Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
spect and confidence of all those who knew nationally known Cheney Brothers' Silk
him.
He possessed a natural mechanical
ability which, with his untiring energy,
were important factors in the development
of the business of the family. He
was a man of simple tastes, with no
desire for public life, was fond of music
and travel, and took much interest in the
scientific and material development of
his country. His energy, and executive
and mechanical ability proved of great
value during the Civil War, when he was
called to direct and manage a large
armory in Boston which was established
to manufacture the first successful repeat-
ing rifle—the Spencer—the invention of
Mr. Christopher M. Spencer, a native of
Manchester, Connecticut, and an employee
of Cheney Brothers. To this work
he gave his best, without reserve, day
and night, and made a success of what
might have been a failure. At this time
he invented the automatic drop hammer,
which has become of such importance in
the production of forgings. Frank Cheney
married, June 8, 1853, Susan Jarvis, born
May 9, 1827, daughter of Daniel Cooke
and Susan (Jarvis) Cushing, of Providence,
Rhode Island, the former of whom
was a grandson of Governor Cooke, first
governor of the State of Rhode Island.
To Mr. and Mrs. Cheney were born five
children :
Katharine Sedgwick, born Au-
gust 2, 1854, married, March 24, 1880,
Gustavus Farley, Jr. ; Mary, born September
28, 1855 ; Alice Barrett, born February
1, 1857, died March 13, 1908; Frank,
Jr., of whom further; and Paul How-
ard, born June 28, 1867.
CHENEY, Frank Woodbridge,
Manufacturer, Philanthropist.
The late Colonel Frank Woodbridge
Cheney, for many years the head of the
291
Manufacturing Company, of South Manchester,
Connecticut, was one of the most
representative of Connecticut's citizens.
Flis national service during the Civil War
kept him, to the end of his long life, an
honored figure at all National gatherings
of his compatriots that he attended, and
his life of business achievement directly
brought advantage to the Manchester sec-
tion of Connecticut, and indirectly to the
State. The "Hartford Courant," in an
editorial immediately after his death on
May 26, 1909, stated : "In his death, the
State loses a man who, by common con-
sent, has stood for years as the very best
in Connecticut citizenship."
Colonel Frank Woodbridge Cheney was
born in Providence, Rhode Island, June
5, 1832, the son of Charles and Waitstill
Dexter (Shaw) Cheney, and a descendant
of one of the oldest of Colonial New Eng-
land pioneers. When about five years old
Frank Woodbridge Cheney was taken by
his parents into Ohio, when they removed
from Providence in 1837. For ten years
thereafter the boy lived on the paternal
farm near Cincinnati, Ohio, during which
he gained the rudiments of general
knowledge, and at the same time, amid
the healthful and wholesome surround-
ings to be found in Christian homes in
such places, developed a good physique
and an upright, manly character. His
parents, in 1847, returned with him to
Providence, but shortly afterwaVds came
into Connecticut, and located in Man-
chester, and in association with others
of his generation of Cheneys, his father
engaged actively in the manufacture of
silk, the brothers Cheney during the suc-
ceeding years, after several experiments
and many disappointments, firmly estab-
lishing the name of Cheney in the front
rank of American silk manufacturers.