MANCHESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Historic People

WHO AM I?

Interactive Profiles Sponsored by:

HAZEL LUTZ

  • Hazel Lutz envisioned a museum only for children, where they could learn and play, and not be told “Don’t Touch.”

JOE McCLUSKEY

  • Joe McCluskey, “Manchester’s Greatest Runner” compiled by Susan Barlow
  • Honoring Joseph McCluskey, a speech by Rick Dyer on 5/19/2017 at a reception at the History Center, Manchester.
  • Connecticut AAU track meet results on letterhead of Manchester “Y,” director Joseph McCluskey 06/22/1947. Note that track standout and Olympian Joe McCluskey, brother of John McCluskey mentioned below, returned to Manchester after serving in WWII, and became director of the “Y” in Manchester’s North End.
  • Newspaper clippings about a January 1937 track meet in Boston and crowd favorite Joseph McCluskey (1911-2002). Joe is credited with helping revive the Manchester Thanksgiving Day road race after WWII.
  • Manchester Herald, 06/23/1973 article on “Shufflin’ Joe” McCluskey.
  • Various articles about Joe McCluskey.

FRED AYER VERPLANCK

  • Fred Ayer Verplanck articles by Harold E. Turkington and Dr. William E. Buckley

DR. FRANCIS H. WHITON

  • Dr. Francis H. Whiton excerpt from 1892 “MEN OF PROGRESS” published by New England magazine
  • Dr. Francis H. Whiton biographical excerpt from the Whiton Library website

MARY CHENEY

RALPH CHENEY

  • Ralph Cheney, obituary of Ralph Cheney (1806-1897), reprinted from the South Manchester News.

ELISABETH BENNET

  • Elisabeth Bennet (1881-1959), principal of two Manchester public schools, was credited with many “firsts,” including establishing a school library in the basement of Barnard School with donations from friends and her own personal library. 

HORACE J. WICKHAM

  • Horace Wickham, inventor and entrepreneur by David Smith

Other People - Then and Now

  • Manchester, Center of Historic Architecture (Platt, Richardson, Billings, Stanford White, et al) by Susan Barlow; many notable architects designed Manchester buildings!
  • Gladys Adams (1910-2001), historian and author; 1992 profile in the former “Manchester Extra.” Gladys wrote this history of Buckland a 130-page book about the northwest section of Manchester.
  • Women in the Manchester Road Race: A Matter of Gender (Julia Chase-Brand et al) by Ana Foley-Schain
  • Charles Cheney, (1803-1874) funeral, 1874 Courant article.
  • Charles Cheney, (1803-1874) street name. Charles Cheney lived for a time in Ohio, where he was a part of the Underground Railroad. This 1999 reprint describes the naming of a street after him. Charles did return to Manchester and was involved in the family silk business.
  • Charles Cheney, (1866-1942), served as president and chairman of the board of Cheney brothers. This reprint includes pictures, an obituary, and notes about the mansion where he lived.
  • Howell Cheney, obituary of Howell Cheney (1870-1957), reprinted from the Manchester Evening Herald.
  • Howell Cheney School, notes about the technical school in Manchester named for Howell Cheney (1870-1957).
  • Russell Cheney, catalogue of a 2001 exhibit at the Cheney Homestead, by Mary Dunne.
  • Russell Cheney Manchester artist, by Susan Barlow.
  • Seth Wells Cheney obituary, 1856 New York Times.
  • Ward Cheney (1813-1876) obituary. Ward was President of Cheney Brothers 1855-1876.
  • Lacy and Isobel [Cobb] by Harry Cowles, from his memoir “My Random Thoughts,” reprinted in “The Storytellers” book
    Friendship: He was Dick [Cobb] and I was Johnnie by John H. McHug
  • “Honest Douglas” [Dumas] – Used Cars On Main Street by Susan Barlow
  • Leon Fallot Brings 47-Year Photo Career to End by Malcolm Barlow
  • From Your Neighbor’s Kitchen booklets, digitized and indexed.
  • “Life and Times of Jeremiah Grady (1815-1897) by James Wood; includes information about Mr. Grady’s grandson, Jerry Fay (1897-1978), Manchester Sports Hall of Fame member.
  • Anna Grimason’s family album  95-page booklet of family pictures and history, created in the 1990s.
  • Wesley Gryk’s memoir about Russell Cheney.
  • The Hibbard Family in the Old North End by Susan Barlow
  • 50th Anniversary of the Hibbard Family store in the North End as published in the South Manchester News, April 2, 1897
  • Elisha Hilliard Cooper, illustrated book about a descendant of the Hilliard family, famous in Manchester for the Hilliard Woolen Mills in the Hilliardville section of Manchester.
  • Mrs. Howe’s Maternity Home, illustrated notes about Mary Howe’s maternity home at 52 Wadsworth Street, by Susan Barlow and Noreen Cullen.
  • Conversations About the North End With Wally Irish from a 2005 interview by Fred D’Angelo
  • William H. Jones and His Memoirs by Susan Barlow
  • Tom Kelley Reminiscences Notes by Susan Barlow
  • An Extraordinary Photographer, John Knoll, Jr. by Susan Barlow
  • Tim McCann’s letters from Vietnam, 1970, reprinted from “Old Manchester II…The Storytellers,” published by the Manchester Historical Society in 1995.
  • Honoring John E. McCluskey by Susan Barlow
  • Memoirs Reveal Manchester History by Susan Barlow
  • Manchester’s Amazing Moriarty Brothers by Gerald Demusey, Hartford Courant, August 19, 1951
  • Moriarty Gets Chamber Award, Hartford Courant, August 16, 1964
  • Photographer & Teacher Sylvian “Sinch” Ofiara honored for his legacy to Eastern CT Health Network in its 2013 Annual Report
  • Memoir by Sylvian “Sinch” Ofiara, “When Capitalism Came to Hackmatack Street,” illustrated booklet of memories of Manchester in the 1930s. Also see: photos by Sinch and photos from his collection on this website.
  • My Work in the WAVES: An Interview with Dorothy Gaynell (Denton) Olcott by Susan Barlow
  • One of a Kind … The Grass Man  (obituary of James B. Olcott) by Rev. Dr. George W. Reynolds
  • Remembrances of James B. Olcott by (various)
  • Photo collection of Gail Peck including Sheridan Hotel, Center Memorial Park, Armory, with commentary
  • The Pitkins, part of a series by the Manchester Historical Society’s Public Information Committee, reprinted from The Manchester Evening Herald, June 28, 1967.
  • Cigars and the Pohlmann Family compiled from various sources
  • Charles Adams Platt, architect, list of mansions he designed on the Great Lawn, by Susan Barlow
  • Lewis M. Porter, Manchester Trail Maker by Susan Barlow, reprinted from Connecticut Woodlands, magazine of the Connecticut Forest & Park Association. His 1948 (revised 1964) Trail Map, of the Highland Park area.
  • Fred B. Pohlman, Cigar Maker by Earl Yost
  • Historian John Rogers by Malcolm Barlow, Manchester Herald article reprinted in “The Storytellers” book
  • Interview with Judge Jay E. Rubinow by Susan Barlow
  • Roger Schubert’s memoir, “No Guns on Sunday” about growing up in the 1930s and 40s on Cooper Street.
  • Bob Samuelson Recalls Manchester’s Early Days from an interview of September, 2006 by Fred D’Angelo
  • Emily Smith and International Friendship by Susan Barlow
  • Mathias Spiess – Manchester: Past Places, People by Anna McGuire, part of a series by the Manchester Historical Society’s Public Information Committee, from The Manchester Evening Herald, May 10, 1967. Mathias Spiess lived from 1873 to 1959.
  • Tober Brothers and Meyer Tober — baseball factory by Susan Barlow
  • In Memory of Frederick A. “Fred” Towle — Obituary and Interview by Susan Barlow
  • Fred Ayer Verplanck articles by Harold E. Turkington and Dr. William E. Buckley
  • Thomas Weldon and the Downtown of Yore by Susan Barlow
  • Wunnee, Indian Princess book, by Mathias Spiess, published in 1934.
(Ed. Note: Richard "Dick" Cobb, 69, former Manchester High School athletic director, died April 20, 1988.)
Historic People
Susan Barlow

Friendship: He was Dick and I was Johnnie

by John H. McHughoriginally from the Manchester Herald, 5/3/1988reprinted from Old Manchester II … The Storytellers, published 1995 by the Manchester Historical Society To the editor: Dick Cobb and I went to Bunce School starting off in first grade. We became close friends. Dick and I fought each other, as boys

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Historic People
Susan Barlow

Gladys Adams, Historian (1910-2001)

This article about Gladys Adams appeared July 23, 1992 in The Manchester Extra, a weekly insert in The Hartford Courant after the closing of The Manchester Herald in 1991. Gladys’s obituary says, “She retired as a statistical typist in 1971, working for Cheney Brothers Silk Manufacturer, Manchester, and Pratt &

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Historic People
Susan Barlow

Hazel Lutz And Her Dream

Reprinted with permission Hazel Lutz envisioned a museum only for children, where they could learn and play, and not be told “Don’t Touch.” Her dream came true in 1953, when Manchester’s PTA Council decided to sponsor a museum named in her honor. They listened to her idea of a place

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