Abbreviations Key

The Biographical Dictionary of Hartford Architects by David F. Ransom is an expansion of an abbreviated biographical dictionary that appeared in Structures and Styles: Guided Tours to Hartford Architecture (Hartford: The Connecticut Historical Society and the Connecticut Architecture Foundation, 1988) and is intended to be used along with that publication. Most of Structures and Styles was devoted to tours of various parts of Hartford, each entry giving the name of the architect of the building, when known. Biographical information on these architects, both Hartford-based and from out of town, is provided in greater detail in the later publication as well as a critical analysis of the work of the more important Hartford-based architects.

In addition to architects whose work appears in Structures and Styles, other Hartford architects who practiced prior to ca. 1940, are included in this directory, as well as some who, since 1940, have rehabilitated historic structures. There are also entries for out-of-town architects, whose important buildings in Hartford have been razed. Some builders, artisans and artists are also included.

In the entries, the name of the individual or firm, if from out of town, is followed by the city in which the office was maintained. For individual architects, the dates of birth and death, or for firms, the years in practice follow. In the text, names in italics have entries in the dictionary. A letter and number in parenthesis following a building name, indicates the building number on a tour (e.g.: A22 indicates that the building is number 22 on Tour A ) in Structures and Styles. An asterisk (*) identifies a building no longer extant. When architectural drawings for an architect or a firm are known to exist, their location is provided.

The dictionary is divided into two parts: first, individual architects; second, architectural firms. The principal source of works and dates is the three-volume Hartford Architecture (Hartford: Hartford Architecture Conservancy, 1978-1980) based on a city-wide survey. Dates in the survey were taken from city building permits from ca. 1900, approximated from city atlases for the years 1867-1896 and came from a variety of sources and tradition for earlier years.

Other specific sources are shown at the close of an entry in brackets using the following symbols:

AABN - American Architect and Building News
B - Directory Boston Architects, 1846-1970 (Cambridge, MA: Committee for the Preservation of Architectural Records, 1984)
C1 - Contemporary Architects (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980)
C2 - Contemporary Architects, Second edition (Chicago: St. James Press, 1987)
D - Hartford City Directory. "D 1914-1918" for example, indicates that the architect was listed in the classified section of the Hartford City Directory under "architects" for the years 1914- through 1918.
DAB - Dictionary of American Biography (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936)
F - Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers, edited by Glenn B. Opitzm (Poughkeepsie, NY: Apollo Book, 1986)
HC -The Hartford Courant
HT - The Hartford Times
M - Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects, edited by Adolf Placzek (New York: Free Press, 1987)
N1 - Dennis Steadman Francis, Architects in Practice, New York City, 1840-1900 (New York: Committee for the Preservation of Architectural Records, 1979)
N2 - James Ward, Architects in Practice New York City 1900-1940 (Union, NJ: J&D Associates for the Committee for the Preservation Records, 1989)
NYT - The New York Times
W - Henry F. & Elsie Rathbun Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased) (Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, 1970)

When dictionaries arranged in alphabetical order are cited, page references are not provided.

Citations for periodicals are in the following format: volume, issue (date): page. The exception to this standard occurs with citations in the AABN. Entries for AANB follow one of three formats: Volume (date): issue; volume (date): page; Volume, issue (date): page.