Horatio H. Abbe House (1865)

15 Main St., East Hampton

In 1865, Horatio H. Abbe (1829-1902) of East Hampton built the Greek Revival-style north section of the house at 15 Main Street. The following year, Abbe was one of the founders of the Gong Bell Company, which manufactured bell toys and other metal toys. Around 1871, reflecting his growing prosperity, Abbe added the Italianate-style south section of the house, which includes a tower and veranda. As related in an obituary of Abbe that appeared in The Iron Age (Vol. LXX, September 11, 1902), Abbe was born in Enfield.

He was married January 26, 1853, to Miss Laura A. Hayes. After engaging in business with a brother he went to East Hampton July 31, 1862, beginning his business life there as a machinist in the employ of Markham & Strong.

January 1, 1866, he, with E. C. Barton, Ezra G. Cone and A. H. Conklin, formed the partnership of the Gong Bell Mfg. Company for the manufacture of the Abbe Gong Door Bell, of which Mr. Abbe was the inventor. This business relationship continued harmoniously and without a break for 33 years, or until the death of Ezra G. Cone, in 1898, when a joint stock company were incorporated, of which Mr. Abbe became the president and Mr. Conkiin secretary and treasurer.

Mr. Abbe was widely known in Masonic circles, of which he was a thirty-second degree member, he being prominently connected with a number of lodges and commanderies. The funeral services were held at his late residence, the interment being at Enfield, Conn.

Mr. Abbe is mourned by those who were intimately associated with him as an honored citizen and one whose generosity, loyalty and genial ways endeared him to a Iarge circle of friends and acquaintances.

William Patton Cottage (1872)

William Patton Cottage

The summer cottage at 26 Fenwick Avenue in the Borough of Fenwick in Old Saybrook was built in 1872 by William Patton of Springfield. One of the first three cottages to be constructed in the borough, it originally stood on the site of the Mary Brace Collins Cottage at 28 Fenwick Avenue. Patton moved his cottage across the street in 1887. In the 1890s the cottage was owned by Richard Crocker, known as “Boss Crocker,” who was a leader of New York City’s Tammany Hall. In 1899 the cottage was bought by Leonard D. Fisk of Hartford, who remodeled it extensively. Fisk married Genevieve (Jennie) B. Judd, daughter Henry C. Judd, wool merchant and partner in the firm of Judd & Root. Fisk was one of two inheritors of the business of his grandfather, Leonard Daniels, who had a successful flower mill on the Park River in Hartford and was one of the city’s prominent citizens. In 1912 the Fisk family sold their cottage to William Waldo Hyde, a lawyer. It was sold by his widow in 1923. You can read more about the cottage in Marion Hepburn Grant’s The Fenwick Story (Connecticut Historical Society, 1974), pages 80-83.

Shubael Abbe House (1765)

Shubael Abbe House

The house at 17 Windham Green in Windham was built c. 1765 by Shubael Abbe (1744-1804). The main entrance to the house was remodeled c. 1950. A WPA photo of the house (which is #54 in the Nomination for the Windham Center Historic District) shows that this remodeling replaced a Victorian portico with a similar design to the surviving bay window and door hood on the north side of the house).

As related in the History of Ancient Windham (1864) by William L. Weaver

Shubael Abbe resided at Windham Center, and was an esteemed and highly respected citizen, active and useful in town, church and State affairs. He graduated at Yale College in 1764, and held many offices of trust, among them, sheriff of Windham County, a commissioner of the School Fund, often a representative to the Legislature, &c.

[. . .] He m[arried] Lucy Chester, Jan. 26, 1774; he d[ied] suddenly, April 16, 1804; she d[ied] June 21, 1818, aged 66. The Rev. Elijah Waterman, his son-in-law, makes the following entry in the Windham Church records respecting his death: “April 16, 1804, Shubael Abbe, aged 59, of an apoplectic fit, between the hours of nine and ten in the morning. He had made every preparation and arranged all his business for the purpose of going to Hartford as a manager of the School Fund. He went out at the door to see that his horse was ready, and as he was returning in to take leave of his family, as usual, he was suddenly struck with apoplexy, and sallied down in the arms of his wife speechless; and, though immediately let blood, he died in a few minutes.[“]

Fifteen years after Shubael Abbe‘s death, his house was acquired by Dr. Chester Hunt (1789-1869). The property included a small office behind the house, which Dr. Hunt used until his death and which now stands on Windham Green. As described in A Modern History of Windham County, Vol. II (1920):

Dr. Chester Hunt, as previously stated, purchased his home at the southwest corner of the Windham Green in 1819, following the death of Sheriff Abbe, who had occupied that place. Dr. Hunt, both of his wives and all of his children died in this house. His last child, Mrs. James M. Hebard, bequeathed the entire property to the present owner, Miss Mary Delia Little, who was a daughter of Dr. Hunt’s sister, Nancy (Hunt) Little, of Columbia. Miss Little was born in Columbia, her parents being George and Nancy (Hunt) Little. She acquired her education in the district and private schools of Columbia and then took up the profession of teaching, which she followed for many years in Columbia, Glastonbury, Burnside and East Hartford, contributing much to the educational advancement of the communities in which she put forth her efforts. She now occupies the old Hunt home, one of the most attractive residences bordering the Windham Green.