John Breed was the son of John McLaren Breed, the second mayor of Norwich. For more than half a century, he was a prominent merchant in Norwich, primarily engaged in the hardware business and occasionally pursuing other business ventures. The sign of “John Breed & Co.,” representing the partnership of John Breed and his brother Simeon, was first displayed on their store on Water Street, where his father and grandfather had transacted business.
Mr. Breed entered into several subsequent partnerships; there was Trumbull & Breed, John & James Breed, or Breed, Prentice & Co., and, following John’s death in 1865, A. W. Prentice & Co. In 1889, with the arrival of Luther Eaton and Albert Chase, the business reformed under the name Eaton, Chase & Co. The company sold a variety of goods, including hardware, cutlery, machinists’ and carpenters’ tools, all workers’ tools, agricultural implements, electrical and mill supplies, cordage, paints, athletes’ goods, firearms, fishing tackle, bicycles, and more. The firm was the sole agent for DuPont’s powder, Miner’s Friend dynamite, Howe’s scales, and leather belting.
John Breed had experience in a variety of other businesses over the years. He was one of the first incorporators and vice president in 1824 for the Norwich Savings Bank, the largest and second-oldest savings bank in the state. Dorcas Mansfield made the first deposit for $200 on July 23, 1824. The bank had two business days per month, first and third Mondays. It was several years before it opened daily. The amount of deposits in January 1881 was $7,522,744.67.
Mr. Breed had himself become so identified with the city that he seemed a part of it, always present at its public meetings. In later life, tall, with white locks, and wearing a white hat, every child knew him, and no face was more familiar to the citizens of Norwich than John Breed.
His name is commemorated in Breed Hall, which John Breed erected with the thought of providing a convenient hall for lectures, concerts, and other large assemblies, etc, all desired by the citizens of Norwich. This building was completed in February 1860 and dedicated to the memory of his father. John Breed died suddenly in December 1865, at the age of seventy-five.
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