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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

1939

JOHN HOWARD WHITTEMORE

JOHN HOWARD WHITTEMORE
OCTOBER 3, 1837-MAY 28, 1910

A MEMORIAL

PRIVATELY PRINTED
AT THE RIVERSIDE PRESS
1912

PREFATORY NOTE
THE preparation of a Memorial such as
this was suggested to Mr. Whittemore's
family on the day of his funeral. The compiler
had little thought, as he proflfered his humble
service that afternoon, that more than a year
would pass before the little book could be com
pleted. But in addition to the minor delays
which must always be reckoned on, there came
to the writer a really serious hindrance in the
form of a severe illness, involving during con
valescence an absence from the country of
some months.
Several of the newspapers from which the
"tributes of the press" presented in these
pages were selected published also extended
articles containing biographical details. The
"outline" given here reproduces the facts nar
rated in these articles, but enlarges the record
in two respects. With the kind aid of Mr.
Alfred A. Pope, of Farmington, the account of
Mr. Whittemore's connection with the malle
able iron industry has been reduced to a nearly
consecutive statement, and through the pains-

[ vi ]
taking cooperation of Mr. Warren H. Man
ning, of Boston, a detailed account has been
given of Mr. Whittemore's noteworthy work in
the improving and beautifying of the towns
containing his two homes. It should, perhaps,
be added that Mr. Manning, in a personal let
ter in which no reference was made to his own
relation to the work, spoke particularly of the
services of Mr. W, M. Shepardson as superin
tendent, and spoke also of Messrs. McKim,
Mead & White as the architects of most of the
public buildings referred to. In this connection,
Mr. A. M. Napier should also be specially
mentioned as in close association with Mr.
Whittemore in constructive architectural work
during a period of sixteen years.
If there are any pages in the biographical
"outline" of which Mr. Whittemore would
say, if he could read them, "this is hardly
worth while," they are probably those refer
ring to his ancestry. But if it is true, as so
often remarked, that such men as he belong
not alone to the present but to the future, it is
also true that they belong to the past. They are
the product not of yesterday but of vanished
generations. We compare them not to plants
of a season, but to sturdy trees sprung from a

[ vii]
rich and fertile soil, and it is well worth while to
search as deeply as we can amidst the roots of
every large and productive life, to see how the
diverse elements have united to bring forth
beautiful and abiding fruit.
A notable thing in this Memorial is the num
ber and variety of the "personal estimates."
In going through the hundreds of letters from
which they were taken, passages of condo
lence and sympathy, however impressive, were
omitted, and those only that contained a dis
tinct reference to personality or character were
selected; yet it was difficult to avoid making
the list too large, although pains were taken to
avoid repetition. And it is remarkable how
many points of view are represented and how
many diflferent aspects of the man pass before
us, producing the impression of a life that was
not only strong but rich and versatile. To as
semble these varied traits in any brief summary
would be impossible; to attempt to supple
ment them by suggesting others would seem
almost an impertinence; so that the compiler
of this Memorial passes it over into the hands
of those who loved and admired Mr. Whitte
more with only an expression of the deep
pleasure he has found in the fulfilment of his

[ viii ]
self-imposed task, and in the satisfaction it
gives him to have the result permanently em
bodied within the covers of this beautiful
volume. J. A.

CONTENTS
The Life in Outline  1
The Funeral Service and the Sermon . .41
Tributes of the Press  59
Tributes of Corporations, Churches, and So
cieties  75
Personal Estimates gathered from Letters . 103

ILLUSTRATIONS
John Howard Whittemore . . . Frontispiece
From a photograph taken in 1909.
John Howard Whittemore at the Age of
Thirteen  12
From a daguerreotype taken with his sister.
John Howard Whittemore at the Age of
Twenty  36
From a daguerreotype.
John Howard Whittemore  106
From a photograph taken in 1901.

THE LIFE IN OUTLINE

THE LIFE IN OUTLINE

THE Whittemore family is one among
many whose genealogical record in Amer
ica has been diligently investigated and care
fully recorded. As the result of laborious re
search pursued through several years by a
busy man who bears the family name,^ the
Whittemore lineage has been traced back to
the twelfth century. Although this biography
of John Howard Whittemore is only an out
line, it cannot be inappropriate to preface it by
a brief summary of his lineage, as it has been
traced. The earliest ancestor of the Whittemores of
whom there is any definite knowledge seems to
have borne the name de Boterel. He was Peter
de Boterel (or Botrel) of Staflfordshire, and
must have been born early in the twelfth cen
tury. He had a son Ralph (1152), who married
twice. Ralph's son William, the child of his
' D. J. Whittemore, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Chief Engineer of the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, and President of the Ameri
can Society of Civil Engineers.

[ 4 ]
first wife, married Avisa de Whitmere, but
does not represent the American line. His son
by his second wife, Ralph, was the ancestor of
the American Whitmores and Whittemores,
This second Ralph de Botrel had a son John,
who became known as Sir John de Whitmere,
his name being derived, as is so often the case
in England, from his place of residence, which
was Whitmere (that is, white lake or pool) in
the manor of Claverly, in Shropshire. Sir
John had a son, Lord John, of Whitmere (or
Whitmore), who lived about 1300, and whose
son Richard of Whitmore married a daughter
of Sir Philip Draycote, Knight, and had four
daughters and a son Philip. Philip had a son
Richard, who was married three times and by
his third wife had a son Nicholas. Nicholas
had one son, Anthony, who had one son Wil
liam, who had a son John, known as John Whit
more, of Caunton (County Notts), in the reign
of Henry the Sixth. His second wife was
Catherine Compton, of Hawton (Visitation of
York, 1563), by whom he had two sons, the
younger of whom, Robert, was his heir. Rob
ert died in 1540, leaving a son Charles, who
died in 1568. Charles had four daughters and
eight or nine sons, four of whom spelled their

[5]
name Whittemore, three of them, Watmore,
and one, Whitmore.
Charles Whitmore's sixth son, Thomas, was
the latest English ancestor of the American
Whittemores. He lived in Hitchin, county of
Hertford, and died in 1649. He had two sons,
both of whom emigrated to America, — John
Whitmore, who settled in Stamford, Connecti
cut, and Thomas Whittemore, the younger,
who came to Charlestown, Massachusetts, in
1639 or 1640. He soon removed to "the Mystic
side," known later as Maiden. In 1645 he
bought of John Cotton land that is now in
cluded in the city of Everett, which continued
in possession of the family for two hundred
years. This Thomas Whittemore had thirteen
children, seven of whom were born in England.
His second son, Daniel, born in Hitchin in
1633, died in the paternal homestead on the
Mystic side in 1683. Daniel's second son,
John, who also died in Maiden, had eight chil
dren, the third of whom, Joseph Whittemore,
born in 1698, removed to Connecticut and set
tled in Mansfield, where, in 1734, he married
Ann Slate. They had a son, " Captain Joseph,"
who was born July 4, 1736, was married in
1763 to Sarah Howe, and died July 17, 1802.

[6]
The second son of Captain Joseph Whitte
more was Samuel, who was born in Mansfield
in 1767, and lived in Bolton. On New Year's
Day, 1794, he married Sally Wales, by whom
he had three daughters and a son. The son was
Williams Howe, the father of John Howard
Whittemore. Williams Howe Whittemore was born in
Bolton, Connecticut, February 2, 1800. He
received his early education in the district
school at Belchertown, Massachusetts, and
while residing there decided to study for the
ministry. He graduated from Yale College in
the class of 1825, having entered in sophomore
year, and after graduation entered the Yale
Divinity School. During his college and theo
logical course he found opportunity to teach,
at Washington, Connecticut, at New Haven,
and later in the high school in Newark, New
Jersey, where he was an instructor in the clas
sics for a year. In 1829, while still pursuing
his theological studies, he assumed the tem
porary charge of the Presbyterian Church in
Rye, New York, where he remained three
years. After a ministry of some months at
Abington, Connecticut, he became pastor at
Charlton, Massachusetts, and was there until

[ 7]
the spring of 1836, when he was called to be
pastor of the Congregational Church in South-
bury, Connecticut. He remained in the South-
bury pastorate fourteen years, after which (in
1851) he removed to New Haven. He contin
ued to preach in various places, and from the
spring of 1864 until September, 1865, served as
agent of the National Freedmen's Relief Asso
ciation. In May, 1868, he removed to Brook
lyn, New York, to live with his married daugh
ter, and in 1870, during the pastorate of Dr.
Richard S. Stoae, became a member of the
Church of the Pilgrims. His death took place
at the home of his second son, Edward Payson
Whittemore, in Rye, on the 25th of July, 1885.
During his ministry in Rye, the Rev. Mr.
Whittemore became acquainted with Maria
Clark, whom he married on the 22d of Decem
ber, 1831. She was the daughter of Ebenezer
Clark, a native of Wallingford, Connecticut,
whose great-great-grandfather, James Clark,
was one of the first settlers of New Haven,
and was of the company that met with Gov
ernor Eaton "in Mr. Newman's barn," June 4,
1639, to frame the civil compact upon which
the government of the colony was founded.
Ebenezer Clark removed in his early manhood

[8]
to New York^ City, and some years afterward
to Rye, where he built himself a house in 1836,
and where he died thirty-one years later, in his
seventy-ninth year. He was the chief instru
ment in organizing the Presbyterian Church in
that place, — in fact, organized two churches
and built two church-edifices. The "New
York Observer" said of him:
From the infancy of these two congregations
until his death he watched over them with the
tenderness and anxiety of a parent. In all their
struggles his strong hand supported and his saga
cious counsels guided them. The large drafts made
year by year upon his own moderate resources were
met with a rare liberality. Demands which would
have startled many of our wealthy Christians he
cheerfully and promptly satisfied.
The wife of Ebenezer Clark was Hannah
Marselis. Her first American ancestor was
Pieter Marselis, who was born in Hamburg,
and came to America from Holland in 1661.
He was of Danish ancestry, his father holding
the office of "Resident and Commissary of the
King of Denmark" at Amsterdam. He was a
curator of the University of Leyden in 1662
and is on record as a member of the Danish
nobility in 1665.

[9]
Maria Clark was born in New York, Janu
ary 16, 1803, and died in Brooklyn, February
25, 1886, having survived her husband but a
few months. Their children were Williams
Clark, Edward Payson, John Howard, and
Emma Parsons.
It was early in the Rev. Mr. Whittemore's
pastorate in Southbury, that is, on October 3,
1837, that John Howard Whittemore was
born. It was in Southbury that his childhood
was spent, and here he went to school, until he
was twelve years of age. In a letter of reminis
cences, written a few weeks after Mr. Whitte
more's death, his cousin Mr. John E. Parsons
makes interesting reference to this boyhood's
home of the minister's son:
When I was not yet nine years of age, I went
with my sister, older than myself, and my brother
William, a year younger, to Southbury, to be with
Howard's father and mother while my father was
in England (on the visit in returning from which he
was lost, in the wreck of the packet ship Pennsyl
vania). Of the time we spent there I recall many
incidents. I remember quite a number of the peo
ple, and I sometimes think that I recall Howard;
but this can hardly be, as he was only two years old
at the time. In recent years I have passed through

I 10]
the place several times, — the trip that I recall
most distinctly being that which we made when my
brother William and I, with Howard's brother
Edward, were visiting in Naugatuck. Southbury
seemed so familiar, and I was able to recognize so
many of the houses, that I cannot but think I must
have made something of a stay there, once or more
than once, after the long visit I have referred to.
Young as I was, the months I passed in Southbury
left upon my mind a lasting impression of the charm
of the place, the beauty of the surrounding country,
the attractiveness of the village street, and the per
fection of the trees by which in summer it was
shadowed. I mention this because I cannot but
think that the home in which your husband was
brought up, — its charming surroimdings and the
refinement of a minister's family, — simple as was
the life, gave direction and color, furnished an aim
and object, that lasted to the end. From a boy he
knew the beautiful lake upon which your Middle-
bury home now looks out, and the intervening hills
must have invited to many a ramble. I do not
wonder that with the strong and affectionate na
ture which Howard possessed he never lost his love
for the home around which his earliest memories
clustered. Mr. Parsons, in the same letter, speaks of
his cousin's relation to Rye, the home of his
mother's parents:

[ 11 ]
In one of his visits to Loimsberry — my father's
place, where I was brought up — Howard spoke of
having lived for a time at Rye, with my uncle and
aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Parsons. I think he
said that he was at school there. I had forgotten
that he ever had any home associations with Rye,
and was pleased to learn that he had lived there for
a time. Rye is, of all places, the one most inti
mately associated with his family on his mother's
side, and with mine. The Rev. Mr. Whittemore, as
you are well aware, was the minister of the Presby
terian Church there, at the time of his betrothal
and marriage. The father of the bride — our
grandfather — lived there many years, and it al
ways seemed to me that I saw some of his marked
characteristics reproduced in Howard. Mr. Clark
was a man of strong will, of earnest convictions, of
quiet manner, of unselfish public spirit. He did for
Rye, according to the measure of the period, what
on a larger scale, at a later time, his grandson did
for Naugatuck.
It was a fine thing that Howard should go forth
from a Connecticut parsonage to a career so im
portant and in so many ways successful. His
grandfather also was brought up in a Connecticut
town, and went from there to take part in the
activities of New York, when Wall Street was the
northern boundary of the city. His first home was
at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway, but he

[ 12]
had that love of country life which was so marked
in Howard, and his object seems to have been to
keep near the city and yet not live in it, so that
after one or two removals northward, as the city
grew, he removed to Rye, and Rye has continued
to be the home of a large number of members of the
family down to the present time.
This led, some years since, to the acquisition by
Howard and his two cousins, my brother William
and myself, of the "Square House," a building
made interesting by the fact that Washington,
Lafayette, and many others among our early
celebrities stayed there when it was known as
"Haviland's Inn." We gave it to the village as a
memorial of our grandfather, to be its municipal
hall, and the gift is commemorated by a tablet
upon which John Howard Whittemore is named
as one of the donors. This of itself is a small mat
ter, — interesting to me, however, because it
reveals the affection which Howard retained for
what I may call the home of the family, although
he had ceased to be identified with it so long ago.
At the age of twelve, or thereabout, Howard
entered the well-known and successful school
of General William H. Russell, in New Haven,
known as the "Collegiate and Commercial
Institute." He remained in this school four
years, expecting to enter Yale College, as his

'A;r IS

[ 13]
elder brother had done in 1851.^ But unfore
seen circumstances led to his turning aside
from a college course and beginning a business
career. At the age of sixteen, he secured a po
sition in the house of Shepard & Morgan, com
mission brokers, and retained it for three
years. This firm, the members of which were
EUiott F. Shepard and Edwin D. Morgan, Jr.,
was dissolved in 1857, the year of the financial
panic. Young Whittemore was invited to a
place in the office of the senior Mr. Morgan,
the "war governor" of New York, where he
remained for six months, and at the end of
that period he removed to Naugatuck, which,
contrary to his expectations, became his per
manent home.
Here, ere long, he formed the acquaintance
of Julia Anna Spencer, daughter of Harris and
Thirza (Buckingham) Spencer, to whom he
became united in marriage on the 10th of
June, 1863, and here their four children were
born, — Harris, Gertrude Buckingham, Julia,
who died in infancy; and John Howard, who
died in 1887 in his sixteenth year.
* This brother, Williams Clark Whittemore, was bom December 16,
1833, and died at his home in Washington, D.C., April 25, 1910.

[ 14 ]
II
It was in March, 1858, in his twenty-first
year, that at the urgent request of his friend
E. C. Hinman he entered the employ of the
E. C. Tuttle Company. It was a temporary
engagement, to do some special work on the
books of the concern. He had become in love
with New York and felt that nothing could in
duce him to settle permanently in the country.
But the depression in business was so serious
and so prolonged that when the factory of the
E. C. Tuttle Company was destroyed by fire,
in July following, it seemed best to him to ac
cept the one opportunity that presented itself,
that is, to form a partnership with Bronson B.
Tuttle, son of E. C. Tuttle, under the firm
name of Tuttle & Whittemore. It is related on
good authority that the Rev. Mr. Whittemore,
to enable his son to make the necessary invest
ment, borrowed a thousand dollars from one of
the New Haven banks, and was warned at the
time against loaning so large an amount to a
young man without experience and with little
judgment. The firm prospered, however, and
continued until 1871, when it was incorporated
under the name of "The Tuttle & Whittemore

[ 15 ]
Company." Ten years later it became "The
Naugatuck Malleable Iron Company," and
Mr. Whittemore was its president until 1900,
that is, for twenty years.
This firm was one of the earliest in the
United States to make malleable iron castings.
It would doubtless interest many in the world
of trade to detail the process, extending through
thirty or forty years, by which the malleable
iron business was brought to its present large
development. If this could be done, it would
not only exhibit the growth of a prominent
American industry, it would illustrate the wide
range and the variety of a strong man's activi
ties. But we can only sum up the long and
varied history by saying that during the next
thirty-odd years Mr. Whittemore became in
terested in foundries at Bridgeport, Troy, New
York, and New Britain in the East, at Cleve
land, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Toledo in the
Middle West, and at Sharon, Pennsylvania.
He was a director in all of these concerns and
influential in their management. In his later
years his time was less completely occupied
with this because it was his aim to get the
younger men who had become associated with
him in this great industry into positions of re-

[ 16 ]
sponsibility. It reveals, however, the wide
range of his activities and his efficiency as a
business man that, in addition to the numer
ous enterprises already referred to, he had, as
the newspapers expressed it, "very large pro
prietary interests in real estate in Chicago and
elsewhere," also in several railroads. A fact
better known to his Eastern friends — a f9,ct,
too, in which they found no little satisfaction
and he no little pleasure — was the place he
held after 1905 among the directors of the New
York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad and
upon its executive committee. In the group of
strong men comprising that board he soon
came to be regarded as a leader, and to him in
all probability may be largely credited the im
proved railroad facilities which the residents of
the Naugatuck Valley, especially of Nauga
tuck and Waterbury, began to enjoy a year or
two before his death. And this was simply one
of many fields in the realm of finance and trade
in which he had become an active worker. He
was, for example, a director of the New Britain
corporation known as Landers, Frary & Clark,
and of the North & Judd Manufacturing Com
pany, of the same city, of which he was for a
time the president. He was a founder and for

[ 17 ]
some time a director of the Naugatuck Na
tional Bank, and a trustee of the Naugatuck
Savings Bank. He was connected with the Co
lonial Trust Company of Waterbury from the
time of its formation and served as its first
vice-president. After the death of David S.
Plume, Mr. Whittemore succeeded him in the
presidency. He resigned the office in Novem
ber, 1909, but continued to serve as chairman
of the executive committee until his death.
A question that might well be asked. How
could any man find time and strength for all
this? becomes still more difficult to answer
when we take into account other activities,
belonging to the realm of play rather than of
work, but making large inroads upon his time,
— such as his annual visits to the South, and
his several trips to Europe with his family, —
the first of them in 1881 and five afterwards.
The fact that Mr. Whittemore made no pro
vision in his will for public bequests is ex
plained in large part by the nature of his giving
as connected with his everyday life and his
daily activities. It must be borne in mind that
a large proportion of the enterprises which oc
cupied his later years and which might with
propriety be called business enterprises were

[ 18 ]
really philanthropies — works entered upon
and carried to completion not in his own inter
est or merely for the gratification of his per
sonal tastes, but for the benefit of the commun
ity to which he belonged. Ill
Mr. Whittemore's love of nature and his
fondness for outdoor life opened the way to a
deep interest in what may be called landscape
architecture, and when the time for work in
this field arrived he was fortunate enough to
select for his guidance men who represented
the best ideals and the highest skill in this noble
profession. It was an extensive and varied
work, carried forward through more than a
score of years, not limited to Naugatuck, which
had been his home so long, and the nearby
town of Middlebury, where he established a
summer residence in 1893. The landscape
work in both of these towns was initiated by
that eminent landscape designer, Charles
EHot, the son of Dr. Charles W. Ehot, of Har
vard, and was continued after Mr. Eliot's death
by Mr. Warren H. Manning, of Boston. The
plans adopted were so notable and their
achievement so complete that it seems well

[ 19]
worth while to place them on record in some
detail. This has been accomplished through
the kind cooperation of Mr. Manning, whose
careful statement is reproduced substantially
in the following account:
Breadth of view, consistency, thoroughness, and
unselfishness characterize Mr. Whittemore's atti
tude in the development of his plans for Naugatuck
and Middlebury, including the whole region be
tween and adjacent to his winter and his summer
homes. The comprehensiveness of these plans
cannot be realized except by those who were
throughout in close touch with the work.
Mr. Whittemore's Naugatuck home was built in
1888. Except for the straight entrance path to the
front door, edged with box, the plan of the grounds
was distinctly informal, the aim being to increase
their apparent extent, to shut out undesirable
views, give the house and lawn an attractive set
ting of foliage, and thus to secure privacy and pro
tection, but without producing an appearance of
exclusiveness or preventing the public from enjoy
ing the place.
Before 1901 additional property was acquired to
the south and west of the homestead, and a house
was built for Mr. Whittemore's son Harris. The
homestead lawn was extended past the new house
and past Mr. Whittemore's modest office building

[ 20 ]
to an older house on the southerly side of the pro
perty, thus securing for each structure a share in
the outlook. On the easterly side of the lawn was
planted an irregular belt of red cedars from ten to
thirty feet in height; also numerous native rhodo
dendrons. Mr. Whittemore desired a screen as
effectual as this, and was ready to accept the
chance of failure in the moving of big trees — a
task in which he was unusually successful, here and
elsewhere, by virtue of the skill of Mr. W. M.
Shepardson, his superintendent, who executed all
the plans.
Beyond the cedars and running through the pro
perty was a canal, over which was a bridge carry
ing the road to the new stable. The shores of the
canal, once a dumping-ground for rubbish, were
planted with evergreens to give emphasis to the
beauty of quiet flowing water as seen from the
bridge. On these grounds was constructed a turf
road with cobble-stone foundation laid in loam, —
the loam to support turf, the cobble-stones to sup
port the wheels of the heavy wagons that now and
then deliver coal. Heavy boulders also were laid,
without foundation, on the top of a steep bank as a
roadside guard. Mr. Whittemore's mind was so
open and he was so free from the fear of departure
from conventional practice that he was prompt to
adopt new methods when suggested by those in
whom he had confidence.

[ 21 ]
In 1888 he undertook the improvement of the
ancient cemetery lying on the bluff to the south of
the river. It was in the usual condition of New
England's disused burialgrounds, — full of weeds,
its monuments fallen or toppling in all direc
tions, its banks and walls caving. The walls were
reconstructed, the banks graded and planted, the
surface cleared of rubbish and seeded or covered
with good turf, plantations established along the
boundaries, and the headstones cleaned and made
erect. The first public buildings that Mr. Whittemore
was instrumental in securing for the town were the
Bank and the Howard Whittemore Memorial
Library, where he made the surroundings as at
tractive as his home grounds, not only as seen from
the street but from the railroad at the rear. The
Library was established in 1888 and the building
was finished in 1894. Then came the Salem Graded
School, placed at the head of the village common,
but not on it. This building was surrounded by
shrubs and draped with vines, against the protest
of citizens who were sure that the children would
destroy them. At the same time the Soldiers'
Monument was removed to a more suitable posi
tion, and a public drinking-fountain was erected
near the spot where the Monument had stood, —
on the opposite side of the common, close to the
main street. These were the forerunners of a

[ 22 ]
notable civic centre, and the beginning of a system
of open reservations.
In 1900 two High School sites were considered,
one on the high terrace north of Mr. Whittemore's
house. The present site was adopted, notwith
standing the greater difficulties and the increased
expense, for two reasons, — because it was possible
to establish here a road for traffic on a much easier
grade between the low-lying business district and
the high residential district above, and because a
school placed here would form a distinct and valu
able addition to the developing civic centre. (A
notable incident in the work here was the saving of
a great maple tree, under one side of which it was
necessary to excavate for the road. In making the
excavation all the roots were carefully saved, bent
down to the new level, and covered with good soil.
The tree is still healthy.)
About 1898 an important addition to the com
mon land was secured. This was the gift of Mr.
George A. Lewis and was known as "Lewis Park."
This land was too steep for business blocks or
dwelling-houses, and the village common, the
churches, and the main street were parallel with its
base. Along its summit was a street upon which
was the important residential district before
referred to. From this high street the view over the
Lewis Park slope to the street below and down the
river valley was unobstructed except for occasional

[23]
trees and groups of trees. Its slope, its shade, and
its fine outlook, made it an attractive place for
recreation and rest, the only attractive place, in
fact, near the centre, for the old common was shut
in by buildings and intersected by much-used
walks. This park included at first only the westerly
portion of the slope, and did not extend back of the
Salem School. But Mr. Whittemore acquired suf
ficient land to bring together the High School and
Salem School grounds, and on this land erected a
stone band-stand in 1902.
Sometime before 1905 Mr. Whittemore acquired
land lying east of the Salem School, upon which
he estabUshed a direct connection between the vil
lage common and the High School by a walk
leading to the stone steps that pass up the slope.
On the level ground the walk passes between panels
of turf, and the steps ascend between belts of
honeysuckles and plantations of trees and shrubs
designed to screen out adjacent buildings. A little
later he acquired the only other private holdings
required to round out this property, namely, two
lots lying west of the Salem School, and in the same
year constructed a model playground on these lots,
with an attractive public-comfort house.
Mr. Whittemore's next effort in the way of pub
lic improvements was made in connection with the
relocation of the railroad in the town. His aim was
to secure a more attractive station, with adequate

[24 ]
grounds and attractive approaches to the main
streets and the village centre. A very serious
effort was made to secure for the road such a loca
tion that the spire of the church would appear on
its axis, thus more definitely connecting this en
trance to the town with the civic centre. The pre
sent street was finally fixed upon, and in 1907-08
the station was erected, suitable roads constructed,
and plantations of trees established that make this
town-entrance a notable one. The location of this
station was one of the incidents in the very impor
tant work of relocating the railroad through the
borough. The work was placed almost wholly in
Mr. Whittemore's hands by the board of directors
of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad,
of which he had recently been made a member, and
here again he found an opportunity for making a
permanent improvement that would greatly en
hance the beauty of the town. In this process of re
location tracks were carried directly along the side
of the river for a mile or more through the heart of
the borough, and a fine river and railroad parkway
was thus created. For the disreputable riverside
"shacks " of the earlier time substantial and credit
able structures were substituted on the other side
of the tracks, while an unobstructed outlook over
the railroad to the river, was secured.
As early as 1900, Mr. Whittemore began to
acquire land on the slopes within the valley north-

[25]
east of the borough and north of the iron-works.
The purchases were so directed as to secure control
of the valley landscape; they included valley land
and bluffs, with enough flat land along their upper
edge for a future road. On this area the public was
permitted to roam at large, and on the level por
tions of the valley bottom Country Club grounds
and a golf-course were established, with public
paths passing through them. From the holdings
here a continuous connection was acquired, ex
tending up the valley, to a steep gorge through
which the stream tumbles in foam over a rock
bottom and between rock walls. The slopes are
covered with an old growth of hemlock, pine,
beech, birch, and maple, and is the most attractive
bit of natural woodland near Naugatuck; but it
would soon have been destroyed by the wood
cutters had not Mr. Whittemore secured it.
Thus far Mr. Manning's story relates to
Naugatuck only. But there was another field
to which Mr. Whittemore's plans were ex
tended. Many years ago he became much in
terested in the town of Middlebury. During
his boyhood in Southbury he was familiar with
the region roundabout, and Quassapaug Lake
was well known to him. A writer in the "Wa
terbury American" on the day following his
death teUs how he planned at one time to es-

[26]
tablish a summer home on Breakneck Hill, —
one of Middlebury's conspicuous heights, —
but on looking over the property, before con
cluding the purchase, found that a beautiful
grove of trees had been cut down for firewood,
and at once decided against it. Mr. Manning
continues: He did not realize that twenty years later he
would be one of those most prominently connected
with the opening-up of the beauties of this town to
the public. About 1893 he purchased two or three
contiguous farms on the east shore of Lake Quassa
paug, and built a cottage in which he lived tempor
arily while he was building a larger and more com
fortable house on the hill above. . . . He loved the
place and the life there, with its simplicity and
fresh air, with its golf and rowing and riding, and
with the interests of the farm and the interest which
he had in the community he certainly gained a new
lease of life, so that Middlebury should be pro
foundly grateful to the happy chance that brought
Mr. Whittemore back to it a second time. Those
who are at all familiar with Middlebury need not
be reminded of what he has done for it.
For the record of what he did for it, as seen
from the point of view of the landscape de
signer, we return to Mr. Manning's narrative:

[27]
Mr. Whittemore's summer home on Quassapaug
Lake was completed in 1894, but improvements
were added from year to year. The flower garden
below the terrace, including the bird basin, was
laid out in 1897; in 1898 roads were extended up to
the hilltop east of the house, along which was es
tablished a collection of the native trees and shrubs
of Connecticut; a rose garden was laid out near the
terrace garden in 1903; new woodland trails east
of the house were opened during these years; an
outlook observatory was estabhshed on the hilltop,
and not far from it a stone fireplace was built in
1904, with a millstone table and massive seats
carved from chestnut logs. On the hillside slope,
between the woods and the house, golf-links were
established for the home friends. Not even the
faithful beasts of burden were neglected here, for
one may find in these woods a marble tablet in
memory of an old four-footed friend of the family.
On the southerly end of the hillside slope there was
erected in 1901 a summer home for Mr. Harris
Whittemore, the house being so fitted into the hill
side, in association with fine old trees, as to give a
series of attractive vistas opening through the foli
age to the lake and the valley. Beyond the large
house, on the westerly side of the highway, along
which distinctive stone walls were erected, a road
opens that was constructed to lead from the farm
buildings to the lake shore landing, bordered ex-

[28]
clusively with plantations of fruiting shrubs and
trees. A short cut, starting in front of the house,
was made across the loop of this road and down the
steep slope toward the lake by constructing a long
flight of flat stone steps. These were laid on steps
of earth with only an earth foundation, — another
experiment that has proved to be successful.
In Middlebury as in Naugatuck, Mr. Whitte
more took pains to acquire the land that was
natur£illy in his outlook, or to see that it came into
the hands of friends like-minded. His most im
portant outlook was over the lake, beyond which
were slopes leading up to a high hill covered almost
wholly with a mixed growth of deciduous and ever
green trees. Much of this he secured. His breadth
of view is indicated in an interesting way by his
attitude toward the street railway company in its
relations to Quassapaug Lake. The railway com
pany had secured land for an amusement resort on
the lake shore, and he immediately gave his assist
ance in making the grounds as attractive as they
could well be made.
In 1896 Mr. Whittemore began a series of im
provements in Middlebury Centre, chiefly along
the road from Naugatuck to his home on the lake.
The village common was unproved, plantations
were made about the two churches and the town
hall, a public school building was erected with
plantations about it, and the horse sheds of one of

[29]
the churches were removed from their position near
the main street to a point where they could be
screened in. The old highway, which passed down
into a valley and then up to the village centre on
very steep and dangerous grades, was relocated so
as to pass through an attractive piece of woodland,
and thoroughly reconstructed, all this being stud
ied out in connection with the modifications of the
Centre. Throughout the period under review Mr. Whit
temore was bringing about such changes as would
secure better grades and more attractive points of
outlook from the Naugatuck-Middlebury high
ways into the regions beyond. The roads were also
made wider, were reconstructed in a substantial
manner, and planted with trees throughout their
length where trees were not already growing.
The electric railway was built about 1908. Mr.
Whittemore took pains to see that in building it a
separation in grades should be made on the main
street and that the railway track should be carried
to one side, so that the highway might be as safe
and attractive for driving as it had been.
In 1908, with Mr. Whittemore's assistance, the
Westover School for Girls was established in Mid
dlebury village and quaint and interesting school
buildings were erected, facing the common. The
school grounds include meadows and a very at
tractive woodland, thus offering ideal conditions

[30]
for recreation. In the construction of these grounds
it was found necessary to change the location and
the grade of the main street and to transplant
several large elms, all of which was done success
fully. Mr. Manning adds:
Mr. Whittemore was not accustomed to say
much about the beauty of the work that he was
doing, but a word now and then and the lighting-up
of his face indicated to those who knew him how
much he cared for all this. He put his heart into it,
and it is well worth while to observe that it was
chiefly to his home town that he gave the benefit of
the wealth he had acquired as a business man, and
that he gave it in a way to establish memorials that
will grow in beauty as the years go on. Although
his field of effort was intentionally limited, the in
direct influence of the man and his work upon busi
ness associates, friends, and observers cannot be
measured. It has been and will continue to be an
important factor in fostering the widespread inter
est in civic improvement, the great increase in
which is evident to those who during the past
twenty years have observed the local-improve
ment activities carried on in so many places, of
which Mr. Whittemore's manifold work is more
than typical.
I think if we were to know how far his breadth of

[31]
view, his good taste, and his sound business judg
ment affected the action of others associated with
him, we should find that this influence was really a
very important one. The public know of certain
important civic-improvement schemes that have
been promoted in a large way, such as the Cleve
land plan, the Bumham Chicago plan, and the San
Francisco plan. They know something, perhaps, of
towns that have been planned with a view to secur
ing for workingmen as nearly ideal conditions as
could be produced, such as Gary, Coleraine, and
Gwinn. But they know very little of the work Mr.
Whittemore has done, because it has been done in
an exceedingly modest and unassuming manner.
He has never sought or encouraged publicity, and
I think it is due to his memory that his work be
made an object lesson to other communities and to
other men who have the means, and might be led
to have the disposition, to help public projects as
Mr. Whittemore has helped them. His work has
been for the benefit of the whole community.
If the record here given of Mr. Whittemore's
work in Naugatuck and Middlebury seems
almost too^ matter-of-fact and colorless, this
must be attributed to the modesty of the expe
rienced artist to whom he so largely entrusted
the laying-out and elaborating of his far-
reaching plans. There are others who do not

[ 32 ]
consider it necessary to curb their enthusiasm.
Mr. John E. Parsons, for instance, in his letter
of reminiscences already quoted, has this to
say of some of the things accomplished at
Naugatuck: On my dressing-table, here in Lenox, is a photo
graph of a beautiful building, erected by Howard,
the Library at Naugatuck. He sent it to me shortly
after the Library was completed, and it is a daily
gratification to me to look at it. I can think of no
thing more chaste and simple, and yet so charm
ing. It is a reflection of the character of the donor.
He had an inborn love for the beautiful. It was
natural for him to surround himself with the most
attractive objects in art and architecture, and this
not by any means for mere selfish gratification. We
were in Naugatuck just as he was finishing the
costly and admirable High School. There again
the characteristics of the giver are illustrated in the
gift. Nothing was overlooked that could contribute
to the success of the school, nothing that could be
of advantage to those who there were to make their
start in life.
On our recent visit to Naugatuck, as we drove
through the town, admiring this Library Building,
this High School, the Salem School, the Park, the
Church, and the Parish House, — all eloquent of
him who had so recently gone to his reward, — I

[ 33 ]
was made to realizehowmuch can be accomplished,
without ostentation, without blare of trumpets, by
a quiet, thoughtful, generous man, for the well-
being of others to whose well-being he is willing to
devote a large part of his life. And his remains
could not have a more beautiful resting-place than
on the hillside which he embellished, which over
looks the place where he found his wife, where his
children were born, and where stands the beautiful
home in which he passed a large part of his useful
and happy life.
It is worth while to include here also a letter
in which an eminent man gives expression to
his estimate of "the landscape art" and of the
work accomplished in Naugatuck and Middle
bury. Deab Mrs. Whittemore: —
Your note of May eleventh gave Mrs. Eliot and
me much serious pleasure. It is delightful to hear,
first, that Charles gave sympathetic and sound
advice about the development of a characteristic
New England country place, and, secondly, that
his book gave satisfaction to your husband and
yourself. You speak of the book as my memoir of
my son. In small part it was a sketch of his life;
but nine tenths of the book consist of his own writ
ings, which promise to be a lasting contribution to

[34]
the development in our country of the landscape
art. It is a beautiful art, sure to be more and more
cultivated in our country as we get beyond the
acquisition of the crude necessaries of social life and
learn to value its finer utilities. The work which
you and your husband have happily done together
since 1893 is probably a durable and an influential
work. The works which men execute on the land,
such as arable fields, good pastures, and well-
cared-for woods, are in general the most durable
of human accomplishments, particularly when
they have been planned with intelligence and good
taste. I should be much interested to see your place,
and hope that I shall have the opportunity next
autumn. Sincerely yours,
Charles W. Eliot.
Cambridge, Mass.,
June 13, 1910.
It would be no slight mistake to suppose
that the record as given thus far is a complete
one. What Mr. Whittemore did for the reno
vation of the old Naugatuck burying-ground
has been referred to, including the building of
a substantial stone wall on two sides of it; it
ought also to be mentioned that he improved
Hillside Cemetery in a similar way, and that

[35]
in both of these grounds he erected monuments
to the soldiers of the Revolutionary War. His
early connection with the attractive seashore
resort known as "Laurel Beach" ought also to
be mentioned. In 1898 he bought a consider
able tract of land at Milford Point, and imme
diately began a series of improvements there,
with a view to fitting it for the uses of a quiet
summer community. The land included in the
purchase was a neglected farm, containing
muddy places and pools of standing water.
The work of transformation extended through
a period of three years, under the superin
tendence of Mr. Shepardson; but — if Mr.
Shepardson may be quoted — "it was Mr.
Whittemore who planned the improvements
and looked after the work from beginning to
end." As the place passed into the possession
of the Laurel Beach Land Company, it bore
many marks of the taste and skill so character
istic of Mr. Whittemore's enterprises, and still
retains them.
Mr. Whittemore was for several years one of
the directors of the Waterbury Hospital. He
cherished a deep interest in the work it was
doing, and shared with the other directors the
desire to have it better situated and more fully

[36]
equipped for service. His cooperation in secur
ing this result took an interesting form. Con
spicuous among his real estate enterprises was
the erection in Waterbury of the handsome
building on the corner of Bank and Grand
Streets, named "The Buckingham," in com
memoration of Mrs. Whittemore's mother.
After this building was completed, and a spa
cious music-hall fitted up in it, Mr. Whitte
more offered it as a gift to the Hospital (a gift
valued at three hundred and fifty thousand
dollars) on condition that the sum of two hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars should be
raised in other ways for a new hospital build
ing. The necessary fund was secured and the
Waterbury Hospital has the benefit henceforth
of a very considerable income from the stores
and offices of the Buckingham block.
Reference has been made to the Howard
Whittemore Memorial Library. The amount
of the original endowment fund was fifty
thousand dollars. In 1907 Mr. Whittemore
increased it to sixty thousand, and about two
weeks before his death — to meet the increas
ing needs and opportunities of the institution
— he added to the fund ten thousand dollars
more, to be used in such ways as the trustees

:^/'

[37]
might deem best. Another gift, made known
to the public after his death and amounting to
twenty thousand dollars, was paid by his
family toward the endowment of a Professor
ship of Education in Yale University.
IV
To record these gifts, which happen to have
become definitely known, cannot be forbidden,
but however liberal they may have been they
convey a very inadequate impression of the
amounts actually invested by Mr. Whittemore
in the various enterprises described in the pre
ceding pages, so many of which were entirely
or almost entirely for the public benefit. No
one, however, would set aside more promptly
than he the merely financial test of a man's
benevolence, or insist more earnestly upon the
lofty aim, the philanthropic spirit, the sym
pathetic heart. His work, even in its broadest
range, had to do with concrete things and his
benevolence accordingly took on concrete
forms. But behind all the processes of build
ing, renovating, and landscape designing, and
underneath the strenuous activities of his
busiest years, lay the Idndly feeling and the
benevolent intent.

[38]
Mr. Manning, in a passage not hitherto
quoted, mentions as an illustration of Mr.
Whittemore's love of the beautiful, his interest
in pictorial art and the character of the pic
tures he had collected. "In his collection,"
Mr. Manning says, "were represented some of
the best works of the Impressionist school, the
artists who see color in landscape, and who in
their rendering can express character in a very
simple way and without much detail."
Neither his ambition nor his sense of respon
sibility led Mr. Whittemore very far at any
time into the field of poUtics. He was, however,
a stanch Republican. The four years that he
spent in New York, during a very critical
period in the nation's history, had undoubtedly
great influence in shaping his political opinions.
His home in Southbury had been a station of
the so-called "underground railway" by which
slaves escaped from the South into Canada,
and his feeling against slavery was intensified
by an incident that occurred in Plymouth
Church, in Brooklyn, which he was accus
tomed to attend. One Sunday morning, after
the service, the pastor, Mr. Beecher, led forth
a pretty mulatto girl before the congregation
and asked them to buy her freedom — a col-

[39]
lection was immediately taken, amidst great
excitement, and the plates were piled high
with money not only, but with jewelry of all
sorts, — more than enough to secure the girl's
freedom. It was a scene that Mr. Whittemore
never forgot. Besides this, during the months
he spent in Mr. Morgan's private office it was
much frequented by prominent Republican
leaders, — such men as William H. Seward,
Thurlow Weed, and Horace Greeley, — and
their discussions of national affairs and their
anxiety concerning the course things were
taking had great influence upon him. In Feb
ruary, 1860, through the kindness of Governor
Morgan, he received a ticket admitting him to
a seat on the platform at the Cooper Union,
to hear the first address made by Abraham
Lincoln in the East, one of his masterly efforts.
It followed almost as a matter of course that
this young voter, aged twenty-three, should
cast his first presidential ballot for Lincoln.
In his later life it was a source of gratification
to him that he was made a member of the
Constitutional Convention of Connecticut,
held in 1902, and in the Republican State
Convention of 1908 he took an active part, but
without securing such results as he hoped for.

[40 ]
In his religious life Mr. Whittemore remained
loyal to the Congregationalism in which he
was trained, but it was a Congregationalism
of the broadest and most modem type. Alike
in Naugatuck and Middlebury he expressed
his fidelity to the church by habitual attend
ance upon its services and devout participa
tion in its worship.
It would be easy to dwell upon personal
characteristics, but to do so seems almost an
impertinence when we turn to the pages which
follow, especially to those into which have been
crowded some of the things written to the family
by sorrowing friends at the time of Mr. Whitte
more's death. In these brief utterances we
see this man from many points of view, but
always as a winning personality, a trustworthy
friend, a servant of God, and a lover of his
fellow men.

THE FUNERAL SERVICE
AND THE SERMON

THE FUNERAL SERVICE
AND THE SERMON

THE funeral of Mr. Whittemore took place
at the family residence in Naugatuck, on
the afternoon of Tuesday, May 31, 1910. The
service, which was brief and informal but ex
ceptionally impressive, was conducted by the
Rev. Philip C. Walcott, pastor of the Congre
gational Church in Naugatuck, assisted by the
Rev. Arthur E. Westenberg, of Middlebury,
and by the organist and choir of the Nauga
tuck Church. After an organ voluntary and
the singing of a hymn, passages of Scripture,
selected from the Gospel according to John
and from the First and Second Epistles to
the Corinthians, were read by Mr. Walcott,
who read also James Russell Lowell's poem
on the death of Dr. Wilham EUery Channing,
beginning,
"I do not come to weep above thy pall,
And moum the dying-out of noble powers."
The hymns sung were, "Abide with me; fast

[ 44 ]
falls the eventide," "Hark! hark, my soul!
angelic songs are swelling," and "For all the
saints, who from their labors rest." No ad
dresses were made, and, in accordance with the
well-known desire of the family, no direct
references to Mr. Whittemore or to the be
reavement that had come to the household and
the community were made. The prayer at the
house, offered by Mr. Westenberg, was as
follows: Almighty God, who inhabitest eternity, who art
the same, yesterday and to-day and for ever, thou
art inscrutable in mystery, unapproachable in thy
power and majesty! Thou seemest at times afar
off, sitting upon thy throne in the heavens, holding
in thy hands the powers of a universe, uttering thy
decrees and passing thy final judgments upon the
sons of men. When we try to measure thee and see
thee as thou art, when we behold the heavens, the
work of thy fingers, the sun and stars which thou
hast ordained, we ask in our faltering speech,
"What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the
son of man that thou visitest him?" And then we
look within, and we are conscious of a something
which is akin to God. We listen, and we hear a
still, small voice telling us that man is more than
a passing vapor which disappears with the rising of
the sun; he is more in his essential nature than a

[45 ]
flower of the field which to-day flourisheth and to
morrow withereth away; he has within him the
power of an endless life.
It is in this consciousness that we come to thee
to-day, knowing that thou canst enter with us into
every experience. Thou dost rejoice with us when
we rejoice, thou art glad with us when we triumph,
thou dost weep with us when we weep, and sym
pathize with us when we seem to fail. And some
how, in the mysterious workings of thy Divine
alchemy, our sorrows become transformed into
joys, our losses into gains, our weakness into
strength, because through these experiences we are
brought nearer to thee who art the source of all
comfort, all gain, and all strength.
And we would know, this day more than ever
before, what it means to rely upon thee. We would
come as tired children come at the close of the day
to be lulled to sleep upon a mother's breast. Speak
thou to us the words that we need of comfort, of
hope, and of inspiration. Help us to feel that though
we have our dark moments, life is not all dark.
There are at least the sweet memories of the past,
and there are the sweeter hopes of the future. And,
as for the present, we have thee and thou art suf
ficient. And we rejoice that thou hast filled even the pre
sent with rich compensations. Thou hast given us
many Divine amelioratives. Thou hast sent among

[46]
us many physicians, many ministering angels with
healing in their wings.
We have thy gift of time. At first our experience
of loss seems very bitter; we see only the empty
chair where our loved one has sat; we listen in vain
for the kindly, genial word; we wait in vain for the
touch of the hand, and we feel that our wound is
very cruel and the pain all but unbearable. But
time passes with its healing balm, the days and
months and years follow each other in quick suc
cession; our present experience becomes a memory,
and in that process, the rough, jagged places be
come smooth. We do not forget our loss, we still
feel the pain of our woimds; but thou, working
through thy minister, time, hast softened our grief
and taught us to smile once more.
Thou hast given us likewise our work to do. The
great busy world goes on with its needs and its
demands; and we may have our part in supplying
those needs. Yea, perhaps, we have a little larger
work to do, because thou dost call one servant and
another unto thyself. We thank thee for work, for
the business of mind and body, and for the healing
that comes from it.
Thou givest us also the sympathy of friends, the
kind words, and for these we thank thee, and most
of all for that hope we have, which has grown into a
vital conviction, that this life does not end all, but
that when we step across the threshold into that

147]
other room we are entering upon a larger life and
experience with thee.
Bless, we pray thee, these friends. May they find
in thee all that thou canst be to thy children. May
they accept from thee these sweet ministries of
thine, — time with its passing, work with its heal
ing, friends with their sympathy, — looking ever
forward to that life with thee which will be all the
sweeter and more desirable because another loved
one has gone on before.
We ask it in the name of Him who has lived our
life, suffered our sorrows, and has taught us how to
triumph through it all.
The burial was at the Hillside Cemetery — ¦
one of the burial-places which Mr. Whittemore
had surrounded with strong walls and had done
so much to beautify. At the grave the following
prayer was offered by Mr. Walcott, preceding
the words of committal:
Lift up our eyes, O God, from the contemplation
of those things that belong to mortality that we
may behold the things that belong to eternity.
Enrich us in this our earthly pilgrimage with the
hope that maketh us not ashamed and the faith
that cannot be dismayed. And when the fever of
life is over and the busy world is hushed and our
work is done, then, in mercy, give us a safe lodging

[48]
and a holy rest, and peace at the last, through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
The benediction was pronounced by Dr.
Joseph Anderson.
During the funeral services, and in fact
throughout the day, the community in which
Mr. Whittemore had spent so many years was
manifesting its sympathy and its sense of the
loss that had befallen it in quiet but impressive
ways. The public and parochial schools, the
factories, and, during the afternoon, the banks
and other places of business were closed. The
flags on the town hall and the several school
buildings were displayed at half-mast, as well
as . on many private residences. From ten
o'clock to eleven the house was open to all who
desired to look on the face of the dead, and
those who came were not alone his old friends
and acquaintances, but in many instances men,
women, and children "who knew him only by
his kindly face and generous deeds." The
funeral was attended by the warden and bur
gesses of Naugatuck and by all the borough
officials. The feeling which the services produced
upon a kinsman who was present may well be
taken as representing that of all who gathered

[49 ]
in the house and at the grave. "Since our re
turn home on Tuesday," he wrote, "I have
wanted to say to you how deep was the impres
sion the events of that afternoon made upon
me; — every detail so carefully carried out by
loving friends, the well-chosen words of the
prayer, the universal respect shown by the
people, and all under so beautiful a sky ! I felt
that these were just as he would have had
them, and am sure must have been sadly pleas
ing to you. And is the veil so thick that he did
not see it all.''" II
On the day of Mr. Whittemore's death the
Rev. Mr. Walcott gave brief expression, with
others, through the press, to the sorrow that he
felt. " His death," he said, " is not only a public
bereavement in which I share as one of the
community, but a personal loss, the sense of
which leaves a great shadow." On the Sunday
following the funeral his discourse was in com
memoration of the parishioner whom he had
known so briefly, but who had already won
from him "a profound regard and a warm
affection." Taking for his text the words of
Paul, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels.

[50]
that the exceeding greatness of the power may
be of God and not from ourselves," he briefly
indicated their meaning and their relation to
such fives as Mr. Whittemore's, and then pro
ceeded as follows:
It is my purpose to say a few words at this time
concerning the great man who recently passed from
among us — John Howard Whittemore. It is right
and proper that this should be done, for Mr. Whit
temore was, more than any other person here, a
public man. He did not court publicity; he seemed
rather to shrink from it. But such was the nature
of the relationship with the community into which
his deeds brought him that, whether he would have
had it so or not, he was a public man; his life was a
public boon and his death is a public bereavement.
It is right and proper, therefore, that here in this
church, for which he did so much, of which he was
a member, whose services of worship he attended
with a degree of regularity that is rare in these days
(he was present at the Sunday morning service less
than two weeks before his death) — it is appropri
ate that here some public mention should be made
concerning him. I do not know of any office that a
minister of this church could perform more spon
taneously, whether it were right and proper or not,
than that which falls to my lot to-day. And yet it is
a satisfaction to feel that it is both a privilege and a

[51]
duty to honor the memory of Mr. Whittemore
at this time.
To honor his memory, I said. It is not that what
I shall say can add to the lustre of his name; it is
not that my words, however sincere and deeply
felt, will make you think more honorably and affec
tionately of Mr. Whittemore than you would if I
did not speak them. You to whom this gentle spirit
has been a familiar and a beloved figure these many
years do not need anything more to endear him to
you, and to call forth your esteem for him, than
your own fragrant memories of him. That which
moves me to speak is partly obedience to an in
stinct of the heart, which impels us to express our
affections and reverences without always stopping
to consider what is to be gained by such expres
sion; and partly because it is permitted us to see,
in the life that has now vanished from our sight,
one of God's earthen vessels which contained a
treasure, the supreme value of which was that the
excellency of its power was of God; a treasure, the
contemplation of which ought to awaken in every
one of us a fresh sense of the sacredness of human
fife and the reality of human obligation.
In the first place, then, I should say that Mr.
Whittemore's life was a remarkable exemplifica
tion of the homely virtues. And by this I mean two
things. For one thing, I mean that his virtues were
appropriate to and apparently bom of a transpar-

[52]
ent simplicity of character. This is very far from
saying that he did not value the graces and refine
ments of life. His appreciation of the treasures of
art, with which his home was adorned, would in
itself refute such a suggestion. But, over and above
this, there was in his manner and conversation —
and it was perceptible even to one whose acquaint
ance with him was of short duration — a certain
flavor of that period of the past which is sometimes
described as the days of chivalry. It may be that
the days of chivalry were not in reality what they
are in romance. But it was the flavor of the ro
mantic days that one caught in Mr. Whittemore's
presence. There was a certain courtliness in his
bearing, which was impressive without being con-
stramed, stately without being distant, which trans
ported one's thoughts back into the days when it is
at least supposed that gracefulness and charm of
manner were essential elements of life. So that
when it is said that Mr. Whittemore's virtues were
those that are appropriate to a transparent sim
plicity of character, it is with the full recognition
of his appreciation of the refinements of life. But
those which he valued and cultivated were not the
refinements that merely elaborate arid complicate
the conditions of life, but those that enrich and
beautify and dignify them. I cannot think of any
thing which might so fittingly be taken to symbol
ize this aspect of Mr. Whittemore's character as the

[53]
architecture of the buildings, both public and
private, for which he was responsible, — massive,
durable, impressive, but above all things, simple.
Furthermore, when I say that Mr. Whittemore's
life was an extraordinary exemphfication of the
homely virtues, I mean — going back to the
original signification of the word — that they were
the virtues that are appropriate to the home. This
was true in the narrow sense that he loved his own
home and found in it his best happiness. He was
true to the highest interests of his home, throwing
about it an atmosphere that was wholesome and
uplifting; bending his energies to make the place
where his own children grew up to manhood and
womanhood a place immeasurably dear to them;
a place associated in their minds with many hal
lowed experiences. And how well he succeeded in
making his home that kind of a place, not only his
own family but all who enjoyed his hospitality can
bear witness. He cherished his home, moreover, if
I may be permitted to say it, because there he had
not only the companionship of his children, but the
strong comradeship, the loving sympathy and the
wise counsel of one who walked by his side through
both calm and storm for almost half a century.
But what I have said was true in a far wider
sense. Mr. Whittemore's virtues were those that
are appropriate to the home in the sense that they
were the qualities which would be looked for in a

[54 ]
man who believed that all men were members of
one great family. Therefore he felt it to be a duty
— and Naugatuck knows full well how honorably
he discharged that duty — to protect and enrich
other men's homes through his generous contribu
tions to institutions of worship, of education, and
of recreation, as well as through innumerable pri
vate ministrations whose nature and scope the
world will never know. Therefore, also, he worked
to establish here the spirit of democracy, which (as
I have before had occasion to say) is one of the
chief monuments which bears his name indelibly
written upon it. And while every man who has con
tributed to that spirit is worthy of praise, yet, per
haps, the man whose contribution to the spirit of
democracy is most praiseworthy is the man who
might have been an aristocrat if he had chosen to
be one. Therefore, also, he took pleasure in afford
ing those whose lives were before them an oppor
tunity to make something of themselves. I chanced
to meet a few weeks ago — only a little while before
Mr, Whittemore's death, but before it was anti
cipated — a young man who does not now live in
this community, but who some few years since was
employed here. He was not employed by Mr.
Whittemore, but he became acquainted with him,
and he made the remark to me that he should re
member all his fife the kindly interest that Mr.
Whittemore took in his career; an interest entirely

[55]
spontaneous and gratuitous; an interest which ex
pressed itself in many substantial ways; an interest
such as a father might take in his own son. And
this isolated little incident, which chances to come
to my mind because it is of so recent occurrence,
is, without doubt, but one of many incidents of
a similar nature.
In the second place, I should say of Mr. Whitte
more that his life was not only an illustration of the
homely virtues, — the virtues that underlie all per
sonal and national prosperity, — but was also an
illustration of the fundamental Christian virtues. I
believe that it may be said — and said without im
moderation — that Mr. Whittemore's fife approxi
mated to the description of a Christian life in the
Beatitudes; in personal purity, in his desire for
honorable peace, in mercy, and in one outstanding
quality therein exalted, humbleness of mind. This
last quality, upon which the New Testament lays
more emphasis, and which is more fundamental
than is commonly recognized, was notably present
and manifest in Mr. Whittemore's character. It
does not entirely cover the ground, but it covers a
considerable segment of it, when we say that he was
a modest man. He valued the good opinions of his
neighbors and townspeople, but he did not exact
from them the tribute of praise. I am sure that, if
it could have been known to him that this tribute
was to be written, the only consideration that

[56]
would have moved him to consent to it would have
been the assurance that it was absolutely spontane
ous. And this is to be observed, that this quality of
humble-mindedness, which was characteristic of
Mr. Whittemore, was in him notably an achieve
ment. It is not always so distinctly an achieve
ment in men. They are apt to have much to re
mind them of their relative unimportance in the
world. But when a man has before him the fact of
his own almost unparalleled success in his chosen
field, when he holds a position decidedly uncom
mon in its distinctions and honors, it is very much
more than a common achievement for him to main
tain a genuine humble-mindedness. I do not pro
fess to know just what the secret of this quality in
Mr. Whittemore was. I have never talked with
him of the matter. But I strongly suspect that it
was largely if not altogether due to his religious
life. I surmise that he humbled himself before God,
that he found peace in the thought that Christ was
his Saviour and Lord, that in the sanctuary of his
own heart he had frequent occasion to rejoice, as
the best of men have always rejoiced, that "God is
merciful, slow to anger and of great compassion."
What I have said in this brief commentary on the
life of Mr. Whittemore I have desired to say tem
perately. He himself would have wished it so.
And it has been temperate. It does not profess tp
do more than give a glimpse of the impression that

[57]
he made upon one who regrets greatly not to have
known him longer and better. The impression of
him which I cherish, and which I have tried to rcr
produce here, may lack clearness in its details. It
could scarcely be otherwise, for the details of an
impression represent the fruits of long acquaint
ance. But one feature of the picture of Mr. Whitte
more which rises up before me is as clear as crystal:
it is a good picture, a noble and satisfying image.
Not all the lines appear in it which are visible to
some of you. That this impression is the common
one, shared alike by men and women who knew
him well and by those who, like myself, did not
have an intimate acquaintance with him, is testi
fied by the many expressions of sympathy which
his family have received, some few of which I have
been permitted to see; expressions of sympathy
which have come from all sorts and conditions of
men, and which, without exception, breathe an
atmosphere of affectionate and respectful remem
brance of his honorable qualities.
It has been good for this town to have known and
to have had to do with Mr. Whittemore, for we have
lost in him more thanamanof rare intellectual gifts,
more than a man of extraordinary business insight,
more even than a great philanthropist; we have lost
one who was all this and more — a man of God, a
man whose life is a contribution to our knowledge
and love and service of the Kingdom of Heaven.

TRIBUTES OF THE PRESS

TRIBUTES OF THE PRESS
THE NAUGATUCK DAILY NEWS
The impressive tribute paid by the people of
Naugatuck to-day to the memory of their late fel
low citizen, John Howard Whittemore, was only an
outward evidence of their esteem for the man and
of their sorrow over his death, but it showed a sin
cerity which came from the heart and a public
grief more poignant than words can express.
The people of this borough are fully aware of the
fact that by the death of Mr. Whittemore, Nauga
tuck has lost a true friend and public benefactor.
. . . That he loved his home town is apparent
from the fact that he improved and beautified it in
so many different ways and at great personal ex
pense. The handsome High School building, the
Salem School, the pubic park and the Howard
Whittemore Memorial Library may be mentioned
as a few of the monuments to his public spirit and
philanthropy which will keep his memory green in
the hearts of all who make this borough their home
for generations to come.
There was no more reason why Mr. Whittemore
should spend his money in public improvements
here than any other citizen. Neither did he have to

[62]
make his home here, for his means were ample and
he could have taken up his residence in other places
more pretentious and more attractive than ours.
But he loved Naugatuck and its people, and he liked
to call this town his home. That is why he took
such a keen and kindly interest in all that per
tained to its progress and advancement. That was
the reason he gave to the borough the buildings,
institutions, and public improvements that have
not only been a source of pride, pleasure, and profit
to the people of Naugatuck, but which command
the admiration of every visitor and have made
this municipality one of the most attractive places
of its size in all New England.
Whatever Mr. Whittemore did for Naugatuck
in a public way he did for all its people and, for all
generations, and consequently every one received
a benefit from his philanthropy. He insisted upon
the borough paying a httle toward the High School
improvements, not because of the cost of them to
himself, but simply in the belief that the town
would be likely to take more pride in them and in
their maintenance if it had to bear a part of the ex
pense than it would if they were given outright and
without cost.' Mr. Whittemore not only assumed
the major portion of the cost, but he never spared
expense to himself in getting the work done as he
wanted it. Those who remember how the old
school green looked before Mr. Whittemore beauti-

[63]
fied the park, and the appearance of the land around
the site of the High School building before he had
it improved, do not need to be told of what he ac
complished in that locality. Knowing the condi
tions as they existed then, and looking over the
beautiful grounds to-day, they can appreciate more
than those of the younger generation his worth to
this community.
Mr. Whittemore rose to a position of affluence
through his own efforts, but no man of his means
ever led a more simple life. He made no ostenta
tious display, and the social "affairs" which he
gave from time to time were simple in character,
but always noted for the good, wholesome enjoy
ment which they afforded his guests. He loved
his family and his home, and no family ever
had a more devoted father. Of fine character,
gentle in manner, of dignified and manly bearing,
he was also a very genial man to meet. Those who
knew him personally always found it a pleasure to
be in his company. His tastes inclined toward the
things that give us the best there is in life — good
music and literature, and the finest works of the
great artists and sculptors. He was very fond of
flowers, and a ramble through the places where the
beauties of nature were to be seen was always to
him a great pleasure.
Naugatuck was not the only place that benefited
by Mr. Whittemore's philanthropy. The improve-

[ 64 ]
ments made by him in the town of Middlebury and
the city of Waterbury are well known here. He
gave financial assistance to many worthy causes,
among which might be mentioned the campaign
against tuberculosis. His private charities were
many, and he was never known to turn a deaf ear
when asked to aid in a worthy cause.
Is it any wonder that the death of such a man is
deeply mourned? — that people of this borough
felt a lump in their throats and tears moistening
their eyes when they learned that John Howard
Whittemore, philanthropist, kind friend, good
neighbor, and esteemed citizen, had passed away?

Our First Citizen has passed away. The borough
is hushed in sorrow. Yet what a privilege it has
been to know the man, and to feel that he was one
of us. The memory of what he was is ours always.
The evidences of his love and loyalty can be seen
on every hand. And what a man he was ! Strong in
his mentality, clear in his analysis of all questions,
great in his ability to handle intricate business
problems, successful far beyond the average in his
accumulation of wealth, yet without a peer in
his keen insight as to the ways of disposing of his
means for the uplifting of his fellowmen. Some
there are whose powers of acquiring wealth may
have surpassed his, but none to equal his steward
ship of the means of which, under God, he was the

[65 ]
possessor. ... As a neighbor, as a friend, as a
citizen, as a father, as a husband, as a man, we
shall not soon look upon his like again. W. T. R.

THE WATERBURY AMERICAN
In the death of John Howard Whittemore, his
town, this vicinity, and the state have lost a fore
most citizen. This is true in a far more inclusive
sense than the conventional use of the phrase. For
great as Mr. Whittemore was as a captain of indus
try, as an organizer in the business world, as a
trustee of large interests, he was far more than that.
No subject of human interest failed in its appeal
to him. Feeling the responsibility of large means,
he used his own and the influence thus conferred
to further community interests, whether repre
sented by religion, by education, or by the out
ward features of town and country which delight
the eye and cultivate the taste.
Few men who have reached a like position
through their own ability and "character have car
ried themselves with so scrupulous a wish to avoid
the show of position. Simplicity of manner, a
modesty of judgment on matters not directly
within his own control, a deference to the views of
others, — these made the charm (and a peculiar
charm it was) of familiar intercourse with Mr.

[66]
Whittemore. No one who ever met him casually
would have come away with any impression of a
man conscious of being one of the first citizens of
Connecticut, except as Mr. Whittemore's strong
and convincingly expressed views had of themselves
conveyed such an impression. Like many other
men who are really great, he loved the simple
things of life; the common sources of enjoyment
which are open to us all; the farm and the wood
land; natural scenery as distinguished from land
scape gardening effects (although these too ap
pealed to him) ; talk on ordinary subjects of neigh
borhood or town interest; the promotion of worthy
causes, small as well as great; the improvement of
political conditions, in the large or in the small.
Perhaps no experience of his life gave him more
genuine pleasure than his service in the Connecti
cut Constitutional Convention, the discussion by
able leaders of the important subjects brought be
fore that convention, and the fellowship of men
who represent ideas far more than business.
Of what Mr. Whittemore was in the business
world, it is superfluous here to speak. His record
speaks for itself. Of what he was as a generous
benefactor, the world will never know, except in
part. Thousands have been spent for the public
good in various ways, with results that will for
years stand as a memorial to his practical gener
osity. The beautiful square at Naugatuck is a dis-

[67]
tinguishing part of that memorial, as is also The
Buckingham here in Waterbury. But in many
quiet ways, which he loved far better, he gave, and
gave liberally, keeping the amounts and the objects
a close secret to himself and those immediately
concerned, making it a condition of not a few gener
ous benefactions that the source of the gift should
never be disclosed.

Mr. Whittemore has represented the best type
of an able. New England manufacturer, a man of
wonderful capacity, of the greatest industry, and
also of unusual ability in selecting others for carry
ing out projects which he has conceived. While he
was the most hospitable host and kindest to those
in trouble, he clearly drew the line between senti
ment and business, and in business matters he was
a man of an unusual combination of progressive-
ness and boldness, and at the same time of conserv
atism. There was no detail too little to be consid
ered by him and his plans were laid with such
breadth and at the same time with such attention
to things often overlooked by more careless men
that they were doubly fortified from attack and
more than ordinarily likely to succeed.
THE WATERBURY REPUBLICAN
In the death of John H. Whittemore the Nauga
tuck Valley, and probably Connecticut, loses its

[68 ]
richest citizen. If that were all that might be said
of him his life record would be insignificant, yet the
first question that rises to the lips at the death of a
rich man seems to be, "How much did he leave?"
The average man is too apt to see in the life of such
a one only the grasping, eager desire for acquisi
tion, and forgets that the incentive to the pursuit
of wealth is an inborn ability to accumulate. , . .
Mr. Whittemore was endowed with this natural
ability to a marked degree, and, while in his business
dealings exacting, was generous and large-hearted
outside of business. Simple in his tastes, an ardent
lover of nature, he expressed his love for the com
munities within which his life was spent in estab
lishing useful and lasting testimonials. The school-
house, the public library, the hospital, the church,
the public square, the girls' seminary — these are
his monuments, and the world will never know one-
half the measure of relief and alleviation afforded
by his private benefactions, known to no one but
himself and his selected distributors.
There are those who have nothing but reproba
tion for the rich, forgetting that the genius and
foresight which build up and operate the big fac
tory, the railroad, and the bank are furnishing
means of livelihood and conveniences of business
impossible but for those very traits. Without accu
mulated capital these could not exist, and one life
like that of John H. Whittemore, whatever may

[69]
have been his faults, counts for much more in the
world's progress and for the uplift of humanity
than do the lives of thousands who have for the rich
nothing but envy and all un&iaritableness.
NEW HAVEN JOURNAL-COURIER
The death of John H. Whittemore, of Nauga
tuck, removes from the life of Connecticut one of
its most conspicuous citizens, and the New York,
New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company loses
one of its ablest directors. The development of the
Naugatuck Valley is closely connected with his
name, while the business interests of that section of
the state have long learned to rely upon his judg
ment and acumen. He belonged to that class of
citizens of which Carlos French was a shining ex
ample, and on that account represented a force, the
sudden withdrawal of which, affects a community
immediately; not that nature has more toleration
than ever before for a vacuum, but that a commun
ity learns instinctively to lean directly upon such
men and in seeking their successors feels tempora
rily the strain.
Mr. Whittemore, again like Mr. French, was a
man of immense business interests. He was a mas
ter of the currents of production and trade, and he
sailed his commercial craft with imerring instinct,
keen in his relations with his feUowmen and just
in his dealings with them. The large fortune which

[70]
he accumulated represents the genius of the man.
But he was more than a business man. He was
a lover and patron of art. He understood and
revelled in the delights of nature. His commodious
but not pretentious summer home testifies charm
ingly to the exquisiteness of his tastes. To the
towns of Naugatuck and Middlebury he persist
ently turned for an opportunity to lavish his wealth
in utilitarian ways, here a good road, there a school-
house, here the planting of trees, there a dainty
country trolley station close to the heart of the
woods. To Waterbury he gave in a princely spirit.
He was literally a friend of mankind.
Personally, Mr. Whittemore was a man of great
charm. Modest and retiring, he nevertheless in
fluenced men strongly. As a member of the Con
stitutional Convention he took a keen interest in
the proceedings, and was invariably to be found
on the side of progress, while seeking the retention
of all that is best in the historic town system of
Connecticut. He will not be more keenly missed by
his business associates than by those who were hon
ored by his friendship, and he will be ever remem
bered as a striking product of social life in this
state. THE HARTFORD COURANT
John H. Whittemore, of Naugatuck, was a man
of wide acquaintance and of large wealth. Com-

[71]
mon rumor has had it for years that he was the
richest man in the state. But it was his personal
qualities, not his possessions, that made him so
widely and well known. He had large public spirit
and was especially interested in his own town and
the Naugatuck Valley, and, when he thought some
thing should be done over there it was done. If the
community or the corporation involved was not
ready, he did it himself. Naugatuck, and Water
bury, and Middlebury, and other places are far
more attractive because he had this way with him.
His private charities were really private; they are
not for publication, but they were many and were
judiciously exercised. He had a finely cultivated
sense of the beautiful and owned many of the
choicest paintings in the state. He was singularly
modest and retiring in his manner, especially for a
man whohadmade his own way and such a place for
himself, but these qualities were not to be mis
taken for signs of uncertainty or incapacity. . . ,
In his rare ability as a leader in manufacture, his
quiet manner, mistaken sometimes for taciturnity,
his sound business judgment, and his gift for win
ning and holding the affectionate esteem of those
who came to know him well, he quite resembled
Colonel F. W. Cheney, his associate in the railroad
board, who died a year ago.

[72]
THE HARTFORD TIMES
John H. Whittemore, of Naugatuck, who died
suddenly to-day, at the age of seventy-two years,
was a Connecticut captain of industry and of
finance. The son of a Congregational minister, he
was born in the country town of Southbury. He
inherited brains, character, and a willingness to
"hustle." He began at the bottom and worked his
way up to the top. Preeminently he was the archi
tect of his own fortune.
The foundations of Mr. Whittemore's accumu
lated wealth were laid in the development of the
malleable iron business, but his mature activities
were varied. His business interests included
manufacturing, banking, railroading, and real
estate. His business judgment was keen and ripe.
Often what he touched turned to gold. He was a
director in the New York, New Haven & Hartford
Railroad, and he was recognized as one of the most
influential figures in the Naugatuck Valley.
Mr. Whittemore was impelled by no sordid mo
tives. He was indeed a great money-getter, but
he was much more than that. He was a public-
spirited and philanthropic citizen, and in Nauga
tuck may be found many impressive evidences of
his deep interest in the welfare of the community.
He liked to build up, to develop, to improve. He
loved art and music, and to encourage them was
joy to him. . . .

[73]
THE NEW HAVEN REGISTER
Connecticut will long and gratefully remember
Mr. Whittemore, and with good reason hold him
in high honor. His generous gifts were well-nigh
constant, especially in his later years. Few of us
will ever know how numerous, how diversified, how
wisely chosen were his benefactions. No really
good cause was omitted in his distribution. Freely
he had received; as freely he gave. The same energy
and ability which won for him a vast fortune were
employed in the distribution of it.
The town of Naugatuck, which Mr. Whittemore
had made his home for many years, in whose chief
industry much of his fortune was accumulated, will
miss him most of all. It may not be generally
known that he has made it distinguished among the
towns of America because of the generosity and
architectural excellence of his gifts of public
buildings. He never stinted money to make the
buildings which he gave complete in every way. . . .
Naugatuck will mourn Mr. Whittemore as a great
hearted citizen and kind neighbor, and regret most
of all that he was not permitted to remain longer,
for the enjoyment of his favorite occupation of
making his fellow-men happy.
In the case of John H. Whittemore it seems
appropriate to quote what was written of Peter
Cooper at his death:

[74 ]
"And wisest he in this whole wide land
Of hoarding till old and gray, —
For all you can hold in your cold, dead hand
Is what you have given away."
That wise sort of a giver was John H. Whittemore,
as appears in the sequel of his will. He had been
rated the wealthiest man in Connecticut.* So he
was and is, in the love of those who knew him, in
the praise of the many who have felt the touch of
his generosity. But in mere millions left behind
him he fails to come up to the expectations of those
who rate wealth in that imperfect way. . . . Yet
the money was there. What has become of it? As
well ask the question of the silent tomb as of the
man whose dust fills it. He did not herald his gifts
abroad. He did not advertise himself as the giver
of libraries, as a professional philanthropist. He
escaped the reputation of being an easy mark for
all who asked. Yet he gave — cheerfully, gladly,
liberally. He was the living giver, directing the
disposition of his great wealth as actively, as ear
nestly, as ably as he directed its acquisition. The
world will never know through the usual news
sources what became of Mr. Whittemore's money.
He could not tell if he had been asked, it may be.
He never sought to tell. He gave not for praise but
for the good of giving — the good to the recipient.
He so wisely chose the recipients that it did good.
There probably have been very few such instances,
possibly not another just like his.

TRIBUTES OF CORPORATIONS
CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES

TRIBUTES OF CORPORATIONS
CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES
BOROUGH OF NAUGATUCK
Mrs. John H. Whittemore,
Naugatuck, Conn.
My dear Madam:
Kindly allow me, in an official capacity, on
behalf of the people of Naugatuck, to extend to
you and the members of your family our most
sincere sympathy in your great loss.
Mr. Whittemore held a place, as a private citi
zen, closest to the heart-strings of those who love
Naugatuck best. His loss, coming as a distinct
shock to-day, will be more clearly realized in its
fullest measure with the advancing years.
In this hour of sorrow it is not my wish to draw
aside the veil of privacy or interfere in the slightest
manner with any arrangements which you may
make or any desire which your lamented husband
may have expressed; but in view of Mr. Whitte
more's many expressions of kindness and fore
thought for the school-children of Naugatuck and
his deep interest in their advancement and welfare,
I would ask in their behalf, if agreeable to you,

[78]
opportunity to show some slight appreciation of
the debt they can never hope to repay.
If you will kindly express your wishes either to
myself or to the Superintendent of Schools, Mr.
Eaton, I am sure that either of us will do his ut
most to conform to them.
Extending also my deep personal sympathy in
your bereavement, I am
William J. Neaby, Warden.
May 28, 1910.

In the Naugatuck Daily News, on the day
of Mr. Whittemore's death, Mr. Neary gave
expression as follows to his appreciation of Mr.
Whittemore and the work he had done:
Naugatuck mourns deeply the loss of her most
public-spirited citizen. His rise from poverty to
affluence is a striking example of the marvellous
opportunities of the American of to-day. Through
his kindness and generosity Naugatuck has been
made a "city beautiful," the pride of her citizens
and the admiration of her visitors. Our park, with
its magnificent school-buildings, expansive lawns,
flowers, verdure, and sloping hillsides, presents a
scene perhaps unrivalled even in our own beautiful
New England, — a living memorial that will im
print on the minds and hearts of generations yet
unborn a true impression and perhaps a more cor-

[79]
rect appreciation of the citizen whose loss we
mourn to-day. Standing at the bier of John H.
Whittemore, our people may think that they have
measured the standard of the man, that they real
ize his worth as a citizen and recognize the loss our
community sustains; but personally I believe that
with each coming year we shall read the story of
the past with a clearer vision and shall more tho
roughly understand the sterling worth of him who
has passed away. I believe that the generation of
to-morrow will better understand John H. Whitte
more, the citizen, than the generation of to-day.
THE NAUGATUCK MALLEABLE IRON COMPANY
We, the undersigned. Directors of The Nauga
tuck Malleable Iron Company, feeling a deep sense
of loss in the death of Mr. John Howard Whitte
more, desire to put on record this testimonial of our
esteem for him. We desire to express our apprecia
tion of the remarkable work which he did as one of
the pioneers in the enterprise with which our lot is
cast; we desire to express our gratefulness for the
service which, on innumerable occasions, he ren
dered to ourselves personally, and through us to
many others, in lifting us to a higher level of effi
ciency and usefulness; and, above all, we desire to
express a warmth of affection and admiration for
one whose attractiveness of personality and whose

[.80]
greatness of character have left upon us an indelible
impression.
A. C. Tuttle,
Oscar L. Warner,
C. L. Bergek,
Emil Mannweiler.
June 15, 1910.
THE NATIONAL MALLEABLE CASTINGS COMPANY
John Howard Whittemore, a director of this
Company for many years, died at his home in
Naugatuck, Connecticut, May 28, 1910.
Since 1873 he had been a director and officer in
the companies which were the foundation of The
National Malleable Castings Company, and on the
organization of the latter company in 1891, he
became a director, and continued to act until 1908,
when his son succeeded him.
His rare judgment and extended experience,
manifest in equable temperament and expression,
commanded recognition and enhanced his influence.
He was the intimate and friend of his associates.
His optimistic spirit encouraged, and his personal
resources generously supported, their mutual
undertakings. We feel distinct gratification in sharing in, and
extending the knowledge of, the recognition that
has come to Mr. Whittemore's memory in his home

[81]
community, founded upon the appreciation of
what he stood for in character and capacity, as
well as the exceptional manifestation of wisdom in
the form and quahty of his large benevolences.
Cleveland, Ohio.
THE EBERHARD MANUFACTURING COMPANY
John Howard Whittemore, a founder of this
Corporation, and almost continuously a member
of its directorate from the beginning, died May 28,
1910. His unfailing business judgment, his clear vision,
his faith in his associates and his willingness to
support them with both his counsel and his re
sources in the days when the business was young
and its course uncharted, were potent factors in its
success, and his kindly, intelligent interest through
the later years was a constant encouragement and
stimulus. The close of his life brings sharply home to us the
long duration and rare quality of the personal
relations involved in the control and operation of
this business.
Cleveland, Ohio.
LANDERS, FRARY & CLARK
John H. Whittemore, a Director in this Com
pany smce July 14th, 1903, died May 28th, 1910.

[82 ]
A mind with a broad view and a comprehensive
grasp of affairs; a disposition that endeared him to
all his associates; a knowledge and mastery of
manufacturing problems gained by a long and inti
mate association with manufacturing enterprises,
— these qualities made him a most valuable mem
ber of this Board. We moum his loss.
It is ordered that this Minute shall be spread upon
our records and a copy sent to Mr. Whittemore's
family. New Britain, Conn.,
June, 1910.
NORTH & JUDD MANUFACTURING COMPANY
At a Special Meeting of the Directors of this
Company, held on Tuesday morning, June 14th,
the Treasurer presented the following Resolution,
and it was voted that the same be adopted, and
spread upon the records, and that a copy be sent
to the family of the deceased.
Resolved, That in the death of John H. Whitte
more, which occurred on Saturday, May 28th,
1910, this Board has sustained a loss which iskeenly
felt. For many years Mr. Whittemore served as a
Director of this Company and for a time was its
President. His wide acquaintance with men of
affairs, his large and varied business interests, his

[83]
lifelong experience as a manufacturer, in which he
was eminently successful, made him a valuable
counsellor at meetings of this Board and one whose
judgment was much sought.
His broad views, generous nature, uniformly
affable manner and high moral character won for
hun our highest esteem and friendship. In his death
we feel a deep sense of personal loss. We reahze
the sorrow which it brings to his family and extend
to them our profound sympathy in their bereave
ment. Attest, E. M. WiGHTMAN, Secretary.
New Britain,
June 14, 1910.
THE NEW YORK, NEW HAVEN & HARTFORD
RAILROAD COMPANY
At a meeting of the Board of Directors of The
New York, New Haven & Hartford Raihoad Com
pany, held at the office of the Company in the City
of Boston, Massachusetts, on Saturday, June 11th,
1910, on motion, duly seconded, the following
minute was unanimously adopted :
John Howard Whittemore, a valued and highly
esteemed Director of this Company since February
11th, 1905, having been taken from us by death at
his residence in Naugatuck, Connecticut, on May
28th, 1910, this Boards assembled for the first time
since the sad event, desires to place upon its records

[84]
an expression of their deep sense of loss and their
high appreciation of the character of their late
associate. His presence was always welcomed and
his counsels were of value to the Board and this
Company. We deplore the dispensation which has taken him
from us, and extend to his bereaved family our
sincere sympathy in their great affliction.
The Secretary is directed to transmit a copy of
this minute to the family of Mr. Whittemore.
I, John G. Parker, Secretary of The New York,
New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, do
hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of
record, and in testimony thereof I have hereunto
set my hand, and afflxed the seal of said Company,
this fifteenth day of June, 1910.
John G. Parker, Secretary.
THE NAUGATUCK SAVINGS BANK
One of the original incorporators of the Nauga
tuck Savings Bank, Mr. Whittemore was not only
active in the organization of this Bank, but was a
citizen of our Town prompt to recognize the oppor
tunity for usefulness which such an institution
would occupy in the financial and home-building
development of Naugatuck.
Forty years ago the Bank was organized, and
Mr. Whittemore was elected a member of its first

[85]
Board of Trustees. He served the Bank in that
capacity for thirteen years uninterruptedly. After
several brief periods of retirement and as many
reelections to its Board, he assumed the office of
Treasurer in 1892, which he resigned in 1894. In
1895, owing to increase of business cares, he retired
from the Board, but remained as an incorporator
until the day of his death.
That the steady and substantial growth of the
Naugatuck Savings Bank is largely due to Mr.
Whittemore's work and advice, no one will for a
moment question.
His deep interest in the growth and welfare of
this institution was only a part of his greater inter
est in the development and beautifying of Nauga
tuck. The new home of the Savings Bank, now under
construction, was one of his cherished hopes, and
we as his associates must feel a peculiar happiness
and satisfaction in the knowledge that his ideas and
wishes are being fulfilled by the erection of the new
Savings Bank building.
The Incorporators, therefore, in their annual
meeting, desire to express their great sorrow over
the death of John Howard Whittemore, and their
sense of personal loss in his passing from among us.
They further extend to his family their sympathy,
yet offer the consolation that his fife was an inspi
ration to us all.

[86]
Resolved, That this Minute be spread in full on
the records of the Incorporators, and that a copy
be sent to the family of our associate.
Respectfully submitted,
Wm. T. Rodenbach,
George A. Lewis,
Committee.
THE COLONIAL TRUST COMPANY
At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Colonial Trust Company, held at the office of the
Company in Waterbury, on the 14th day of June,
1910, the following preamble and resolutions were
unanimously adopted: —
Whereas, John Howard Whittemore, a Director
of this Company, died at his home in Naugatuck
on the 28th day of May, 1910; and
Whereas, the members of this Board desire to
place upon record a proper tribute to the memory
of their departed friend and associate; therefore,
belt Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Whittemore
this Company has lost a loyal and earnest sup
porter, who was sincerely devoted to its welfare
and progress.
Having been active in the formation of the Com
pany, he was elected at its organization in 1899 a
Director, a member of the Executive Committee of
the Board of Directors, and First Vice-President.

[87]
Subsequently, in 1907, he was elected President
and continued to occupy that office until failing
health compelled his retirement in 1909.
As a Director, he manifested a ripe judgment,
based upon a wide experience of men and affairs,
and as an officer he exhibited the courage and
decision which had characterized a long and suc
cessful business career.
Deeply impressed with a sense of his responsi
bility in every corporate relation, he spared himself
no pains or effort which he conceived to be neces
sary to the full and faithful discharge of his duty
in connection with the interests committed to his
charge. Although largely occupied with business affairs,
he found time for the pursuit of other and higher
things, and throughout a busy life, and more par
ticularly during his latter years, much of his time
and a considerable portion of his ample fortune were
devoted to works of philanthropy and to the grati
fication of a refined taste for the artistic and the
beautiful, which found expression in such ways as
to confer lasting and substantial benefit upon his
fellow men and upon posterity.
The stately structures erected and freely be
stowed by him for educational and charitable pur
poses, and his many other beneficent works, will
be his enduring memorial through coming years.
Resolved, That we contemplate with profoimd

[88]
sorrow the loss of our esteemed and honored associ
ate, and extend to his bereaved family our most
sincere sympathy.
Resolved, That the foregoing be inscribed upon
the minutes of this Board and a copy thereof be
transmitted to the family of the deceased.
THE CENTURY BANK OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
At a regular meeting of the Board of Directors
of the Century Bank of the City of New York,
held this 9th day of June, 1910, the following pre
amble and resolutions were unanimously adopted:
Whereas, It is with deep sorrow that the mem
bers of this Board have learned of the death of Mr.
John H. Whittemore, and desiring to place upon
the minutes of this meeting their wish to pay espe
cial tribute to the memory of his high principles
and noble character;
Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Whittemore,
not only have we, but the community at large, lost
a benefactor, friend, and counsellor, and one whose
rare ability and sterling qualities endeared him to
all. Resolved, That we extend to his bereaved family
our sincere sympathy and that a copy of the pre
amble and resolutions be appropriately engrossed
and sent to the family.
Harden L. Crawford, President,
Henry Dimse, Secretary.

[89]
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
The undersigned, constituting a Committee ap
pointed at a regular meeting of the Congregational
Church of Naugatuck, writing in behalf of the
Church, desire to express to the family of Mr. John
Howard Whittemore our deep sympathy with
them in their loss. We desire to record here our
warm appreciation of him, of his long and useful
life, and of his services to this Church, of which he
was an honored and a beloved member. And we
desire, moreover, to give assurance that behind this
brief and formal expression lies a wealth of personal
regard and love for him which no words can ade
quately convey.
Philip C. Walcott,
Franklin Warren,
Harry A. Dalby.
June 6, 1910.
ST. Michael's church
Dear Mrs. Whittemore:
At an informal meeting held at the close of divine
service on Sunday morning, the Vestry of St.
Michael's Church adopted the tribute to the mem
ory of Mr. Whittemore, made by the Rector before
his sermon, as the expression of sympathy of the
Parish for you and your family, directing that a
copy of the same be sent to you and to the daily

[90]
papers, and also be spread upon the minutes of the
Vestry. We take pleasure in complying with their request,
making the enclosure, and assuring you of the sin
cerity of the sympathy of our people.
Very sincerely yours,
Charles L. Pardee, Rector,
John M. Page, Senior Warden,
Frederick F. Schafper, Junior Warden.
Naugatuck, May 30, 1910.
The rector's tribute was as follows :
Another name has been added to the list of the
honorable dead, — a name which we must hereafter
remember with great pride and thankfulness on
each Memorial Day, though no martial rank was
his. I feel sure that the hearts of all our people go out
in sympathy to the family of the late John Howard
Whittemore in their sad bereavement. A great
catastrophe (for surely that must be what we of
Naugatuck think it) has fallen upon aU. To those
who were nearest and dearest to him unquestion-
.ably the grief is greatest in this severance of ties
that were ideal in a Christian home. But our insti
tutions too have lost a generous benefactor, and
our town a citizen who loved it dearly, and whose
chief concern was to make it beautiful, happy, and

[91]
an honor to all who dwelt within it. To the rank
and file of our citizens his singular democracy,
being thoroughly honest and sincere, endeared him
to the extent that, I doubt not, each one of us to
day feels a personal loss. To many men great honor
comes from the apprehension of large opportunity,
and the honor remains with them. Few, I believe,
have that great distinction which comes first from
the creation of opportunity, and secondly, from the
employment of it for the good of others. In that
which Mr. Whittemore has done for the good of us
all, he has made us individually his debtors in a
debt which we can only repay by sympathy for
those who feel his loss the keenest, and by indi
vidual aspirations for something of that same spirit
which animated him.
May the honor and integrity, the kindliness and
generosity, the Christian courtesy and the faithful
and loving service of this good steward of manifold
gifts and graces be always an inspiration to us of
this town which he so honored by his life and deeds.
"May he rest in peace, and may light perpetual
shine upon him."
the SWEDISH LUTHERAN CHURCH
To Mrs. John Howard Whittemore,
Naugatuck, Conn.
The officers of the Salem Lutheran Church of
Naugatuck, Conn., at a meeting held August 12th,

[ 92]
1910, remembering the interest the late John H.
Whittemore has always taken in their church, and
the many favors he has bestowed upon it, resolved
to place upon their records an expression of their
sincere gratitude for his kindness and hberality,
and their deep sense of loss, and also to extend their
heartfelt sympathy to his highly respected family
in their great bereavement.
E. A. Zetterstrand, Chairman,
John E. Bohlin, Sec.
L.S. westover school corporation
Whereas, in the ordering of human life, John
Howard Whittemore, a Founder of Westover
School, and the beloved first President of the West-
over School Corporation, was taken by » death.
May the 28th, 1910, from a field of large and
deeply generous earthly activities, pecufiarly his
own throughout his lifetime; and
Whereas, among these activities there existed
during late years loyal and generous service in the
estabhshment and upbuilding of Westover School;
and Whereas, the members of the Board of Directors
are imbued with a profoimd sense of the value of
this service, and of the abiding influence of his
character as inwrought into the spirit and life of the
School, and of his gifts of wisdom and strength and

[93 ]
time and means to the furtherance of the welfare of
the School;
Resolved, that this deeply affectionate record be
spread upon their minutes and upon the Chapel
Register of Westover School, setting forth their
sense of loss, their lasting appreciation of his rare
quahties of mind and character, and their enduring
gratitude that he so found it in his heart to further
and help the School;
Resolved, that they extend their abiding sym
pathy to the members of that household, commit
ted, upon earth, to his loving care, with whom
there remains as an exceeding and great heritage so
noble an example of Hfe worthily Uved by one who
held himself ever humbly, who gave without stint
equally of his strength and of his means to the up-
fift and comfort of his fellow men, whose heart was
ever full of noble and kindly and unselfish im
pulses, who fought the good fight, who finished the
course, who kept the faith, for whom there is laid
up a crown of righteousness which the righteous
Judge shall give him, and to whose glad ears most
fittingly may have come those tidings, "Well done,
good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of
thy Lord."
MlDDLEBTJBT, CoNN.,
June, 1910.

[94 ]
ALLERTON CHAPTER, NO. 39, ROYAL ARCH
MASONS
Mrs. John Howard Whittemore,
Naugatuck, Conn.
My dear Mrs. Whittemore:
At the regular convocation of Allerton Chap
ter, No. 39, Royal Arch Masons, held on June 9th,
1910, 1 was instructed to communicate to you and
to the members of your family an expression of our
deep sorrow at the loss of one of our charter mem
bers and one whom we loved as a man.
The Masonic fraternity, and our Chapter in par
ticular, have reason for grateful remembrance of
Mr. Whittemore's kindness and generosity, aside
from the personal regard which we all held for him.
Our sincere sympathy goes out to you, and I
trust you will accept this slight tribute of love and
respect from the members of a fraternity who were
honored by his companionship and who loved him
well. Very sincerely yours,
H. A. Dalby, Secretary.
Naugatuck, June 13, 1910.
SHEPHERD LODGE NO. 78, FREE AND ACCEPTED
MASONS
To the Worshipful Master, Wardens and Brethren
of Shepherd Lodge:

[95]
Your Committee, appointed to draw up resolu
tions on the death of our Brother, John Howard
Whittemore, beg leave respectfully to submit the
following: —
There are occasions when words are weak instru
ments to express the feelings. Such an occasion is
the present, when we as brothers gather to express
our sorrow over the loss by death of Brother John
Howard Whittemore. It is our firm belief that no
word of praise is too strong to express our estimate
of his private and public character; no word too
tender or too affectionate to describe the bond
which united him to the Masonic Brethren of
Shepherd Lodge. His active life was absorbed in
deeds of charity. There was no call of distress to
which he turned a deaf ear. His life was typical of
the man. His heart ever beat in response to the sor
rows of human life. He lived as near the Masonic
light and its teachings as a Mason could. He was
always deeply interested in lodge matters and
quick to respond to the Call of the Craft. Be it
therefore Resolved, That in the death of Brother John
Howard Whittemore, Shepherd Lodge has sus
tained a loss well-nigh irreparable; that we shall
miss his kindly and cordial greeting, but feel that
he is only gone before.
Resolved, that the altar and lights be draped in
mourning for the space of thirty days.

[96]
Resolved, further, that this minute be spread in
full on the records of the lodge and that a copy of
these resolutions, suitably inscribed, be sent to the
family of our beloved brother.
Fraternally submitted,
Wm. T. Rodenbach,
Charles F. Lander,
F. F. Schaffer,
Committee.
Naugatuck, June 7, 1910.
THE GROVE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION
Whereas, God's dispensation has removed from
our midst our friend, co-worker, and fellow-trustee,
J. H. Whittemore,
Resolved, That in his death. The Grove Ceme
tery Association has sustained an irreparable loss.
His deep interest, wise counsel, and hearty co
operation have been unstintedly given. His costly
gifts, that have lent security and adornment to our
Cemetery System, are lasting reminders of his
valued service, and his munificent contributions to
the maintenance fund of the Hillside Cemetery
guarantee the perpetuity of his good work for many
generations yet to come.
Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon
our Minutes and a copy of them be sent to the
family of Mr. Whittemore.
Naugatuck, June, 1910.

[97]
THE DIRECTORS OF THE WATERBURY HOSPITAL
At a special meeting of the Directors of The
Waterbury Hospital, held June 3rd, 1910, it was
Resolved, That in the death of John Howard
Whittemore, who died at his residence in Nauga
tuck, May 28th, 1910, this Hospital loses its largest
benefactor and a devoted officer, sustainer, and
friend. In the midst of his multifarious cares he
always found time to attend its meetings, and his
sound judgment, his refined taste, and his executive
ability were ever at its service.
While the members of this Board valued him as
an officer, they also delighted in him as a friend,
and they desire to place on record both their great
personal regret at his loss and their sympathy with
his bereaved family.
Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to place
this minute on the records, and that an engrossed
copy be presented to Mr. Whittemore's family.
J. H. Bronson, Secretary.
THE SALVATION ARMY
Mrs. J. H. WhittCTiore,
Naugatuck, Conn.:
Dear Madam:
I desire to express to you, on behalf of The
Salvation Army, our deep sympathy in the death
of our dear friend, your beloved husband.

[98]
We can ill afford to lose such men as Mr. Whitte
more. He will be greatly missed by a large number,
but more especially by you and your family. You
have the prayers of our organization that God will
abundantly bless and sustain you in this your sad
bereavement. ' I remain Yours in deepest sympathy,
L. M. Simonson, Major.
Haetfoed, June 1, 1910.
CAMP ARROW
To the members of the bereaved family of J. H.
Whittemore:
We wish to express and offer you our humble but
sincere sorrow in this your hour of bereavement.
Mr. Whittemore by his kindly acts and charity
had endeared himself to the people of Naugatuck
and vicinity. By his death Naugatuck not only
loses a citizen of sterling worth, but a good friend
to all.
Believe us, we mourn with you in the loss of one
who was kind and generous to us.
Members of Camp Arrow.
(Naugatuck Boys.)
Naugatuck, May 29, 1910.

[99]
the fifteen CLUB
Mrs. J. H. Whittemore:
Dear Madam:
I am taking this opportunity of writing you
in behalf of "The Fifteen Club," to express our
deep sympathy in your bereavement. We cer
tainly all feel very much the loss of Mr. Whit
temore, and we, "The Fifteen Club," realize that
we have indeed lost a good friend, although but
few of us personally knew him.
Believe us. Yours very sincerely,
"The Fifteen Club."
(Young men and boys, of Waterbury.)
S. L. R., Secretary.
MiDDLBBUBT, May 30, 1910.
ROLLINS COLLEGE
The following minute was adopted by the
Board of Trustees:
The members of this Committee have heard with
profound sorrow of the death in Naugatuck, Conn.,
on May 28th, 1910, of John H. Whittemore, a long
time friend and generous benefactor of Rollins Col
lege, and a Trustee during the years 1902 to 1905.
We desire to spread on our minutes, and express
to the family of Mr. Whittemore, our sense of the
great loss which his death has brought to us person-

[ 100]
ally, to the College, to the community in which his
life was spent and which he had beautified and en
riched, alike by his presence and by his wise and
abundant benefactions, and to the wider circle of
those who knew and loved him throughout the
land. Mr. Whittemore was a man of far-seeing sagac
ity, of extraordinary business and executive abil
ity, of tireless energy, of broad sympathies and
generous heart, of fine taste, of impressive pre
sence, of gentle and modest manner, of high ideals,
of singular loyalty to his conscience and his friends,
— a leader of men, a lover of his country, and a
devout Christian.
Rollins College owes much to Mr. Whittemore.
He came to its help in a critical and difficult mo
ment, and later gave generously both toward its
yearly maintenance and its endowment, and his
firm faith in its future and its mission has been an
inspiration to those who have had its affairs in
charge. "He rests from his labors, and his works do fol
low him."
Winter Park, Florida, June 3, 1910.
- THE women's study CLUB
Whereas, God, who rules over the lives and des
tinies of all, has called unto Himself our much be-

[101 ]
loved townsman and great benefactor, John
Howard Whittemore,
Resolved, That we, the members of The Nauga
tuck Women's Club, feel a sense of profound loss
in the death of our esteemed citizen, through whose
generosity a beautiful meeting-place has been
afforded us, and whose hearty cooperation we have
always received.
Resolved, That we extend to Mrs. Whittemore,
who was the first president of our organization, and
to the son and daughter, our deepest sympathy,
and assure them of our gratitude and the high
regard in which we shall ever hold the memory of
our friend, John Howard Whittemore.
Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon
our books, and a copy of them be sent to the be
reaved family.
Naugatuck, May 31, 1910.
THE GERMANIA MAENNERCHOR
We desire to express our sincere sympathy to the
bereaved family of John H. Whittemore for their
loss; for by his death they lose a. kind husband and
father, and we, the members of the Germania
Maennerchor of Union City, a highly esteemed
honorary member, who has done much in the past
to further the principles and welfare of our order.
P. Hess, President.
A. ScHOENLAU, Secretary.
Union Citt, May 31, 1910.

[ 102 ]
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, MAYOR's OFFICE
Mrs. J. H. Whittemore,
Naugatuck, Conn.:
My DEAR Mrs. Whittemore:
You have my deepest sympathy in your great
sorrow. Mr. Whittemore's death is a very great
loss to our City, and I feel it in a personal sense
also, as I knew him well.
Very sincerely yours,
Wm. B. Hotchkiss, Mayor.
Waterbury, May 31, 1910.

PERSONAL ESTIMATES
GATHERED FROM LETTERS

PERSONAL ESTIMATES
GATHERED FROM LETTERS
I have mailed you a copy of the resolutions passed
by our Directors. May I add a word of personal
sympathy? An able, upright, generous and (best of
all) a lovable man has gone; his death is a sorrow to
all who knew him, and we can but tenderly imagine
the grief of those who were nearest and dearest to
him. J. H. B.
Watehbubt, June 7.
My acquaintance with Mr. Whittemore was not
as intimate as I wish it had been; but I quickly
recognized his extraordinary mental capacity, his
broad human interests and his unfaifing purpose to
make his Hfe useful in the building up of the King
dom of God. His loss falls heavily upon us all.
C. A. D.
Watehbubt, June 1.
I cannot return to my Western home without
expressing to you my deep sympathy. In the rough-
and-tumble of our Uves, it is rarely that we come to
know a leader of men to whom we may always look
up with true admiration and affection. Mr. Whit-

[ 106]
temore was ever a kind, considerate friend. His
memory I shall ever cherish among the things most
valued. E. F. G.
New York, June 1.
I want to express to you my sympathy in your
bereavement and to say what is in my heart about
your husband. To me he was an ideal man in his
relations to mankind, and I shall always remem
ber him as an influence for good. I am sure that his
aim was to produce in others incentives to well
doing similar to his own, and so far as I am able, I
shall follow his good example.
H. B.
New York, June 5, 1910.
Permit me to come and express to you my pro
found sympathy for you and yours in this great
sorrow. It must be a noble consolation to think
that for many the world is the better and the easier
because of his passage through it, and that his good
deeds will live, and keep doing good, and help mul
titudes of others. '(A. F. J.)
New York, May 28.
I have purposely waited until the flood of letters
of sympathy for you should a little abate before I
wrote and told you how sorry I am personally for

/.on/

[ 107 ]
the death of such a splendid man as was your hus
band. To know him even as little as I did was to
admire and honor him. His ability, kindness, and
generosity were known and appreciated by all
Connecticut, and the kindly grasp of his hand was
a stimulant to all that is best in one. O. T. O.
New Haven, June 7.
All who had the honor of Mr. Whittemore's
acquaintance must regard his death as an event
deeply to be deplored. He was a neighbor who re
joiced in being neighborly. Success did not spoil
him ; wealth did not puff him up or narrow the circle
of his sympathies. Throughout the many years
spent here, he contributed both materially and spir
itually to the upbuilding of Naugatuck, by princely
benefactions, as also by the good life he led. In the
attitude he assumed and maintained toward the
advantages which we enjoy, whether conferred by
a kind Providence or secured by human toil and
effort, he has left his fellow citizens a valuable
example of true conservatism. In his death, the
people of Naugatuck lose a real benefactor, and
his State and country an upright son, who wrought
ably and well and did not destroy. M. F. H.
Naugatuck, May 28.'

[ 108 ]
The world and especially our home community
can ill afford to lose such a noble specimen of man
hood. The ability to grasp and successfully bring
to fruition such colossal enterprises as Mr. Whitte
more carried on is given to but few men, and with
it all he was never so busy or so preoccupied that
he could not stop for a friendly word of greeting
and a cordial hand-shake. I feel his going away as
a distinct personal loss, for he was always most
cordial and kind to me. The delicious twinkle in
his eye and his unexpected bursts of humor I shall
always love to remember. M. C. H. S.
Hartford, May 29.
You are not alone in your bereavement, for all
of us who have seen and enjoyed the fruits of Mr.
Whittemore's great philanthropies feel that we
have a share in your loss. Of his public gifts all
may know, but of the multitude of his kindnesses
to individuals few are aware. R. L. B.
Brookline, Mass., June 5.
I must write and express to you and yours my
keen sympathy in your great loss. Mr. Whittemore
was always most kind to me as a new and younger
Director, and I appreciated it and shall miss him
much. ... He certainly was a splendid and most

[ 109]
kmd and generous man. Our visit to your home,
and to Westover, last July, I shall never forget.
A. A. L.
Groton, Mass., June 5.
I never cease to appreciate or to be grateful for
the very great act of kindness we owe the husband
and father for whom you are now mourning. . . .
I have always known and felt that whichever way
I turned or looked or stepped, I owed something of
the exquisite contentment I feel among these beau
tiful Middlebury hills to Mr. Whittemore; for he
loved them and beautified them, and was ever
generously adding some new beauty to the land
scape or warding off some danger that threatened.
So that, even though I had but rare opportunity
to speak with him or to know him, he has yet played
a large part in my life's happiness. While I cannot
poignantly mourn for him as you are now mourn
ing, I still can feel a very deep sense of irreparable
loss and a genuine sympathy for you all. E. M. B.
Middlebury, May 28. •
You know, without my saying it, how great my
affection and regard for Mr. Whittemore have been.
I have been fortunate indeed in having been con
nected with him in the Colonial Trust Company,
for it has given me the opportunity to know him
intimately. His wide range of knowledge and his

[ 110]
strong personality, combined with his kindly and
lovable nature, were an inspiration to any young
man favored with his friendship. The loss is irre
trievable to the community and to his many friends.
J. P. E.
Waterbury, May 29.
So many recollections of his wisdom and kindness
pass before me that I find it difficult to put into
words my regret that he has passed away from the
places and things where his influence meantsomuch.
Mr. Whittemore's good judgment was equalled
by his good taste in all matters, and his example
was always most helpful and inspiring. My admi
ration grew with each interview. His place in my
life can never be filled; I only hope that he under
stood that I tried to profit by the opportunity he
placed before me. I shall always remember him
with affection and great regard.
Waterbury, May 31. O. S. N.
I feel that I have special reason to mourn his
removal from us, because of several kindnesses he
did^e, and I had looked forward to seeing him
before long and expressing my feefing of apprecia
tion. It is hard for us of the younger generation
to be deprived of those who have been our example.
and our helpers and to be compelled to realize that
we are being forced into the front rank.
New York, June 11. W. H. P.

[Ill]
It was only a few days since that I learned of the
death of your husband. I am well aware that there
is nothing I can say which can convey comfort,
but I would fike the privilege of telling you the im
pression he made on my hfe and the upHft he gave
me in years gone by. His was one of those sterling,
effective lives that accompKsh what to others
would have been impossible. I count myself privi
leged to have known him.
As you well know, it was he who induced me to
remain at the other College in those critical days
for the institution when a change might have proved
fatal. This was only another of his wise, helpful
plans for the interests which he had at heart.
G. M. W.
Aurora, N. Y., June 23.
Like many another, I have reason to remember
Mr. Whittemore with gratitude for the practical
aid he gave me when I most needed it, but better
than that was the way in which he gave me that
help, and the interest he showed for one with whom
he had no close business or personal relations. The
influence of a man of Mr. Whittemore's means and
prominence, when that man is Mr. Whittemore,
becomes an incalculable influence for good, and I
am only one of thousands who owe much to that
influence. S. B.
New York, June 9.

[ 112]
I was thankful that I could go to Naugatuck that
day. Appointments made long ahead keep me here
rather closely.
I need not tell you that I am among those who
share your grief in a very distinct way. I remember
the goodness and kindness of years long past to
mine and me. I have always looked upon Mr.
Whittemore as the princely benefactor of the town,
and much more than that. He has given a noble
example of great public service and he has blessed
those who lived in his own time and all the genera
tions that follow. It is a great and noble hfe which
has ended here, and a multitude of us would like to
tell you, if we could, how much it means . Some of us
know what a transformation he has wrought in the
town. No one can tell how many have been helped
and blessed by hun. Few men leave a nobler inherit
ance than he, or the record of a better stewardship.
I shall always remember him, and his name will
call up a long succession of noble actions. E. S. L.
Newark, N. J., June 2.
I have just heard of your great loss, and hasten to
send you a line to tell you how deeply I sympathize
with you and your children in your sorrow. . . .
Mr. Whittemore's life was so happy — blessed in
you and in his children. I have never forgotten the
weeks I spent with you and the home life I wit-

[ 113 ]
nessed. I wish I could have seen you all together
when I was last in America. M. C.
Mbsnil-Theribus (Oise), France, June 30.
In the departure of Mr. Whittemore I have lost
a very dear friend, one I learned to love and admire
from the time of our earliest association. His many
endearing and sterling qualities were continually
in evidence and will ever remain precious memories.
He will be greatly missed.
Bbidgeport, May 28. W. A. G.
I hardly know how to write you at this time. By
the merest chance on our homeward journey we
picked up a discarded paper and saw therein that
Mr. Whittemore had left us! If we had but stayed
at home, or had known earfier, we could have
reached Naugatuck in time to join those other
friends who were so fortunate as to be able to take
one last and loving look at the face we knew so
well. I wish I could have seen him again, — if not
in life, could have had at least the privilege of a
lingering look upon him at rest.
We have talked so much about you all between
ourselves, and always he was prominent in the
conversation. I seem to have known him much
longer and more intimately than I really have;
but such was the effect his personahty created. I

[ 114]
liked to talk about him, his ways, his pleasantries,
because I liked him. Only on that very Saturday
afternoon, while walking around the farm of our
host, something prompted me to relate my acquaint
ance with him, and all the little anecdotes, and all I
could tell was fistened to with the keenest interest.
I little dreamed, while talking, that he had only
just passed away. Try to be comforted in the recol
lection of the many years you dwelt together and
in the rich heritage of happy recollections he has
left to you. These are yours for all time. Slightly
though I knew him, my own life has been made the
brighter by the acquaintanceship. Think, then,
how vastly endowed are you and your children in
the knowledge of the many years you were per
mitted to be together in daily intercourse. When
the flrst rush of grief is over there cannot fail to
come a gradual sense of peace, and a gladness, as
you look backwards and reflect upon the long, long
time you were so fortunate as to claim him for your
very own in this world of ours. You have loved
and you have not really lost him. His presence will
abide in your memory, and you and yours will
cherish it continually, for in the hfe he lived he has
bestowed upon you a precious gift that none may
take away. I am so glad to have known him.
W. L. H.
New York, June 1.

[ 115]
It was with profound sorrow and regret that I
learned of the passing away of your honored hus
band. I have known him many years. We were
schoolboys together at General Russell's School,
fifty-six years ago, and, though we were not ulti
mately associated in business until the last five
years, my admiration for his many fine quafities
has never declined, and since our late more intimate
relations it has ripened into genuine love. The
memory of his many admirable qualities will re
main with us as an inspiration. J. S. E.
Waterbuby, May 30.
Some days ago I wrote you how much I enjoyed
talking with Mr. Whittemore at Naugatuck, when
we were all on our way to Westover, and now I
have not been able to get him off my mind since I
learned last night of his death, though I have seen
him but a few times and cannot claim that I really
knew him at all. ¦ I imderstand that he died yester
day morning, and curiously enough I was thinking
of him yesterday morning when I awoke. He came
into my thoughts as one of the men, of all the men
I have known, that I should like to be like. I shall
not attempt to explain this. He had the rare qual
ity (I think it is very rare) of making you feel that
you are deafing with a man, and a real man, at first
hand, and not some other man put forward in his

[ 116]
place. I recall very well the impression he made on
me at Alice's wedding. A man of simple feeling as
well as a man of power. I dare say you think all
this strange — strange that I should write this way
about a person I almost never saw, but it is one of
the experiences of a life, and one of its benedictions. G. D. S.
New Haven, May 29.
I presume it has come to you in many ways that
with all the respect and admiration men have for
what Mr. Whittemore made of his life there is
mingled a very large measure of affection. I have
sometimes wondered if he knew to how large a
number of his acquaintances this feeling of affec
tion for him came. I know it is not the custom
of men to show much of this openly, even among
fife-long friends, but with these long-time, close
friendships there must come many natural expres
sions of it that are understood and felt without
being spoken of.
These opportunities do not often come to ac
quaintances, and yet I think Mr. Whittemore must
have known, from his contact with many men,
that he had their affection to a very unusual de
gree. I can think of nothing better than this in the
character-qualities that grow into men; no better
feeling to leave in the memories of others when our
time to go comes.

[117]
I always loved to meet him for a minute or two,
here on the street or on the cars. So did everyone,
I believe. I always hurried a bit, or went across the
street, when I caught sight of him, so that I might
have the good feeling that invariably came to me
from meeting him.
With all that he has left in the communities in
which he lived to make them better in so many en
during ways, I value most this enduring thought of
affection for him, among so many men in his own
immediate home community where he walked so
many years. J. M.
Waterbuby, July 17.
The news has just come to me that another of
my old and valued friends has been called to rest.
These announcements have been coming to me of
late with what seems increasing frequency, but
somehow Mr. Whittemore's death leaves a void in
my list of friends that stands by itself. Such con
solation as comes from the reflection that the
world is better by reason of his having been in it is
not everything in this instance, and words are but
weak vehicles, at times, to convey feeling. W. McC.
Pittsbubgh, Penn., June 1.
I am thinking to-day of Mr. Whittemore as I
saw him last, on that pleasant birthday nearly ten

[ 118]
years ago. As I sat a little apart from the rest, and
saw him surrounded with children, grandchildren,
and friends whom he seemed so glad to have with
him on that occasion, I said to myself, "How much
he has to live for! and he will live a long time yet,
— he looks so well and strong and young." And I
did earnestly wish for him a long life of comfort and
happiness. L. A. S.
Salem, Ohio, June 25.
Love knows all that friends would say. And yet
it is a pleasure to add one other testimony, as an
appreciation of all that Mr. Whittemore stood for.
Those who knew him will be encouraged to emu
late his life; to go on courageously and righteously,
as he always did. I am glad it has been my privi
lege to know you both; for there are some friends
in the thought of whom one somehow seems to find
rest, whether one sees much of them or little.
E. B. B.
Fall Riveb, Mass., June 6.
There are many who will remember him for his
philanthropy, his leadership in industry, and the
great things he accomplished; but there is a group
(not a small group), of which I am one, who will
remember him for the influence he exerted over
their lives. He had a large following. I have heard

[119]
scores of young men testify — and there are
doubtless hundreds I have not heard — that to
know John H. Whittemore was to them an in
spiration, that they had formed higher ideals and
obtained greater courage through association with
him than through any other one man.
His abilities were recognized by our ablest busi
ness men. He was their equal in solving the most
difficult problems; he attained marked success; yet
there was with him no air of self-importance, no
sign of consideration of himself as a man of distinc
tion; on the contrary, he fived a fife of unaffected
kindness. He had the same cheery, cordial greeting
for the humblest citizen that he had for the man
of importance. This is what made it possible for
young men to approach him. No applicant for
counsel who was honest in intention and earnest
in endeavor ever received the "cold shoulder"
from Mr. Whittemore. His personality was so
strong, and his principles so high, that he uncon
sciously exerted an influence over men, the good of
which will be felt in the lives of others for genera
tions to come. What more noble or lasting work
could any man do?
He was sincere, frank, and penetrative, and with
it all possessed a charm that was most attractive.
He never allowed anything to set him apart from
the people; on the contrary, he loved "folks," and
to know his true character was to love him.

[ 120 ]
How my heart used to thrill when we sat down
for a little talk after dinner at the Anchorage, or
started for a walk over the hiUs and through the
woods of TranquiUity, and he would say: "WeU,
what have you got to tell me?" I listened for
every word, and as we talked he would unfold his
thoughts and impart instruction that would have
been an education for any young man. Those
conversations were treasures to me and will never
be forgotten.
I consider it one of the great privileges of my fife
to have enjoyed association and friendship with
him for so many years; a friendship that developed
affection. There is one thing I know : I am a better
man to-day because J. H. Whittemore lived.
New York, August 11. A. M. N.
What a comfort it is to review his life ! Not only
those dear to him by ties of blood and relationship
will miss him, but those associated with him in the
affairs of life. We shall miss his genial smile and
manner, his warm, welcome hand-shake, and his
sincere friendship and interest in our welfare. In
the community in which he lived, and which he
helped so much by his splendid benefactions, he
will surely be long remembered. He leaves behind
a blessed and fragrant memory and an example to
mankind. W. S.
Troy, N. Y., June B.

[121 ]
Mr. Whittemore's fife was truly beautiful — so
great and so good that even his unconscious influ
ence was a blessing to aU within his ken. He shone,
fike the sun. In retrospect his beaming face seems
yet a benediction. His memory is most precious.
My children and I will never forget the thoughtful
kindness with which he brought cheer and comfort
to us in our great bereavement. C. L. G.
Middlebury, June 24.
By some untoward mishap the cable message was
delayed in reaching us. It came to us while we were
at Abbazia, near Trieste, June 3rd. So that when
we got the news the funeral had already been held
and what was mortal had been laid away. . . .
I looked for a long life for Mr. Whittemore; the
family record was so good. Somehow I felt sure of
him. I felt that he had at least another ten or fif
teen years of ripe usefulness before him; that his
"strength" was a good "reason" for at least "four
score"; but it was not to be so. Perhaps, however,
if he had to choose between long years of inactive
painful fife and passing away as he did, he would
have chosen to go. Let us be comforted by the
thought that thus to pass away would not in his
choice be the worst that could befall.
There is no man living whose friendship I valued
as I did his. It is true that there was some dis-

[ 122 ]
parity in years, and a greater disparity in other
directions. But for all this, he was nearer to me, in
a certain way, than any other man. I valued his
approval, his sympathetic approval more than
that of any one else, perhaps more than that of
all others. It was not on account of his wealth —
not what he had, but what he was. I have known
other rich men and known them weU, but none of
them gave me this feeling. It is sometimes hard for
me wholly to respect a very rich man. I think I do
not value money, the possession of money, as most
of us do who strive for it so hard. It was Mr.
Whittemore's wisdom and his charity (both words
in their old wide meaning) that impressed me. It
was his wide, long views, his ability to see the other
side while holding so unflinchingly, with aU his
might, to this side, and his rare possession of seem
ingly conflicting qualities, which did not in the
least weaken each other nor really conflict, that
compelled my admiration and respect and honor.
Take his love of acquisition. Few men had the
impulse and the power to acquire as did he, and
few exercised it (cleanly and clearly) more. Some
one has said that genius is only the aptitude for
taking infinite pains. In this sense Mr. Whitte
more had a genius for acquisition; for who would
take more pains than he, even in fittle things, if
these little things were part of a larger whole? and
what little things are not? Yet he could spend and

[ 123 ]
scatter easily and freely, and in my heart I believe
his spending was more often checked by principle
than by his love of acquiring. Wastefulness was a
crime in his eyes and spending in any direction
must stop short of waste. So again, spending even
in charity must stop short of ostentation; there
must be no spending for display. Could he have
hidden it, he would have spent more.
Again, he had the rare quafity of patience in a
high degree. He could wait a long time for any
thing to "ripen," but when the fruit was ripe, he
had a superb impatience to see it gathered and laid
by. A wise, strong, just and charitable man, Mr.
Whittemore was a great deal to me. He was not
mine as he was yours, and your children's, but I
loved him and I sorrow with you. May you be
comforted! May peace come to you !
E. A. S.
MuNCHEN, Maximiliansplatz, June 13.
I have hesitated to express to you my sympathy
in your sorrow, or to add my testimonial of sincere
appreciation of Mr. Whittemore, because I must
seem so far outside the circle of those you call
friends. And yet, may I not? I do not think there
is any one who appreciates more fully than I, or
more keenly enjoys, our splendid School Buildings
with their setting of beautiful vine and foliage; the

[ 124 ]
pretty Public Square and the exqmsite bit of Park
which skirts our Hillside; the dear Library Build
ing, and last, but not least, the qiuet restful beauty
of our Sanctuary. And for all these I feel a great
sense of gratitude to the man whose fine taste and
generous heart made it possible for us aU to enjoy
them. To have journeyed in loving companion
ship for many years with one so kind must leave
you rich in precious memories.
A. H. D.
Naugatuck, June 9.
I value your note, since it showed that Mr. Whit
temore's feeling for my husband corresponded with
my husband's for him. At the meetings of the
Directors of the New York, New Haven and
Hartford Railroad Company there came together
several men who were fully in sympathy with each
other and who became fast friends. My husband
often spoke to me of Mr. Whittemore and of his
constantly growing regardforhim. The "Courant"
says they were alike, and I can well believe this
to be true. The qualities of simplicity, integrity,
generosity, and sympathy for others are great
qualities, which it seems they had in common.
Thank God for the men and for the happy years
when we could enjoy these qualities in them.
M. B. C.
Manchester, Conn., July 8.

[ 125]
After all, there is no word that any one can say
that can fighten the weight of your sorrow. You
had him aU these years; nothing that touched you,
whether of joy or sorrow, but was of equal import
ance to him; of even greater importance, because it
gave you pleasure or pain. The world had his mind
and his heart, his clear thought and his generous
helpfulness; but nobody but you had what you
have lost. Happily no one can lessen your tender
memories of your priceless years together; those
are your very own, to grow brighter and more
precious as the years go on. K. B. K.
LaketHiLe, June 21.
From papers received at the Azores I learn of the
great sorrow that has come to you and your family.
You have aU been my friends; you have made me
one of your family when I have been with you. If I
could express to you how much I have appreciated
your friendship it would help to reveal the sym
pathy I feel for you. Never have I been in a home
where love of the family and love of fellow men and
love of beauty in all its forms was more perfectly
expressed. There is a contagion about such love
that a friend cannot resist if he would. To me it
has appealed more strongly than I can say. The
thought of the good deeds done by your husband
and of the love and friendship these deeds have

[ 126]
wrought, will help, I am sure, to give you the peace
and the happy memories that will be your support
in this sorrow. W. H. M.
Steamship "Cretic," June 22.
I am sorry for the loneliness that must be yours,
with Mr. Whittemore's companionship withdrawn.
But I am glad for you as well as sorry — glad for
the thoughts that are yours of your long life to
gether, during which (as all who ran might read)
you have been all in aU to him.
I shall like to remember Mr. Whittemore as he
looked when I spoke with him last, as he stood in
front of the pulpit after a church service. He an
swered my greeting with his courtly bow and smile,
and I thought to myself that surely he had many
years of life before him. It was soon after your
return from the South and he looked so well. It is a
privilege to have known him.
Surely affectionate sympathy never came to one
from more sources than it comes to you now. May
it be, in some measure, a comfort to you in your
sorrow. A. E.
Naugatuck, June 1.
I have been reading the papers and living over
again his splendid life, so full of noble deeds! It

[ 127 ]
brings back, too, all his and your goodness to us,
and those beautiful days spent with you at Nauga
tuck and Middlebury. We have so often spoken
of them, and now they wiU seem more than ever
precious to us.
What a great privilege it has been to us to be
counted among his friends! Such a man never
really dies, for his splendid example lives in his
works and in the hearts of his friends.
E. A. J.
Chicago, June 8.
He was so kind and good a man, one who had the
greatest respect of all who knew him. We shall
never forget those delightful and hospitable days
at your house; the great fireplace, the rides in the
lovely woods and the visits to the farm proper,
where Mr. Whittemore was always a genial and
charming host. It is a privilege to have known him,
and a sadness to have him drop out of the circle of
friends, a circle, alas! that is diminishing day by
day.
E. A.
Steamship "Kbonprinzessin Cecile," June 13.
It is hard to write when the tears are so near, and
one's heart so full as mine is to-day. We feel very
sad over the loss of a dear friend, but so thankful
for the memory of those beautiful visits with you

[ 128 ]
all, and the wonderful influence we have felt from a
life like that of the Whittemores.
It has been a privilege to be in his home and
yours; to see you together in your perfect com
panionship and love. A. S. R.
Redlands, Cal., May 28.
Having been in your home so many years, I can
realize, in a way, what the loss is to you all, and
also what it is to so many outside of your home.
Mr. Whittemore was always the helpful friend, di
recting so wisely in his helpfulness; always hospit
able, generous, considerate of every one. It must
be a great comfort to you and your children to
know how much he was honored and loved. F. T. B.
Westfield, Mass., June 3.
My mind has gone back to my many delightful
visits with you and dear Mr. Whittemore during
the years before I was married; each visit im
pressing me with the feeling that it was a great
privilege to know and see you together. I remem
ber so well how once, when we were about to sail
for Europe, I thought it so lovely of yen and Mr.
Whittemore to come down to New York to see us
off. Mr. Whittemore seemed to me like a father in
his kindliness toward my brother and all of us.

[ 129 ]
Again, in Florida, on our way home from the West
Indies, you both welcomed us so pleasantly at the
pretty hotel in the Southern pine woods. It meant
so much to us, especially to me. I recall glimpses
of you at other times also, but the most memorable
and lasting impression is that of the channing
visit at your hospitable home in Naugatuck.
How I should like to have a little talk with you
over memories of the past, and tell you once more
how truly my heart goes out to you all in your
sorrow and loneliness. J. E. M.
Chicago, III., July 17.
My heart, filled with love and sympathy, is with
you all. Distance puts no bar on love and prayers,
even though it does prevent my going to you for one
more look into the kind face I loved so well. There
is no need to tell you how much I long to be with
you in person, and to share your sorrow; nor is
there any need to tell you how much I loved him
and how deeply grateful I am to him for all he has
done for me and mine. Surely there is a reward
awaiting him. But words fail. One can only say,
"Grant him, O Lord, eternal rest, and let fight
perpetual shine upon him."
I have just come from the mysterious, wonderful
presence of death, having seen for the last time the
saintly face of the reverend Mother Foundress of

[ 130 ]
this Community. After twenty years of waiting
patiently for her Lord, made perfect through suf
fering, she passed into His presence this morning.
While we were saying silently for her the Litany of
the Dying, the Angel was entering your home as
well. May we all be as ready for his coming as
these who have just gone with him. M. W. B.
Fond du Lac, Wis., May 28.
How much we have been with you in spirit, the
last week! I have thought of you all constantly,
and especially have gone over in mind the many
happy hours we have spent with Mr. Whittemore.
His face always wears a beautiful smile in my men
tal picture of him; his hand extended in the many
welcomes he has given me. I have been so inter
ested, reading all about his wonderful, complete
life; such an inspiration to us young people. But
even more impressive to me was the beautiful com
radeship of you two through all these long years. I
do truly believe that a partnership like that is
never dissolved, even when one has passed on, and
that you still have his strong love and influence to
lean upon. L. B. T.
Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., June 6.

[ 131 ]
I think Howard must have been an ideal hus
band and father, and I am certain he was one of the
kindest friends any man or woman could hope to
have. It is very difficult to think of him as whoUy
detached from his long-time interests and activi
ties, but since I do not befieve that any one really
dies ("death" being merely a clumsy term for
"change"), I cannot find it possible to believe other
than that Howard is as much afive to-day as ever,
and that somewhere he is still thrilling with life and
love, and undoubtedly finding some service to
perform in the Golden City of Promise.
S. T. K.
Habtpobd, May 9.

I do not come to weep above thy pall.
And mourn the dying-out of noble powers;
The poet's clearer eye shall see, in all
Earth's seeming woe, seed of immortal flowers.
No power can die that ever wrought for Truth;
Thereby a law of Nature it became
And lives unwithered in its blithesome youth.
When he who called it forth is but a name.
Therefore I cannot think thee wholly gone;
The better part of thee is with us still;
Thy soul its hampering clay aside hath thrown.
And only freer wrestles with the 111.
Thou livest in the life of all good things;
What words thou spak'st for Freedom shall not die;
Thou sleepest not, for now thy Love hath wings
To soar where hence thy Hope could hardly fly.
And often, from that other world, on this
Some gleams from great souls gone before may shine.
To shed on struggling hearts a clearer bliss.
And clothe the right with lustre more divine.
Thou art not idle: in thy higher sphere
Thy spirit bends itself to loving tasks.
And strength to perfect what it dreamed of here
Is all the crown and glory that it asks.
James Russell Lowell.

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