Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

was three terms a member of the Board of
Relief. He was chairman of the school
committee of Poquonock before the
schools of the town were consolidated,
and has always been a capable and use-
ful public official. He produces annually
about thirty acres of shade-grown to-
bacco, and is an extensive landowner in
Poquonock. His church affiliation is with
the Spiritualist church of that town.
He married, December 3, 1872, Mary
Helen Churchill, of Little Falls, New
York, daughter of Isaac and Mary (Bellinger)
Churchill, both of whom were born
and reared in that vicinity. Mary Bellin-
ger was a daughter of John Bellinger,
granddaughter of Adam Bellinger, who
was a second lieutenant of the First Company
of the Fourth Battalion, New York
Troops, during the Revolution, under
General Nicholas Herkimer. He partici-
pated in the battle of Oriskany, and his
name is inscribed on the monument at
that point. Mrs. Thrall passed away at
her home in Poquonock, October 23, 1914.
She was the mother of four children
Oliver J., died in infancy; Henry W., un-
married, resides with his father at Poquonock;
Howard C, who lives on part
of the paternal homestead, married Ella,
daughter of Benjamin and Mary Clark,
of Hartland ; Laura Helen, wife of Arthur
Clark, a son of Benjamin and Mary
Clark, and resides in Windsor. Arthur
Clark is a brother of Mrs. Howard C.
Thrall.
SMITH, FRANK G.,
General Insurance Agent.
A scion of one of the oldest Connecti-
cut families, elsewhere mentioned in this
work, Frank G. Smith is the youngest
child of George and Lucy R. (Griswold)
Smith, of Wethersfield. (q. v.).
He was born September 7, 1855, in that
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
269
town, and was reared amid happy sur-
roundings. His father was one of the
leading citizens of the town, and the son
enjoyed excellent educational opportuni-
ties. After attending the public schools
of his native town he graduated in 1876
at the Hartford Public High School, and
during the following year assisted his
father on the paternal farm. In 1877 he
went to Hartford and became a clerk in
the extensive wool house of Austin Dunham
& Sons' Company. This was subsequently
merged in other firms, becoming
finally Dwight Skinner & Company,
and Mr. Smith continued with the estab-
lishment until 1904, rising from the posi-
tion of junior clerk to that of salesman.
Because of the decline of wool trade in
Hartford and the concentration of the
wool business in Boston, Mr. Smith felt
that it was time to make a change, and
in 1904 he entered the insurance business
as a special agent, and has established a
large and prosperous agency at the pres-
ent time, with headquarters in the Trav-
elers' office building at Hartford. He is
one of the most successful agents of the
Travelers' Insurance Company, engages
in all kinds of insurance, and is recog-
nized as one of the leaders in the business
in the city of Hartford. He is connected
with various associations of that city,
being a member of the Hartford Board of
Fire Underwriters and of the Connecticut
Life Underwriters' Association. He is
also a member of the Hartford Chamber
of Commerce and the Employers' and
Manufacturers' Association of Hartford
is a member of the Get-To-Gether Club,
Wethersfield Country Club, and of the
Congregational Club of Hartford, and a
director of Landlords' and Taxpayers' As-
sociation of that city. He is an active
member of the Center Congregational
Church of Hartford, in which he has
served on various committees, and is ever
;