The Locomotive

KBHtW UBK BBOmHibbrshh Mil PRESENTED BY THE PUBLISHERS form 3« [io-i5-os-5rii] Wife ftote-nte PUBLISHED BY THE HARTFORD STEAM BOILER INSPECTION AND INSURANCE COMPANY. Vol. XXVII. HARTFORD, CONN., JANUARY, 1908. No. 1. ; THE LOCOMOTIVE. [January, >K %. Joseph Bancroft Pierce. It is with the deepest sorrow that we record the death of Joseph Bancroft Pierce, who had been secretary of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company for nearly thirty-five years. He had been in poor health for several weeks, but the end was quite unexpected, for he had been confined to his home in Hartford for only four days when, on November 12, 1907, he died of pneumonia. The story of Mr. Pierce's life is a simple one, devoid of incidents likely to stimulate the imagination, or even to attract more than passing notice from the world about him. It is the story of a genial, lovable gentleman, who was content to 'perform, each day, the task of that day, and who found his highest reward in the consciousness that the work that was done was done well. Mr. Pierce was born October 13, 1835, in the town now known as Thomaston, Connecticut', ^feut which, previous to 1875, formed a part of Plymouth, and was known as/ Ph mouth Hollow. His parents were Hiram and Charlotte S. ( Bancroft )[', Pierce. He was educated at Thomaston, where he attended the high school r.nd academy. About the time of his leaving the academy he was stricken with a serious pulmonary 'affection r.nd in 1854, at the age of nineteen, he came to Hartford for medical treatment, remaining in the city about a month. At the end of this period, his "health being materially improved, he returned to Plymouth Hollow, where he worked for a time with the Seth Thomas Clock Company. In Novem- ber, 1855, he <tOok up his residence permanently in Hartford, entering the employ of Rogers iRXothers. manufacturers of silver-plated ware. In the late spring or earl}- su'n'nVier of 1856 he left this position, and for two years thereafter he worked as bookkeeper in S. W. Griswold's shawl and mantilla store, which was situated on Main Street, opposite Church. In August, 1858, he returned to the silverware business, tne name of the company having been changed in the mean- time from Rogers Brothers to The Rogers Brothers Manufacturing Company. For a short time previous to i860 he also worked as bookkeeper in a bank and in i860 he entered the insurance business for the first time, as bookkeeper for the North American Fire Insurance Company. Here he found his true field of activity, and his promotion was rapid. He was advanced from time to time, until, in 1868, he was made secretary of the company. He remained with the North American Fire Insurance Company until its extinction by the great Chicago fire of October, 1871, after which he entered the new National Fire Insurance Company as general agent, serving in this capacity until March, 1873. On February 15, 1873, Mr. Pierce was elected secretary of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, the appointment dating from March 1, 1873; but while he became the secretary of the company on that date, he did not assume the active duties of the office until March 22. He first officiated as clerk of the board of directors of the company at the meeting held on May 13, 1873; and only two of the present fifteen members of the board have been present at its meetings for an equal length of time. He was himself elected a director on February 13, 1900. On March 22, 1898, the twenty-fifth anniversary of his entering upon the actual work of the secretaryship, the officers and clerks of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company presented him with a solid silver service, as a token of the regard that was felt for him by his intimate business i 9o8.] THE LOCOMOTIVE associates; and on October 13, 1905, in recognition of his seventieth birthday, an informal reception was given to him at the home office, and he was presented with a beautiful bouquet of seventy roses. Mr. Pierce was a republican in politics, but had never held any political office. Indeed, he was of so retiring a disposition that the publicity inseparable from such a position would have been exceedingly distasteful to him. He was a member of the Fourth Congregational Church of Hartford, and had been president of its board of trustees from the time the church was incorporated. He was, in fact, the leading layman in the church, and he had given great personal attention to the musical features of its services in particular, although his influence extended to all its departments. He was deeply interested in the mission work done by the institution now known as Warburton Chapel. He joined it in November, 1854, at which time it was known as the Union Sunday School, and occupied Washington Hall, on State Street. He became assistant superintendent of the organization about 1858 or 1859, an d continued his active connection with it until October, 1880, when he withdrew from personal participation in the work, though his interest in it was always sustained. Here, as in the Fourth Church, he gave especial attention to the musical part of the services. Mr. Pierce was universally admitted to be one of the highest authorities upon steam boiler inspection and insurance. He wrote nothing upon the subject, however, but was content to apply his knowledge solely to the advancement of the company with which he was identified. He was a man of strongly scientific tastes, and in earlier life he devoted much time to microscopic work, and par- ticularly to the study of the various forms of animal and vegetable life that occur in the vicinity of Hartford. Indeed, his eyesight was somewhat affected from this cause at one time, though the impairment was not permanent. There can be little doubt but that his microscopic work, taken in connection with his other scientific tendencies, constituted one of the earliest bonds of friend- ship between himself and Mr. J. M. Allen, through whom Mr. Pierce became secretary. In later years he was forced to discontinue his microscopic work, but he maintained, to the last, the keenest interest in scientific progress along all lines, and he enjoyed nothing more than listening to an account of recent investigations in any field of knowledge whatever. It is impossible to convey any fair conception of Mr. Pierce's personal character to those who did not know him well. It would not be easy to exaggerate his kindness, nor his charity toward the faults and shortcomings of others ; and no man could apply the principles of the Christian faith more conscientiously than he did, to the practical affairs of common life. He was unobtrusive to the last degree, and was of the select few who " meet in secret to plot charity to the poor." His known material gifts and benefactions were numerous and large; and it is certain that the unknown occasions on which he has extended a helping hand to the needy are past all reckoning. The world is better for his life, and his influence will long be felt, not only in obvious ways and places, but in many that are hidden and unsuspected. On February 18. 1862, Mr. Pierce was married to Sophia A. Boardman, of Hartford, who died on January 18, 1904. He leaves an only daughter, Mrs. Arthur H. Merry, of Augusta, Georgia, two brothers, William J. and Edward H., ©f Hartford, and two sisters, Mrs. Charlotte S. Potter of Thomaston, and Mrs. E. T. Bradctreet of Meriden. 257289_ : THE LOCOMOTIVE. [January, At a special meeting of the hoard of directors of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, held on November 14, 1907, the following minute was adopted, and a copy thereof, suitably engrossed, was transmitted to Mr. Pierce's family " In the death of Joseph Bancroft Pierce, the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company has lost an officer of great ability, who gave the best years of a noble life to the establishment of the company upon a secure foundation, and to the formation of sound precedents for its future guidance. He became Secretary of the company on March 1, 1873, and was elected a director on February 13, 1900. " Mr. Pierce was quiet and unobtrusive, yet his influence was felt in every detail of the company's business. His life exemplified all the Christian virtues in the fullest measure. His character was simple and sincere, and his con- siderate bearing towards his office subordinates won for him a regard which ripened with the years into devoted affection. " His associates on this board desire to testify their appreciation of the loss which the death of Mr. Pierce has occasioned to this company, and hereby direct the assistant secretary to send to the family of Mr. Pierce a copy of this minute." A special service, in memory of Mr. Pierce, was held at the Fourth Con- gregational Church of Hartford, on November 17, the Sunday following his death. At this service the pastor, Rev. H. H. Kelsey, paid a touching and well merited tribute to Mr. Pierce's high character, and spoke feelingly of his services to the church, and of his influence upon the community in which he lived. Mr. L. B. Brainerd, President of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, also made a brief address, in which he dwelt upon Mr.

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