240 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Febrl-arv 1, 1912. 



Obituary Record. 



FEANKLIN FAREEL. 



FRANKLIN FARREL, president of the Farrel Foundry & 

 Machine Co., died after a few hours' illness on Januarj- 9, 

 at his home. Tower Hill, Ansonia, Connecticut. In his 

 death Connecticut lost one of her leading citizens, and New Eng- 

 land one of those sterling characters which typify New England 

 at her best. Mr. Farrel is reported to have been possibly the 

 richest man in his state, and to have left a fortune of close to 

 $15,000,000. But this is not all he left; it is, in fact, the smaller 

 part: for he left a record of a long and useful life, full of wise 

 acts, worthy deeds, and a wide influence for good. 



Franklin Farrel came of a 

 good old New England stock 

 and inherited the virtues of 

 strong integrity, sound com- 

 mon sense, and a delight in 

 hard work. He was born in 

 Waterbury, February 17, 

 1828, being the eldest son of 

 Almon Farrel, a noted mill 

 builder of his day. After a 

 few years' of schooling 

 (about the usual period de- 

 voted to education in those 

 days), he began at the age of 

 14 to assist his father, and 

 first went to Ansonia in that 

 capacity in 1844, when his 

 father was constructing the 

 water works and copper mill 

 at that place. In 1849 the 

 older Farrel became associa- 

 ted with several partners in 

 the foundry firm of Farrel & 

 Johnson, which, a few years 

 later, was reorganized under 

 the name of the Farrel Foun- 

 dry & Machine Co., Almon 

 Earrel being the president, 

 and remaining in that office 

 until his death in 1857, when 

 he was succeeded by his son 

 Franklin. From 1857 for 

 over 54 years, until the day 

 of his death, Franklin Farrel 



was the president and dominating factor in this great manu- 

 facturing company, which grew in size and success from year to 

 yaer, and which became in time one of the largest manufacturers 

 of rubber machinery in the world, a position which it has main- 

 tained for many years. 



Mr. Farrel did not confine his energies to this enterprise, vast 

 as it was. Many years ago he became interested in other factory 

 enterprises in the vicinity of Ansonia, especially the H. A. Math- 

 ews Mfg. Co., of Seymour, and the Bridgeport Forge Co., of 

 Bridgeport. He also became a director in the Ansonia National 

 Bank, and the Colonial Trust Co., in Waterbury. But even these 

 enterprises did not engross his time. In 1877, in conjunction 

 with his brother-in-law, A. F. Migeon, he became interested in a 

 large way in mining in Montana. They formed the Parrot Silver 

 & Copper Company, which proved remarkably remunerative. 

 They continued this enterprise until 1899, when they sold their 

 property to the Amalgamated Copper Co. His copper interests 

 added materially to Mr. Parrel's already considerable fortune. 



Nor were his activities confined exclusively to this country, for 



FRANKLIN FARREL 



many years ago he added sugar raising to his other interests, and 

 for many years had a large plantation in Cuba and two in Santo 

 Domingo, keeping tlicse properties until 1901. 



His commercial activities, however, did not exhaust his ener- 

 gies or his interests, for during all his life he was active in 

 philanthropic and charitable work. He gave liberally of his time 

 and generously of his money to Christ Episcopal Church in An- 

 sonia, of which, at the time of his death, he had been senior war- 

 den for 20 years. He was, moreover, a man of most companion- 

 able temperament, and exceedingly popular in the social circle 

 in which he moved, and in the various clubs to which he be- 

 longed while better still he 

 was deeply beloved by all the 

 employes in his various en- 

 terprises. The most impres- 

 sive feature of his funeral 

 was the line of 1,000 workers 

 from the foundry, who, an 

 hour before the funeral, gath- 

 ered at the great mill, formed 

 in procession, and walked 

 reverently and with every 

 manifestation of sorrow to 

 the church, where the body 

 lay in state, to take their 

 last look on the familiar face, 

 which they had so long re- 

 spected and loved. 



The funeral services were 

 held in Christ Church Satur- 

 day morning, January 13, 

 and were attended by a great 

 throng of people from all 

 that section of Connecticut. 

 During the hour of the fu- 

 neral all the stores in Anso- 

 nia were closed, the banks 

 were locked, all the inills shut 

 down, and even the cafes 

 and restaurants closed their 

 doors and drew their shades. 

 He is survived by his wife, 

 a son, Franklin Farrel, Jr., 

 and four daughters, who- 

 deeply mourn his loss. 



HON. GEORGE W. GROUSE. 



Hon. George W. Crouse, one of Akron's pioneer rubber men, 

 who for many years has been a director of the B. F. Goodrich 

 Co., a close friend of the late Dr. B. F. Goodrich, Mr. Work and 

 Mr. Perkins, died at his home in Akron January 5, 1912. 



Mr. Crouse was a member of Company F, 164th Ohio Volun- 

 teer Infantry. He was a warm friend of Buchtel College, and 

 donated funds to erect a gymnasium which now bears his name. 

 He was an ardent Republican, and served in many public capaci- 

 ties. In the 80's he represented bis district in Congress. He 

 always took a warm interest in anything that benefited Akron., 

 whether public or private. He served on the Board of Educa- 

 tion, City Council, as trustee of Buchtel College, and was one 

 of the founders and for many years president of one of Akron's 

 oldest banks. He was founder and one of the most active busi- 

 ness men of The Buckeye Mower & Reaper Works. He was 

 associated almost from the beginning with the B. F. Goodrich 

 Co., being a menilicr of the board of directors until the time of 



