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The Life of
Henry Bradley Plant

George Hutchinson Smyth, George
Sherwood Dickerman „ ,,



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Henry



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THE LIFE OF

HENRY BRADLEY PLANT



FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF THE PLANT SYSTEM

OF RAILROADS AND STEAMSHIPS AND ALSO

OF THE SOUTHERN EXPRESS COMPANY



BY
G. HUTCHINSON SMYTH, D.D.



y ^â– 






OF ^ ^






G.P.PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON

trbe 'Kntcfterl)ocftet predd



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Copyright, 1898

BY

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
Entered at Stationers* Hall, London



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PKEFACE.

IF it be asked why another biography is added to
the almost endless number now in our book-
stores and libraries, an answer is found in the count-
less distinctions of individual character, and in the
varied experiences which come to men in different
walks of life. The botanist says that of all leaves
in the forests of the world, no two can be found
alike in every particular. The phrenologist says
the same of the various forms of the human head,
and the psychologist affirms it of the intellects and
dispositions of men and women. Hence each life
has its own peculiar experience to record for the
pleasure or profit of others.

Biography is the most universally interesting
and instructive branch of literature; hence the
power of the novel and drama, which are merely
biographies pictured and acted before us, A study
of history shows that the nations' great movements
are the work of individual men and women. In il-
lustration of this fact it is needful to mention such

iii



(;r'-;



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iv Preface

names only as Abraham, Joseph, Esther, Joan of
Arc, Napoleon, and Washington.

The commercial and industrial occupations from
which a nation now derives its strength should be
honored as truly as the military exploit, or the sci-
entific achievement The record of a noble life
which, in its sphere of quiet duty, has accomplished
much for the good of others, is a lesson in patriot-
ism and a legacy to posterity. The best period of
the history of the Cotton States could only be writ-
ten by taking into account the share which the sub-
ject of this biography has had in their development

It is rare to find a man who has had dealings with
so many of his fellows, and who, at the same time,
has won the esteem and affection of his associates
and employes, as has Henry Bradley Plant in every
department of his great railroad system.

The writing of this biography is undertaken in
the belief that there are many general readers to
whom the record of such a life will be as welcome
as it must be to those to whom, in his manifold ac-
tivities, he has proved a benefactor and a friend.

Gt. H. a



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CHAPTER I.

TAGM

The Plant Family— -Birth of Henry Bradley Plant— Mr. Plant's
Paienta— Ancestors Game from England in 1689 — David
Plant Occupied Many Positions of Honor and Trust — A.
P. Plant's Successful Business Career — H. B. Plant on his
Mother's Side is Descended from Joseph Frisbee, a Major
in Washington's Army — ^Reverend Levi Frisbee, Father of
Professor Levi Frisbee of Harvard College — Connection
with Sir William Pepperell, Bart.— The Historian of the
Frisbee Family — ^Richard of the Second Generation Went
from Virginia to Connecticut, and Settled at Branford, 1644
—Sketch of Oliver Libby Frisbee, Historian of his Family-
Senator Hoar's Relations to the Frisbee Family — Frisbee
Patriotism and Services to their Country — ^They Were GKxxl,
Church-going People, mostly of the Puritan Belief— Proba-
bility that the Frisbees Came from Wales . . • 1-14

CHAPTER 11.

Branford, Connecticut, Purchased by the New Haven Colonists
from the Totokett Indians in 1688— First Settlements Were
Made in 1644 — First Church of Logs Surrounded by Stockade
to Protect from Indians — Guards at the Qs.te during Service
— Church and Town Records Preserved at Branford — John
Plum, the First Town Clerk— Style of the Second Church
Building and Character of its Services— Rev. Timothy Gillett
its Pastor— He Taught an Academy in Addition to his
Pastoral Work — Prominent Families of Branford — Intelli-
gent Character of the People— De Tocqueville's High Esti-
mate of this ''LeeUe State "—Branford in 1779 . . 15-23



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vi Contents

CHAPTER III.

PAGB

The Blackstone Family— The Ancestor Game from England be-
fore 1680~Hi8 Name Was William Blaxton— Settled first
in Massachusetts, afterwards Went to Rhode Island — His
Beautiful Character and Numerous Descendants — Origin
of Tale College of Branford— The Blackstone Memorial
LibnuT d8-84

CHAPTER IV.

The Plants Came from Ehigland to Branford, between Two
Hundred and Three Hundred Tears ago— Still Own the
limds first Acquired— Henry's Father Died of T3rphu8
Fever when Henry Was about Six Tears Old — ^His Tender
Recollection of his Mother — Henry's First Day at School —
His Natural Diffidence — ^Mr. Plant's After-dinner Speeches
—His Mother's Second Marriage — Stepfather Kind to Henry
—Thrown by a Plough Horse and nearly Killed— Attended
School at Branford— Engaged on Steamboat Line Running
between New Haven and New Tork — On Leaving, Promised
a Captaincy — ^Marriage — Express Business — Leaves New
Haven and Ooes to New Tork — Romantic Experience in
Florida 85-60

CHAPTER V.

Mr. Plant Ooes from New Haven to New Tork— Captain Stone's
Friendship— Mrs. Plant's Health Fails again— Returns to the
South— Is Appointed Superintendent of Adams Express
Company — ^His Great Executive Ability— The Civil War —
Mrs. Plant's Death— Mr. Plant Buys out the Adams Express
Company 61-65

CHAPTER VL

Relations to the Confederate Gk>vemment-^effer8on Davis
Gives him Charge of Confederate Funds— Mr. Plant Buys a
Slave, who afterward Nursed him through a Severe Sickness
— Impaired Health— Goes to Bermuda, New Tork, Canada,
and Europe — Second Marriage 55-07



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Contents vii

CHAPTER VII.

VAGS

Education from Books and from Bxperienc&— Keen Intuitions
— Abreast of the Progress— Mr. Plant's After-dinner Speech
at Tampa Banquet Given him by Tampa Board of Trade,
March 18, 1886— Location of Tampa— In Territorial Days
Had a Military Reservation— In 1884 Population about Seven
Hundred— Its Cosmopolitan Population now— Many Cubans
and Spaniards in Tamper— Tobacco Industry— Phosphate
Abounds in this Part of the State— Much of it Shipped to
the North and to Europe— Plant System Gives Impetus to
the Prosperity of the Place— Its P iogr o o s the Last Five or
Six Years 68-86

CHAPTER VIII.

Florida Mr. Plant's Hobby— Banquet at Ocala— Mr. Flant^s
Speech— Sail on Lakes Harrison and Ghriflin— Banquet at
Leesburg— Visit to Eustis— Cheering Words to a Toung
Editor— Make the Best of the Frost— It may be a Blessing
In Disguise— Must Cultivate Other Fruits (and Cereals) be-
sides Oranges— Importance of Honesty — Sense of Justice —
Consideration for the Workmen— Unconscious Moulding.
Power over Associates and Employees— Letter of Honorable
RufusB. Bullock 87-101

CHAPTER IX.

Mr. Plant's Industry and Power to Endure Continuous Strain-
Labor of Exaniining and Answering his Enormous Mail-
Letter from Japan — ^Mail Delivered Regularly to him at
Home and Abroad— His Private Car, its Style, Structure,
Hospitality, and Cheering Presence— Numerous Calls— The
Secret of his Endurance— The Esteem and Love of the
Southern Express Company for its President— Mr. Plant
Enjoys Social Life— He is a Great Lover of almost all Kinds
of Music— Mr. Plant a Medical Benefactor— Some of the
Progress Made in the Healing Art— Bishop of Winchester's
High Estimate of the Value of Health— Dr. Long's Opinion
of the G^lf Coast as a Health Restorer— Unrecognized Medi-



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viii Contents

PACK

cinee in Restoring Lost Health— Nerrousness among the
American People— The Soothing and Strengthening Effect
of Florida Climate— Mr. Plant's Part in Facilitating Travel
and Providing Comfortable Accommodations for the In-
vaUd lOa-116



CHAPTER X.

Reason for Submitting Press Sketches of Mr. Plant— i>e8crtp-
Uve America, December, 1885— CtY]^ Items, December, 1886
— Railroad Topics— Home Journal, New York, March, 1896
— F. O. De Fontain in same Journal— Ocala Evening Times,
June, 189(^Ea!pre88 Gazette . . ... 117-140



CHAPTER XL

Mr. Plant's Close and Constant Contact with the Gh-eat System
as Seen in the Following Letters— Letter Written on Board
the Steamer Co9?uU— Letters on Trip to Jamaica, West
Indies, March 15, 1898, and Published in the Home Jour-
nal 141-149



CHAPTER XII.

MANAGEMENT OF THE GREAT PLANT SYSTEM

WORTHY OF ADMIRATION AND IMITATION . 150-166



CHAPTER Xni.

Plant Day at the Cotton States and International Elxposition of
1895 at Atlanta, Georgia — Preparations for its Celebration
— Impressive Observances of Mr. Plant's Birthday at the
Aragon Hotel — Mr. Plant's Remarks in Acknowledging
Presentation of Gifts 157-183



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Contents ix

CHAPTER XIV.

PAOB

Tampa Bay Hotel, One of the Modem Wonders of the Worid
— Its Architecture, Furniture, Works of Art, Decorations,
Tapestries, Paintings, Inlaid Table and Three Ebony and
Gold Cabinets from the Tuileries, a Sofa and Two Chairs
once Owned by Marie Antoinette — The Dream of De Soto
Bealized— A Palace of Art for the Delight and Joy of Those
who are in Health, and an Elysium for the Sad and Sor-
rowful isa-aoB

CHAPTER XV.

Programme of Plant Day Ceremonies^Ringing of the Liberty
Bell — ^Presentation of Addresses to Bfr. Plant in the Ghreat
Auditorium— His Reply— Resolutions from the Different
Departments of the System, from the Savannah Board of
Trade, etc.— Mr. Morton F. Plant's Acknowledgments . 204-235

CHAPTER XVI.

Banquet at the Aragon Hotel Ehids the Festivities of the Day —
Sketch of the Southern Express Company— Distinguished
Callers on President Plant during the Day— Many Tele-
grams and Letters of Congratulation Received — Many
Press Notices of the Day, and many Tributes of Respect and
Esteem for him who Called it forth .... 227-268

CHAPTER XVn.

Game Changes that have Taken Place in the Configuration of
the Globe— Islands Bom and Buried — French Revolution —
Napoleon's Influence on Europe— Ekigland's Long Wars
—Barbarous Treatment of Prisoners— Slavery Abolished—
English Profanity and Intemperance— Temperance Move-
ments—Duelling—Penny Postage— Expansion of the Press
—Canals, Erie and Suez— Railroads in England and the
United States— First Steamer to Cross the Atlantic— First
Steamship Line 264-278



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X Contents

CHAPTER XVIII.

PACK

Railroads Established— Engineering Progress— Steel, Iron Steam-
ships— Horse Railroad— Kerosene Oil in Use 1830— Sewing
Machines — Agricultural Implements 1881-51 — Sanitary
Progress— Philanthropic and Christian Progress — ^Higher
Education— Medical Progress^Humane Care of the Insane
* — Sailors' and Seamen's Home— World's Fairs— Religious
^ Reciprocity — ^Arbitration — ^Numerous Inventions and Dis-
coveries — Henry B. Plant in War and in Peace — ^Testimo-
nial Presented to Mr. and Mrs. Plant on the Twenty-fifth
Anniversary of their Wedding 279-80ft

PLA19T Obnealooy 307-887

Index 880-844



^ - >




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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

The author takes pleasure in acknowledging his indebted-
ness to many of the Southern Express and "Plant System"
officials for their prompt and valuable assistance in the
preparation of a biography of their able and esteemed
President. Chief among those to whom thanks are due
may be mentioned Messrs. A. P. C. Ryan, M. J. O' Brien,
D. F. Jack, B. W. Wrenn, and G. H. Tilley. The last
named furnished not only much material in manuscript and
print, but many valuable suggestions as to their use. The
letter of Ex-Governor Bullock of Georgia, published in the
volume reveals the noble nature which penned it, far more
eloquently than any words which can be written here, and is
alike honorable to its distinguished subject and its eminent
author.

Acknowledgment is due also to the papers from which
extracts have been taken.



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THE LIFE OF
HENRY BRADLEY PLANT,




CHAPTER L

The Plant Family— Birth of Henry Bradley Plant— Mr. Plant's
ParentB— Ancestors Came from Ehigland in 1039 — ^David Plant
Occupied Many Positions of Honor and Trust— A. P. Plant's
Successful Business Career— H. B. Plant on his Mother's Side is
Descended from Joseph Frisbee, a Major in Washington's Army
— ^Reverend Levi Frisbee, Father of Professor Levi Frisbee of
Harvard College — Connection with Sir William Pepperell, Bart. —
The Historian of the Frisbee Family— Richard of the Second
Generation Went from Virginia to Connecticut, and Settled at
Branford, 1644 — Sketch of Oliver Libby Frisbee, Historian of his
Family — Senator Hoar's Relations to the Frisbee Family — ^Fris-
bee Patriotism and Services to their Country — ^They Were Good
Church-Gk>ing People, Mostly of the Puritan Belief— Probability
that the Frisbees Came from Wales.

HENRY BRADLEY PLANT was bom October
27, 1819, at Branford, Connecticut. His pa-
ternal great-grandfather was attached to Washing-
ton's army as a private, when Washington was at
Newburg, and he was one of the guard of the un-
fortunate Major Andr6 at the time of his execution.



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2 The Life of

His great-grandfather on his grandmother Plant's
side was a major in General Washington's army at
the same time.

Mr. Plant's father was Anderson Plant and his
mother was Betsey Bradley. They were married
December 23, 1818, and were of good old Puritan
ancestry who came from England about two hundred
and sixty years ago. According to a genealogical
table at the end of this volume, it will be seen that
John Plant was in Hartford, Connecticut, in the
year 1639, — some give the date three years earlier, —
and his son, John Plant, is granted a tract of land
at Branford in 1667. These people possessed the
characteristics that distinguished their race. They
loved freedom, were thrifty, energetic, self-reliant,
patriotic, and devoutly religious. Many of them
were officers, and most of them members in the
Congregational Church, which was the only church
in the town for the first hundred years of its history.

Some of them occupied positions of honcrt* and re-
sponsibility in the State and country.

David Plant was bom at Stratford, prepared for
college at the Cheshire Academy, graduated at Yale
College in 1804, studied law at the Litchfield Law
School, and was a classmate of John C. Calhoun. In
1819 and 1820, he was Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives, and in 1821 was elected to the State
Senate and twice re elected. He was Lieutenant-



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Henry Bradley Plant 8

Governor of the State from 1823 to 1827, and irom
1827 to 1829 he was a member of the United States
Congresa In politics he was a staunch Whig. He
was an influential man in the political circles of bis
day in the State of Connecticut, and Calhoun, when
Secretary of State, offered him any position within
his gift; but he refused to hold office under the
dominant party.

Another successful man of the Plant family was
A. P. Plant, son of Ebenezer and Lydia (Neal) Plant,
bom at Southington in the year 1816.

Early in life he began to earn his own living, and
by industry, economy, and business tact he became
in time the head of a large manufacturing establish-
ment He settled in that part of the town known
as the " Comer," a part which rapidly increased in
population and soon grew into a prosperous village.
It bears the name of Plantsville in honor of A. P.
Plant and his brother E. H. Plant. His biographer
says: **He made a profession of religion in 1833;
and from that time was an influential member of the
Baptist Church. In 1850, he was elected a deacon
of the church in Southington, and held the office
nntil 1872, when he transferred his relations to the
new enterprise started in his own village. To this
church he gave liberally, and left it a legacy in his
wilL" He is described as a most faithful and con-
sistent Christian, an esteemed officer in the church,



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4 The Life of

and a firm believer in the presence of the Holy Spirit
in the heart of the Christian.

Henry Bradley Plant, on his grandmother's side^
is a direct descendant of Joseph Frisbee, a major in
Washington's army. The Frisbees were a nimier-
ous family, and many of them occupied positions of
honor and influence in the history of the country.
One of them writing to Mr. Plant says :

"I suppose you have often wondered what has
become of my history of the Frisbee family. I have
been diligently at work on it since you heard from
me. It has grown from a very small beginning to
be quite an affair, namely, from looking up my an-
cestors so that I could join the hereditary societies
of the United States, to writing a history of over one
thousand of the lineal descendants of Edward Fris-
bee, the first settler. I find them a noble race, worthy
of history. I have also looked up my maternal an-
cestors and can trace them back to 1497, thirteen
generations, among them Sir William Pepperell."

The fitness of the writer, Oliver L. Frisbee, for his
task of searching the records of his long line of pro-
genitors may be gathered from another paragraph
in the same letter where he says : " My Alma Mater,
Bates College, gave me the degree of Master of Arts,
last Commencement, for eminent success in business
and proficiency in the studies of genealogy, heraldry,
and colonial history."



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Henry Bradley Plant 6

The following sketch, with some slight corrections,
is taken from a carefully prepared account, by the
same writer, of the descendants of Richard Frisbee,
the first-named ancestor of this family.

" Richard Frisbee came from England to Virginia,
in 1619, when he was twenty-four years old. In
1642, the Governor of Virginia ordered all those
who would not join the Church of England to leave
the Colony, and hundreds went to Eastern Virginia,
now the State of Maryland. Among these refugees
were Richard Frisbee and his two sons, James and
William. They purchased plantations in Cecil County
and resided on Kent Island, the northern part of
Chesapeake Bay.

"At first the Governor of Virginia claimed this
island ; later. Lord Baltimore and afterwards, Wil-
liam Penn. The latter wrote to James Frisbee, from
London, in 1681, instructing him to pay no tax to
Lord Baltimore. James Frisbee was a member of
the House of Representatives of Maryland, and
held other important positions in the State. In
addressing a petition to His Majesty, in 1688, he,
with others, began their petition thus: 'We the
undersigned Englishmen though bom in America,'
etc. James went back to England, the land of his
birth, in his old age.

"Richard, son of Richard the emigrant, came from
Virginia to Connecticut, and settled at Branford in



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6 The Life of

1644, when his brothers went to Maryland* His son
John had several children, among them Edward and
Joseph. The former was the ancestor of Major Philip
Frisbee, of Albany County, New York. He was in
the War of the Revolution, and his grandsons be-
longed to the Sons of the American Revolution, of
the State of New York. President Edward S. Fris-
bee of Wells College, in New York State, is his de-
scendant The latter, Joseph, your ancestor [referring
to Mr. Plant], married September 14, 1712, had a son
Joseph who married Sarah Bishop, August 25, 1742.
Their son Joseph married Sarah Rogers, March 11,
1773. Their eldest chUd, Sarah, born May 15, 1774,
was your grandmother.

^^ The name Joseph has been in our branch of the
family a long time. My father's name was Joseph.
I had a brother Joseph, and my son bom this sum-
mer is also named Joseph.

" The youngest child of the first Edward was Ebe-
nezer, my ancestor, brother to John, your ancestor.
He had two sons, Ebenezer and Elisha. The latter
was the father of the Rev. Levi Frisbee who set-
tled at Ipswich, Massachusetts, and was the father
of Professor Levi Frisbee of Harvard College, who
died in 1820, one of the most talented men that ever
passed through that institution. Senator Hoar waa
named for him, George Frisbie Hoar. Ebenezer's
son James, bom in 1722, was lieutenant with Cap-



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Henry Bradley Plant 7

tain Paul Jones, and was killed one hundred and
fifteen years ago to-day, September 23d, in the en-
gagement between the Borme Homme Richa/rd and
Sera/piB in the English Channel. This was my great-
grandfather and by right of descent from him I
Joined the Sons of the American Revolution. His
son Darius (bom in 1769), my grandfather, settled
in Kittery, Maine, and married Dorothy Gerrish, a