Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

dustry, and he has demonstrated what
has come to be accepted as an everyday
fact—that brains are necessary in any
kind of business.
While Mr. Christensen is very busily
occupied with his own affairs, he does
not fail to take a keen interest in the pro-
gress of his adopted country, and he has
long been a citizen. Of an independent
character, he thinks for himself, and is
not bound by party organizations, though
he is a believer in the principles of the
Republican organization. He does not
seek to share in practical politics, but his
influence is felt in the community. He
is a member of the Pentecostal church of
Hartford, keenly interested in its mission-
ary work, and is especially active in the
support of missionary workers in Africa,
South America and India. His interest
in humanity is not confined to regions
beyond the seas, and he is often found
actively engaged in ministering to the
needs of those about him in the most
quiet and unobstructive manner. Mr.
Christensen is a member of the Hartford
Chamber of Commerce, thus sustaining
the prosperity and development of the
city of Hartford, and is also a member of
the Hartford Market Gardeners' Associa-
tion. A common saying often heard regarding
the character of men ; namely,
"his word is as good as his bond,"
especially applies to Mr. Christensen. He
believes in fair and honest dealing, and
by adhering to this principle he has
earned the confidence and esteem of bus-
iness men generally, and much of his suc-
cess in business is due to this fact.
Mr. Christensen was married March 26,
1898, to Elsie Anderson, the daughter of
Peter and Anna Anderson, of Hartford,
natives of Denmark. Mr. and Mrs. Chris-
tensen are the parents of nine children,
the eldest of whom is eighteen years and
the youngest two years of age.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
243
GODARD, George Seymour,
State Librarian.
George Seymour Godard, B. A., B.
D., M. A., librarian of the Connecticut
State Library since 1900, and editor
of the Connecticut State Records, was
born in Granby, Hartford county, Con-
necticut, on June 17, 1865. He is
connected with some of the oldest fam-
ilies of Connecticut. He is in direct lineal
descent from Daniel Gozzard (or Godard)
who came from England to Hartford
previous to 1646, and from Moses
Godard, who served in the Revolution.
On his maternal side he is descended from
John Case, who was probably the immigrant
of that name, who came in the ship
"Dorset" from Gravesend, England, September
3, 1635, settled in Hartford, subsequently
going for a time into New York
State, but eventually returning to Connecticut,
and taking residence in Wind-
sor in 1656, and in Simsbury about 1669,
his name appearing among those to whom
land was granted, in the first division of
public lands, at Simsbury, in 1667. Wil-
liam Spencer, who was one of four broth-
ers referred to in early records of the
Massachusetts Colony, and who eventu-
ally became one of the original settlers at
Hartford, and Thomas Beach, who was
in New Haven before March 7, 1647, when
he took the oath of fidelity and who is
recorded in Colonial history as a settler in
Milford, Connecticut, in 1646.
George Seymour Godard is the third of
five sons and a daughter of Harvey and
Sabra Lavina (Beach) Godard. His
father was probably the largest owner of
farms and woodland in his section. Occupying
the Godard homestead he raised
the usual crops of his locality and continued
to run the saw-mill, grist-mill and
cider-mill known as the "Craig Mills."
He was a man of strict integrity and of