Upon reaching age sixteen Chatfield entered the workforce, assuming a clerkship under New Haven postmaster Nehemiah Day Sperry (1827-1911), who would later represent Connecticut's 2nd district in Congress for eight terms. In 1880 Chatfield married Stella Rowe Russell (1858-1916), to who he was wed for thirty-six years. The couple had three children, Russell Estes (1884-1962), Sterling Russell (1891-1973), and Helen Russell (1893-1988). 

   Chatfield's postal clerkship extended from 1875 to 1882 when he resigned. He soon found employment with the F.S. Bradley and Co., one of New Haven's premier dealers in hardware supplies and paper. Chatfield's tenure at that company saw him placed in the paper department, and through seven years of diligent work learned the ins and outs of the papermaking trade, and "acquainted himself with every branch of the department." By 1889 Chatfield, now equipped with extensive knowledge of the paper business, resolved to go into business for himself. In that year he purchased the Bradley Co.'s paper and twine departments, and within a short period, the Chatfield Paper Company was born. This business (incorporated in 1895), grew to be "among the largest concerns of the kind in New England" and Chatfield himself served as its president and treasurer. 

   Minotte Chatfield continued to expand his business savvy through the remainder of the 1890s, becoming affiliated with the New Haven Pulp and Board Co. He would hold the presidency of that company (as well as being a large stockholder) and branched out into the publishing world when he assumed the directorship of the Evening Leader Co., publishers of the New Haven Times Leader, a popular city newspaper. Chatfield also added the title of bank director to his resume when he became a director of the Yale National Bank in early 1918. In addition to banking and business Chatfield loomed large in city civic affairs and social clubs, being a director of the New Haven Public Library, as well as a member of the Quinnipiac Club and the New Haven Country Club.

   Acknowledged as one of New Haven's leading young Republicans, Chatfield was a member of that city's Young Men's Republican Club and served on the New Haven city council and board of aldermen. In November 1902 Chatfield won election to the Connecticut General Assembly, garnering 9, 247 votes on election day. It can safely be said that Chatfield had plenty of oddly named company amongst his fellow legislators in the 1903-05 session, as he served alongside such men as Fessenden Leverett Ives, Allerton Cushman Kibbe, Maltby Gaylord Gelston, Scovill McLean Buckingham, Urban Todd Harrison, Aretas Frederick Kibbe, and Mayro Keeney. 

Portrait from the Legislative History and Souvenir of Connecticut, 1903.

   Chatfield's term in the house saw him sit on the committee on constitutional amendments and in 1905 sought election to the state senate. He was elected to that body in November of that year with 3,270 votes and during the 1906-08 term chaired the committee on cities and boroughs. During the waning months of his Senate term Chatfield was put forth as the Republican candidate for Mayor of New Haven, and in September 1907 accepted the nomination, remarking

"The honor of heading the ticket has fallen to my lot. That it will be my endeavor to fill the office to the best of my ability, all who know me will understand. If elected mayor it will be my pleasure to advocate such improvements as will, in my judgement, cause city betterments."

   Chatfield's opponent that year was Democrat James B. Martin, a former member of the city council and city clerk. On election day in October it was Martin who emerged victorious, and following his win served as mayor until his defeat in 1909. Following his loss Chatfield remained prominent in New Haven, being an active Mason and commissioner of the city's sinking fund from 1921-1930. Widowed in 1916, Chatfield remarried in June 1920 to Charlotte Snider (1874-1947). Widowed for the second time in 1947, Chatfield celebrated his 90th birthday in 1949 and died at his summer residence "Pine Orchard" in Branford, Connecticut on August 19, 1952, at age 93. He was interred at the Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, the same resting place as that of his wives Stella and Charlotte.

From the New Haven Journal-Courier, September 25, 1907.

From the New Haven Evening Register.

Gibbs Woodward Skiff (1810-1894)

Portrait from the History of Litchfield County, Connecticut, 1881.

  After a small break from writing and posting oddly named political figures here on the site, we return after a month-long hiatus to highlight an oddly named state representative from Connecticut, Mr. Gibbs Woodward Skiff. This obscure man was a lifelong resident of the Nutmeg State and was a prominent 19th-century resident of the town of Sharon, representing it in the Connecticut State Legislature in the early 1850s.

   Born on July 13, 1810, in the town of Sharon, Gibbs W. Skiff was one of three sons born to Samuel Skiff Jr. (1781-1862) and his wife Jerusha Woodward (died 1844). Gibbs Skiff is recorded by the 1881 History of Litchfield County as having "passed his early life in the customary employments of a farmer's boy" and received his education in schools native to the Sharon area. During his teenage years, Skiff began teaching school in Sharon during the winter months while engaging in farm work during the summer.
  On January 1, 1834, Skiff married fellow Sharon resident Abigail E. St. John (1811-1884), with whom he would have one daughter, Lucy, born in 1854. A pious man, Skiff was for many years a parishioner at the Congregation Church in Ellsworth, Connecticut, and served as a deacon for the church for thirty-six years (1859-1895). In addition to his being a deacon, Skiff is remarked as having been the clerk of the local Ecclesiastical Society for nearly sixty years. The History of Litchfield County also denotes that Skiff was "justly entitled to take rank as one of Sharon's leading and successful agriculturalists", owning over 300 acres of farmland with his son-in-law Giles Skiff.  
  While the life of Gibbs W. Skiff was centered mainly as a private citizen in Sharon, he did maintain an active involvement in local political matters, serving at various times as a town selectman and assessor. In 1849 he was elected to one term in the Connecticut State House of Representatives from Litchfield County, and during the 1850-51 session sat on the committee
  Throughout the latter period of his life, Skiff continued to be an active citizen in Sharon, serving as town assessor whilst also engaged in his earlier-mentioned church activities. He died at age 84 on November 15, 1894, and was subsequently interred alongside his wife in the Ellsworth Burying Ground in Sharon. He was memorialized by local pastor Giles Frederick Goodenough (1871-1960) as "a man excessive in his modesty and of retiring disposition, he was strong in his tender conscience, his sound judgment and unfailing kindness of heart."

                                       From the Journal of the Connecticut Legislature 1851.

Silenus Hulbert Fellows (1827-1905)

From the Plainfield Bicentennial, 1899.

   This obscure gentleman is Silenus Hulbert Fellows, a clergyman from Windham County, Connecticut who served one term in his state's House of Representatives. Information on Fellows' life has proven to be rather scant, but enough has been found to compile a profile on his life.
  A New Yorker by birth, Silenus H. Fellows was born on August 11, 1827, in the town of Durham, being the son of the Rev. Linus Hulbert (1790-1881) and Lydia Eldred Fellows. Silenus was received into full communion in his father's church in 1845 at age 18 and eight years later married Sylvia Newell, also a resident of Durham. The couple later had two daughters, Ida L. and Carrie Louise Fellows, who was born in June 1858 in Durham. In the year following Carrie's birth, the Fellows family resettled in Windham County, Connecticut. 
   Within months of his relocation Fellows was ordained as a preacher in April 1859 and in December of that year became pastor of the Congregational Church in the town of Wauregan. Fellows continued to hold this pastorate until his death nearly fifty years later! 
  The name of Silenus Fellows grew to be a prominent one in both civic and religious circles in the Wauregan area. For over forty years he was a member of the Wauregan town school board and later served as the Secretary of the Windham County Conference for two decades. Political service also beckoned to Fellows and in 1878 he (along with fellow Windham County resident Reuben Weaver) was elected to the Connecticut State House of Representatives, serving in the session of 1879-80.
  After the conclusion of his legislative service Fellows continued in his pastorate and later served as the director of the Missionary Society of Connecticut for fifteen years. He died at the home of his grandson in McKeesport, Pennsylvania on April 20, 1,905 at age 78 and was subsequently buried in the Westfield Cemetery in Windham County, Connecticut. The Advance, a prominent religious newsletter in the early 1900s, remembered Fellows as "the Apostle John of Eastern Connecticut" and lamented that "a father in Israel has fallen asleep." The portrait of Fellows shown above (and very likely the only one to be found online) was discovered in the Plainfield Bicentennial, a souvenir history of the town of Plainfield, Connecticut published in 1899. 
   I also must mention the origins of Fellow's odd first name, Silenus. It is presumed that he was named in honor of the Greek mythological figure Silenus, a friend and tutor of Dionysius, the god of wine. Strangely (especially when one considers Fellows being a man of the cloth) some sources mention Silenus as "a notorious consumer of wine, he was usually drunk and often had to be supported by satyrs or carried by a donkey." Silenus is also reported to have "special knowledge and power of prophecy" when highly intoxicated. One can only wonder why Linus Fellows chose to name his son in honor of this interesting mythological figure!

Solva Converse (1790-1877), Salva Goodspeed (1805-1885)

  Today's profile centers on obscure Connecticut state representative Solva Converse. For decades Converse was viewed as a prominent leader in political and business circles in his native county of Tolland and was acknowledged as a leader in area church affairs.
 Solva Converse was born in Stafford, Connecticut on April 1, 1790, the son of militia Captain Solvin Converse and his wife Sarah. Eleven children were eventually born to the couple, and one should note that Solva and his younger brother George were the last surviving members of this large family, both dying on November 22, 1877.
  The Commemorative Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham Counties (where the majority of the information on Converse was found) records that Converse "received only limited educational advantages" during his youth. He worked at farming during his formative years and was later engaged in the transport of freight with his younger brother Parley, who also served a term in the Connecticut legislature. In 1812 Solva married his wife Esther Blodgett, to whom he was wed for over sixty years. In another interesting familial coincidence, eleven children were born to Solva and Esther, four of whom died in infancy.
  Of the limited sources mentioning Solva Converse's life, all of them stress the importance of his role as a manufacturer of satin and woolen cloths in the Stafford area. In 1839 he was one of the founders of the Mineral Springs Manufacturing Company's first wool mill, established in the village of Stafford Springs. Aside from being a founder in this new endeavor, Converse served the company as an agent and was later named to its presidency. The Commemorative Biographical Record also gives notice that under Converse's leadership of the company "a great and prosperous business was developed."
  In addition to his business interests, Solva Converse was also attentive to political matters in the town of Stafford. He was elected as a town selectman on several occasions and in 1838 the citizens of Tolland County elected him to the Connecticut State House of Representatives. He served a one term in the legislature and a roster from that particular session is shown below. One should also note that this roster misspells Converse's first name as "Salva".

   In the years following his legislative service, Converse continued his involvement with the wool mill and was also a significant benefactor to his local church. Both Solva and his brother Parley were recorded in the 1905 two-volume work Some of the Ancestors and Descendants of Samuel Converse Jr as "the most prominent supporters of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Stafford." Converse is also listed as a contributor to the erection and construction of a new Methodist church in Stafford in 1866. 
  Solva Converse died at age 87 on November 22, 1877. He had outlived six of his eleven children and was survived by his wife of 65 years, Esther, who outlived him by nearly three years, dying in 1880. The portrait of Solva Converse featured above (and very likely the only one to be found online) was discovered in the earlier mentioned Ancestors of Samuel Converse Jr., Volume 1.

  While his first name may be spelled slightly differently, Salva Goodspeed is another man with this unusual first name who entered politics. A lifelong resident of Vermont, Goodspeed served a brief term as one of Franklin County's representatives in the state legislature and later was a selectman for the town of Montgomery.

  Salva Goodspeed was born on August 2, 1805, in Montgomery, Vermont, one of several children born to Seth and Hannah (Stone) Goodspeed. Nothing is known of Salva's early years or education, or his date of marriage. He married Carshina Johnson sometime in the 1830s and had five children, who are listed as follows: Ellen (born 1837), Nelson (born 1839), Monroe (born 1842), Hannah (born 1845) and Dean (born 1851).

   The 1907 History of the Goodspeed Family (where the above picture of Salva was located) notes that he "was prominent in the affairs of his community" for many years and held the office of trustee of surplus money for Montgomery in 1849. In 1855 he was elected to the Vermont State House of Representatives and served there until 1857, afterward serving as town selectman from 1858-1864.

  In addition to his political involvement, Goodspeed was also active in local church affairs, being "one of the pillars of the Episcopal Church at Montgomery." He died at age 79 on June 9, 1885, in his native town of Montgomery and was interred at the Montgomery Village Cemetery. Carshina Johnson Goodspeed (who died in 1902 at age 88) is also interred here.