Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

time. He married, January 4, 1876, Mary
Jane Irwin, and they were the parents of
the following children : Niel Morrow, of
further mention ; Frederick Hutchings,
born December 10, 1879; Cornelia Marian,
born in 1887, married Leroy T. Hark-
ness ; and Hewlett Scudder, deceased.
The members of the family were regular
attendants of the Baptist church.
(IX) Niel Morrow Ladd, son of Na-
thaniel Greene (2) and Mary J. (Irwin)
Ladd, who is more particularly the sub-
ject of this review, was the eldest of the
family. He was educated in the public
schools of Broooklyn, New York, and on
completing his courses there, entered the
publishing house of Dodd, Mead & Com-
pany. He was naturally a lover of books,
especially of the rare, old ones, and it
was but a few years before he fulfilled his
desire to open a business for buying and
selling rare books. The name under
which he conducted his business was the
Niel Morrow Ladd Book Company, and
for nine years he successfully continued
in business. Upon removing to Greenwich,
Connecticut, he disposed of his book
business to his brothers, who still carry
it on under the original firm name.
The business of real estate next claimed
Mr. Ladd's attention and for a time previous
to removing to Greenwich he was
associated with his father-in-law in Brooklyn.
Mr. Ladd is now president of Ladd
& Nichols, Inc., which corporation was
organized in 1916. An extensive real es-
tate business is carried on, with offices
located at Miami and Palm Beach, Flor-
ida. The corporation has a very fine or-
ganization of ten people.
Aside from his business interests, Mr.
Ladd has ever been interested in the sub-
ject of bird protection. He has written
and lectured extensively on this subject,
and is a member of the Audubon Society
and the Linnaeen Society, as well as be-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
34i
ing president of the Greenwich Bird Pro-
tective Society. His handbook, "How to
Make Friends with Birds," published by
Doubleday, Page & Company, is beauti-
fully illustrated, some of the bird pictures
being in natural colors. Its two hundred
and twenty-five pages contain valuable
practical information, written in a most
interesting style, which will appeal to ev-
ery bird lover.
Mr. Ladd married Agnes Livingston
Nutting, daughter of Andrew J. Nutting,
of Brooklyn, New York.
LOCKE, John,
Contractor, Builder.
One of the most progressive citizens of
Greenwich, Connecticut, John Locke, has
achieved a position in the business world
of that town through his own efforts. He
does not owe his success to any fortui-
tous circumstances, but rather to his qualities
of ambition and sagacity. Through
his intelligently-directed industry he has
surmounted the many obstacles which
confront the man of to-day. In many
cases it was necessary to find a way to
go around these obstacles rather than
through them, and it is this ingenuity of
mind which has been an important factor
in Mr. Locke's success.
Mr. Locke was born March 20, 1872, in
Belfast, Ireland, son of John and Eliza
(Leemon) Locke. The surname of Locke
is very old. It was in use before the gen-
eral adoption of surnames, that is, the
thirteenth century. It is of the class
known as "place names" and was a name
given to an enclosure or confine ; that is,
some particular place which was set off
to confine sheep or other animals.
(I) John Locke, grandfather of John
Locke, was a native of Glasgow, Scot-
land, where he worked in the ship-yards.
The Christian name of his wife was Mary.