John Hanford Bodwell (1846-1932)

John was a hatter in Norwalk, Ct. His shops were near the Main Street of the city.

Painting by Arthur Van Zile Bodwell

Born	Died	Married	Spouse
Jun 1846	12 Feb 1932	21 May 1867	Adelia Ann Graves
Newark, Nj	Norwalk, Ct	Rochester, Ny	b. 13 Dec 1839 in Bergen, Ny
		4 Jun 1884	Elizabeth Van Zile
			b. 3 Nov 1855
		2 Dec 1896	Myrtle Rogers
		Norwalk, Ct	b. Apr 1867

Children of John and Adelia (Grimes) Bodwell

	Name	Birth Date	Birth Place	Death Date	Death Place
1.	Sarah Edwina	6 Sep 1869	South Norwalk, Ct.	17 Apr 1943
2.	Adele	25 Oct 1871	Rochester, Ny	1951	Norwalk, Ct.
3.	Henry Wilfred	6 Apr 1874	Rochester, Ny

Sarah Edwina never married. She worked for 39 years as a bookkeeper for Lockwood Manufacturing Co.

Children of John and Elizabeth (Zile) Bodwell

	Name	Birth Date	Birth Place	Death Date	Death Place
6.	John Hanford, Jr.	Jun 1886	Ct.	5 Mar 1959	Stamford, Ct.
7.	Arthur Van Zile	29 May 1890	Ct.	8 Oct 1940	Stamford, Ct.

Child of John and Myrtle (Rogers) Bodwell

	Name	Birth Date	Birth Place	Death Date	Death Place
8.	Edith B.	May 1898	Danbury, Ct.

Adele Bodwell Sturdevant (Left). Photo Arthur Van Zile Bodwell and John H. Bodwell, Jr.

Information, photo and paintings supplied by Sarah V. Dunlap, daughter of Agnes Marjorie Bodwell Dunlap. Paintings by Arthur Van Zile Bodwell

02/08/97 03/01/99

Re: Arthur Van Zile Bodwell: The following information was provided by Bill Heller, Stamford, Ct: Hi there! Although the computer belongs to my wife, I frequently use it. As my daughter Carol has indicated, I am the last surviving member of my family. I had three older sisters, all of whom have passed away, and unfortunately, they would have been able to provide much more information about Mr. Bodwell, not to mention my parents. Basically, what I recall about Mr. Bodwell is that he truly was your "undiscovered famous artist." My impresion of him was that he was a loner, who preferred to live alone and paint. Looking back, I think that my father happened to see some of his paintings at his studio which at the time, I think, was located just off Long Ridge Rd, at the intersection of Roxbury Rd, the original building having been torn down years ago, to be replace by a traffic circle. As I recall, my Dad was quite taken with Mr. Bodwell, and, after having purchased one of his paintings, became a friend, and sort of patron. All of this happened during the Great Depression, when people in general had very little money, and I'm sure, artists even less. I know that my Dad was in the habit of bartering for various items that he sold in his business, and perhaps that's where the food for paintings story originated. I do know that there was a relationship that he had with Mr. Bodwell because, as I recall, my parents came to own perhaps a half-dozen paintings. The paintings were all of landscapes in and around Stamford. Fields and streams, woods, etc. Some were Autumn, some were Winter; all were beautifully done, oils with quite a bit of detail. Please remember that I was quite young at that time, and probably not too interested in Art! As to the location of the paintings, other than the one that Carol has, I can only guess. The family scattered and disintegrated, and items were passed from my mother to her favorite daughter, Hannah, who, I guess, passed them onto her two sons. One son lived in Baltimore, and he died quite young. I never asked whether he had any Bodwell paintings, or whether his widow still has them, or whether they were sold, etc. The other son lives in Coppell, TX, and perhaps I can get in touch with him to see whether he has any paintings. As you can guess, it was really not what you would call a tight-knit family!!!! So, that's about all I can tell you about Mr. Bodwell. I think I might have seen him once or twice. I do know that my Dad really liked him, and that had my Dad lived longer,{he died in 1950 at the age of 55 after having suffered a stroke in 1947that left him in bad shape], things might have turned out differently. The last time I saw any of the paintings, other than the one Carol has, was back in the 70's when my mother had a few in her house. Sorry I can't be of any more help, but, as I mentioned, I was just a kid when all of this happened. Hope this adds to your information, Bill Heller

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