Benjamin Loomis: Tolland's 'Most Prominent Citizen'

Tolland may be a relatively quiet town even into the second decade of the 21st century, but a quick look through Internet records or a brief conversation with historical society members prove that the town has had some remarkable citizens and very juicy drama in its past.

A prime example is Captain Benjamin Turner Loomis, born in Tolland in 1838. He was a Civil War veteran, wildly successful inventor and, of all things, a bigamist for a brief period of time, and he's still the subject of local research, according to Mark Depathy, a board member of the New England Civil War Museum.

This fall, Depathy said that a Tennessee resident posted an online ad selling a Company K, 22nd Connecticut Infantry sword, with Loomis' name inscribed in the weapon. The sword can now be seen at the New England Civil War Museum in Vernon, but Tolland residents only need to go as far as the to learn about Loomis, whom Depathy called one of Tolland's "most prominent citizen."

Walk in the front door, and Loomis' portrait is the first thing visitors see. Only a few steps further and one of his most successful inventions, the Loomis water filter, or as Depathy called it, "his golden egg" is on display. And only one room away hangs a roster of men that Loomis recruited and led as a Civil War soldier.

He was truly a man who took on many roles:

The Veteran

Loomis took action during the Civil War and gathered his fellow Tolland residents to form Company K of the 22nd Connecticut Volunteer Infantry in 1862. Depathy said he was able to sign up around 100 local men, most of whom were farmers by profession. Loomis served as a captain and the soldiers traveled to Washington, D.C., but they did little actual fighting. By the time the war ended, Loomis was ready to embark on his most successful career as an inventor.

The Inventor

After the war, Loomis worked for a series of businesses, including William Gale & Sons, a silversmith company, Grover & Baker Sewing Machine Company, and for a year, gave the hotel business a shot with Lorenzo Winter in Tolland.

But in 1879, he moved to Baltimore and truly made something of himself with his groundbreaking water filter design. The invention took off; the federal government was purchasing the filters to install in all of its buildings, according to Depathy. 

Loomis continued to invent, creating a fire escape and a self-adjusting caster. He managed the production of his water filter until 1896, when he sold his business to Loomis-Manning Filter Co., and moved back to his farm in Tolland, known as "toll-gate place".

The Subject of Gossip

Loomis wasn't quite tabloid worthy perhaps, but he did give the people back home something to talk about in their quiet town. 

He divorced his first wife, Fannie D. Swords. He remarried and had three daughters with Fanny Folger, but his family troubles were far from over. Folger was committed to an insane asylum in the late 1800s and died there in 1926.

Although he didn't divorce Folger, Loomis was involved in another scandal when he became the third husband of actress Carrie Ward, or Mrs. Sedley Brown. Ward was charged with bigamy and put in jail in Baltimore for her offense, although it seems that Loomis escaped such punishment, despite his still-living second wife.

Ward appeared in nearly 50 movies after 1911 alongside Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford. 

Loomis also dealt with tragedy in his life when his 16-year-old daughter, Jennie Loomis, committed suicide in 1893 after shooting herself just below her heart. Records claim that Jennie shot herself after "a sudden reproof from her father." Despite treatment from Dr. Storrs, Jennie died soon after the attempt.

Jennie and Loomis, along with his two other daughters and second wife, were eventually interred together in a famous mausoleum featuring a copper canopy. Depathy said it was placed on land near the current Dunkin Donuts in town, but was moved several times due to construction of I-84 and for other reasons. It was last situated on Route 32 in Willington, but its whereabouts are now unknown.

The Legacy

Interested residents can learn more about Loomis at the . His sword is on display at the New England Civil War Museum in Rockville. The Civil War Museum's hours are listed on its website.

Sources:

1. Windham County Connecticut CT Genweb Project

2. Benjamin Loomis Obit (1907): Tolland Historical Society Archives

3. Newspaper Article on Jennie Loomis (1893): Tolland Historical Society Archives

4. Loomis Mausoleum: Tolland Historical Society Archives

5. Biographical Information on Carrie Ward: Tolland Historical Society Archives