Sidney Mason Stone (May 8, 1803 – August 10, 1882) was a prominent Connecticut architect and builder known for designs of churches, institutional buildings and residences. His creations incorporated Greek Revival, Romanesque, Gothic, Italianate and other styles popular in the 19th century. He served in several civic capacities in the city of New Haven and statewide and as mentor to Yale students prior to the establishment of that university's School of Architecture. He was the father of Harriet Mulford Stone, better known to readers of children's literature as Margaret Sidney, creator of the Five Little Peppers series.
Biography
Sidney Mason Stone was born in what was then Orange, Connecticut, and is now part of Milford, Connecticut, to Samuel Stone and Mary (Polly) Woodruff,Third Census of the United States, 1810. (NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls). Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Census Place: Milford, New Haven, Connecticut; Roll 2; Page:498; Image: 0281230 proprietors of the Woodruff Tavern, a popular stopping point for travelers on the Boston Post Road. The Stone and Woodruff family lineages trace back to numerous Connecticut patriots and clergymen including Rev. Thomas Hooker and Rev. Samuel Stone, founders of the Connecticut Colony and the city of Hartford and Robert Treat, Governor of the Connecticut Colony between 1683 and 1698, as well as to the Mayflower Pilgrims.Carson, Norma Bright, “Margaret Sidney The Writer of the Famous Polly Pepper Books”, The Book New Monthly 28 (February 1910): 407-414 Sidney Mason Stone had one brother, Benjamin Woodruff Stone (1808-1891). Mary and Samuel Stone were divorced in 1816.Divorce records for New Haven County, 1816, archived at the Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT Sidney and Benjamin were baptized in the Orange Congregational Church (built by David Hoadley (architect) in 1810 and now part of the Orange Center Historic District (Orange, Connecticut)) on 5 February 1821.Orange Congregational Church RecordsRicker, Jacqueline L, ed., Families of Early Milford, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1979, p. 711. Benjamin eventually became a merchant tailor and, for several decades, operated a shop in New Haven, Connecticut.New Haven, Connecticut, City Directories, 1844-1867 Mary Stone married William Woodruff, in 1829. She died in 1854.
Sidney Mason Stone married Abigail Treat, daughter of Stephen Atwater Treat and Cornelia H. Bull of Milford, CT on April 20, 1830, in New Haven. She bore five children 1850 United States Federal Census Census Place: New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut; Roll: M432_47; Page: 296B; Image: 391—Mary L. (born 1832), William W. (born 1833), Harriet T. (born 1836 who died as an infant), Sidney M., Jr. (born 1838) who drowned in a boating accident on Lake Saltonstall (Connecticut) at the age of 24Hartford Daily Courant, November 1, 1862, p. 2. and Abigail (born 1841). She died on January 17, 1841, at the age of 29.Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772–1934. Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010. (Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.)
On September 14, 1843, Stone married Harriet Mulford daughter of Hervey Mulford and Nancy Bradley of New HavenConnecticut Courant, September 23, 1843, p. 3. They had two daughters, Harriet M. (born 1844) and Julia M. (born 1853).Census of the United States: 1870; Census Place: New Haven Ward 6, New Haven, Connecticut; Roll: M593_110; Page: 575A; Image: 511; Family History Library Film: 545609. Harriet grew up to be the bestselling author of the Five Little Peppers children's series, although her fame did not come until after her father's death. In her later years she confided that when she first learned she was to become a published author she decided to use a pen name in deference to her father who she said “looked with disfavor on young women who wrote for publication”. She chose the name 'Margaret Sidney', taking his first name as her last in his honor.Lothrop, Margaret M., The Wayside: Home of Authors, American Book Company, New York, 1940, unpaged.
Like many architects and builders of the time, scant information is available regarding Stone's professional education. His obituary,New Haven Register Vol XLI, Issue 185, August 11, 1882, p. 2 says that he moved to New Haven at the age of 19 to “learn the joiners’ trade”. Elizabeth Mills Brown elaborates, "He began as an itinerant carpenter and worked his way up through the building trades."Brown, Elizabeth Mills, New Haven: A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design, Yale University Press: New Haven, 1976, p. 6 However, George Dudley Seymour, in his 1942 volume, New Haven, says, “After working ten years or so as a master-builder and contractor, Stone determined to devote himself exclusively to the business of an architect, preparing and drawing specifications and superintending work in behalf of the owner. To better qualify himself for this work he took a short course of study at the New York University.”Seymour, George Dudley, New Haven: A book recording the varied activities of the author in his efforts over many years to promote the welfare of the city of his adoption since 1883, together with some researches into its storied past and many illustrations, New Haven, privately published, 1942, p. 244. This assertion is borne out by early records from New York University which include Stone among the institution's first enrolled students in 1832. In that same year, the renowned civil engineer, David Bates Douglass was hired by the fledgling university as Professor of Natural Philosophy and Civil Engineering (a title which was eventually changed to Professor of Civil Engineering and Architecture).Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence, et al., editors, New York University; its history influence, equipment and characteristics, with biographical sketches and portraits of founders, benefactors officers and alumni, R. Herndon Company, Boston, 1901 (pp. 69 & 78) Since, at the time, the school had no other faculty teaching architecture or related subjects, the conclusion can be drawn that Stone studied under Douglass who, along with Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis, also contributed to the building designs for NYU.VanNostrand’s Eclectic Engineering Magazine, No. XXXVII, January 1872, Vol VI, p. 5.
Stone remained in New Haven throughout his long career. According to Jerome Lucke's History of the New Haven Grays, Stone, who headed the booklet's publication committee in 1876, was, at that time, "one of our most prominent and wealthy men, his property being largely in real estate in this city [New Haven] and Meriden. Much of his time is spent in the care and management of his property. " Luckes went on to describe Stone as, "Still young looking and active, and as erect as when he carried a sword in front of the Grays many years ago."Lucke, Jerome B., History of the New Haven Grays, Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor, Printers: New Haven, 1876, p. 68.
Six years later, in 1882, Stone died in his New Haven home at age 79. He was buried in Grove Street Cemetery. After his death many of his numerous real estate holdings were sold to pay off claims against his estate amounting to $77,843.New Haven Register, Vol. XLII, Issue 274, p. 1.
Credited works
Churches
According to The History of the New Haven Grays, Stone was the designer of "more than one hundred churches in various parts of the country...churches in almost every State in the Union”.Lucke, Ibid. One of Stone's first (1829) attributed works was as contractor and master builder for New Haven's St. Paul's Chapel a 2-towered Gothic structure built of East Haven sandstone which was reportedly designed by Sherman Croswell,Connecticut Journal, Vol. LXII, Issue 3208, April 21, 1829, p. 2 son of the long-time rector of New Haven's Trinity Church, Rev. Dr. Harry Croswell. Although Stone's name has been given as "probable architect" of the Center Congregational Church in Meriden (1830) citing the influence of Ithiel Town's sensibilities on the design as justification for the attribution,Smith, G.E. Kidder, The Beacon Guide to New England Houses of Worship: An Architectural Companion, Beacon Press: Boston, 1989, p. 20. it is unlikely that Stone would have assumed the responsibilities of architect for such an ambitious project this early in his career, particularly given the fact that it was not until two years later—in 1832—that he attended NYU to, in his own words, "prepare himself" for such duties. It was also not until 1832 that advertisements first began to appear in the local newspapers offering Stone's services as an architect which superseded his earlier (1829 and 1830) listings as joiner/builder. His earliest authenticated church designs include St. John's Episcopal Church, North Haven, CT (1834), the Westville Society Meeting House (1835) and the Third Congregational Church, Court Street (1841).
Stone went on to design the Congregational Church, Enfield, CT(1848) which was set on cut brownstone foundations, constructed of wood in the Greek Revival style with a portico of six Ionic columns. The finished building included frescos by New York City artists Molini and Allegri. The Connecticut Courant of February 24, 1849, commented, "The church reflects great credit upon the architect and builder," while Charles Albert Wright, in his book Some Old Time Meeting Houses of the Connecticut Valley wrote, "The Church is regarded by many as one of the best examples of colonial architecture in New England."Wright, Charles Albert, Some Old Time Meeting Houses of the Connecticut Valley, The Rich Print, 1911, pp. 121-22. Stone's Corner Congregational Church, Meriden, CT (1849) is said to have employed a similar design. The College Street Church, New Haven (1848) --one of his most successful designs, according to Seymour--Seymour, George Dudley, Ibid. was later used by Yale University as College Street Hall until it was privately purchased in 1895 Carroll, Richard C. Buildings and Grounds of Yale University Yale University Press: New Haven, 1979, p. 83. to become the ill-fated Rialto Theatre which was destroyed in a tragic fire in 1921.New York Times, November 28, 1921, p. 7
For the Fourth Congregational Church, Hartford, CT (1850) Stone was directed by the building committee to copy Town's Center Church on the New Haven Green. Although a new site for the Hartford church was eventually secured on Albany Avenue, the building that was erected there in 1913 retained the steeple, portico and doors from Stone's original edifice. His First Unitarian Church, Worcester, MA (1850) was also modeled after New Haven's Center Church. This building was largely destroyed in the 1938 New England hurricane, when the steeple collapsed onto the roof, blowing out the walls. The church was rebuilt in 1939 to the original design by Worcester architect G. Adolph Johnson.Historic Building Detail: WOR.704, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System.