James Hammond Trumbull, LL.D., born in Stonington in 1821, but almost a lifelong resident of Hartford, dying there in 1897, was
one of the most distinguished philologists and antiquarians in the country, and his great familiarity with the Indian tongues made him an authority on that subject. Dr. Trumbull’s brother, Rev. Henry Clay Trumbull, D.D., of Philadelphia, since 1875 editor of the Sunday School Times, was a resident of our city from the year 1851 to 1875, and during that period he published some of his religious and biographical works. Two other members of the same family, a sister and daughter of Dr. J. H. Trumbull, Mrs. Annie Trumbull Slosson, and Miss Annie Eliot Trumbull, have distinguished themselves in literature, by their novels and short stories, some being character studies of New England life. In this line also another Hartford writer excelled, Mrs. Rose Terry Cooke, who was born in Hartford in 1827, and died in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1892. She contributed many graphic stories of rural New England life to the pages of the Atlantic Monthly, Harpers’, and other magazines, which stories were afterwards collected and published in book form. Richard Burton, born in Hartford in 1858, recently appointed Professor of English Literature in the University of Minnesota, has already made a name among the younger men as a poet and critic. Frederick Law Olmsted, born in Hartford, November 10, 1822, now a resident of Brookline, Mass., is well known as one of the foremost landscape-gardeners in this country, and he has also made valuable contributions to the literature of travel and horticulture. Many other persons, either natives or residents of Hartford, have won renown in various fields of authorship. In the art world, Hartford claims Frederick E. Church and William Gedney Bunce, the painters, E. S. Bartholomew, the sculptor, and William Gillette, the actor and playwright, all natives of the city.
Hartford citizens have borne their part in the councils of the nation. Gideon Welles was Secretary of the Navy under President Lincoln during the Civil War, and until 1869. Isaac Toucey held the same office under President Buchanan. Hon. John M. Niles was Postmaster-General in 1840, under Van Buren, and also Senator for a long period. The Hon. Marshall Jewell was appointed by President Grant United States Minister to Russia in 1873, and in 1874 he was recalled to enter the Cabinet as Postmaster-General. In later years the Hon. James Dixon and General J. R. Hawley have been prominent in the United States Senate.
Hartford has increased largely in population during the last decade, and the numerous trolley lines that have been built, running like the spokes of a wheel into the surrounding country, have contributed much to the prosperity of the city. Many handsome residences have been built, new streets have been laid out, and our city appears to have entered upon a career that promises increased wealth and success.
